It has not been a fun time to be a prospect in the San Diego Padres farm system. For most of the position players, places to play are getting harder to find with multiple MLB players signed to play those positions at the major league level for years to come. Position player prospects may not even bother unpacking because Padres president of baseball operations and general manager A.J. Preller uses them to add other players to the MLB roster. For the prospects who do not get traded, Cheri Bell of Gaslamp Ball found they are left to make up one of the worst farm systems in baseball according to various prospect rankings. The best prospect among them at least on some lists, is catcher Ethan Salas who has seen his stock drop since missing all but 10 games of the 2025 season. The 2026 season is fast approaching with Spring Training just around the corner. Perhaps it will over an opportunity for some young players who might be overlooked or underrated to show their potential.
Padres News:
Jaff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune continued his Padres roster review looking at reliever Jeremiah Estrada. The Chicago Cubs castoff has found his home in the San Diego bullpen and he has become and integral part of the best ‘pen in the game.
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Baseball News:
Framber Valdez remains the best remaining free agent pitcher and many believe he will end up with the Baltimore Orioles. Eugenio Suarez and Luis Arraez are two of the top position players left, but Suarez has not seen a ton of interest and Arraez has had essentially no interest at all. Time is running out for free agents to sign with teams if they don’t want to delay the starts to their seasons as Spring Training is just a few weeks away.
Joe Ryan has been discussed as a possible trade candidate for several teams this offseason. He and the Minnesota Twins agreed to a contract to avoid arbitration, which could keep him in Minnesota for 2026.
Japan named eight players to its World Baseball Classic roster and the top among those names were Shohei Ohtani and his Los Angeles Dodgers teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto.