The San Diego Padres have given outfielder Oscar Gonzalez his unconditional release to allow him to pursue a job in Japan with the Nippon Professional Baseball organization, per Dennis Lin of The Athletic.
With the designation of Yuli Gurriel, the trade of Connor Joe to the Reds and the release of Gonzalez, the Padres have 37 players on their 40-man roster.
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Gonzalez provided 61 plate appearances while hitting .220/.246/.237 with the Padres during the absence of both Jackson Merrill and Brandon Lockridge to injury. His 52% chase rate and 27% whiff rate along with his 21% K rate made it unlikely he would see time with the Padres again except in case of injury.
The team is now even thinner in left field options and almost certainly will need to trade for, or sign a free agent, for more depth for the outfield. It is also likely they will entertain the prospect of replacing Jason Heyward and his sub-par offense for the regular left field job. There is plenty of roster space to add the needed help.
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