The Padres are doing what they said they would in the final week before spring training.
They are filling holes by finding bargains.
The team and right-handed hitter Miguel Andujar agreed to terms on a one-year deal Wednesday night, a source confirmed. Andujar, who has played mostly third base and left field over parts of nine big-league seasons, will make $4 million in 2026, according to ESPN.
The Padres figure to use Andujar predominantly at designated hitter; he also has played some first base and right field.
Andjuar hit .318 with an .822 OPS in 341 plate appearances for the Athletics and Reds in 2025, his best and most prolific season since his rookie year in 2018. He paired 10 home runs and 44 RBIs with a career-best .318 batting average over 94 games.
Andujar batted .297 with an .895 OPS over 606 plate appearances in 2018, posting a 3.9 fWAR. He has just a 0.2 fWAR since. Andujar did not have more than 162 plate appearances in any of the following five seasons. He went to the plate 319 times in 2024.
While the 30-year-old Andujar has missed time with myriad injuries over the years, he has put together a .282/.315/.441 line when on the field. His 82.2% contact rate ranks in the top fifth in MLB among hitters with at least 1,500 plate appearances since 2018.
The Padres expect to benefit from Andujar’s ability to hit left-handed pitching. He has hit .297 with an .807 OPS against lefties over parts of nine MLB seasons. He hit .389 with a .986 OPS in 93 plate appearances against left-handers last season.
The Padres ranked 19th in MLB with a .691 OPS against lefties in 2025.
Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller said Saturday that his priorities involved adding “a bat; probably multiple bats.”
He also referred to the late-stage goal of acquiring “players that are motivated, that want to be here, get some deals that we feel like are lined up for us from a price standpoint.”
Preller mentioned adding starting pitching depth as well.