The Padres have signed infielder Domingo Leyba to a minor league contract, according to the transactions tracker at MLB.com. As is the case with other players who have signed minors deals during the lockout, Leyba opened the offseason as a minor league free agent after being outrighted off the Orioles’ 40-man roster in August.
Leyba, 26, has suited up in a pair of MLB seasons. He broke in with the Diamondbacks in 2019 and appeared in 21 games that year. He missed the abbreviated 2020 campaign on the restricted list but returned with Arizona in 2021. He was designated for assignment in early June and claimed off waivers by the Orioles, but Baltimore waived him themselves and released him not too long after. While he hooked on with the Rangers on a minors pact for the stretch run, Leyba didn’t get to the big leagues in Texas.
Between the D-Backs and O’s, the switch-hitting Leyba has played in 55 big league games. Over 126 plate appearances, he’s managed just a .152/.238/.222 line with one home run. Yet the Dominican Republic native has a far better track record in the minors. He’s a .304/.346/.537 hitter in two Triple-A seasons and owner of a .279/.352/.404 mark across three years at Double-A.
Leyba will presumably get an opportunity in big league Spring Training to compete for a utility role. He’s got minor league experience at both middle infield spots, although he’s primarily functioned as a second baseman or third baseman in the big leagues. The Padres already have ample talent around the dirt, with Ha-Seong Kim and Jurickson Profar on hand to back up Jake Cronenworth, Fernando Tatís Jr. and Manny Machado. They’ve recently subtracted from that group by moving Adam Frazier to Seattle, though, and there’s no downside in adding to the organizational depth by bringing Leyba in on a non-roster deal.
This fills their black hole at second base
Good work Pads, this move shows a Leyba of love
I thought Cronenworth was a 2B
No, Preller is making some pretty blockbuster moves. Sources say Croneworth, Machado and Tatis are moving to the outfield, while Leyba will start at second (Or starting pitcher). Hosmer will now play shortstop and they have signed Jace Tingler to a minor league deal for SP depth.
“Sources say.” I’m calling BS on that. It’s just Preller’s fixation on middle infielders (and catchers) that leads people to speculate. If only he would put as much effort into pitchers and outfielders …
You’ve got me on my knees.
I’m begging darling please..
Anthony–where is your piece on the Phillies center field situation you promised? Thanks.
Glad you asked! It’s basically finished, but we decided to hold it for tomorrow evening. The coverage hours will be a little thinner than usual over the next two days because of the holiday, so we’re doing staggered releases of a few longer-form posts (the Phillies’ one included) over that time.
Hey, if they’d like to reduce their logjam some more by moving Cronenworth I’m sure lots of teams would be interested.
I’m sure the White Sox might be interested. Jared Kelley and Jake Burger are tradable options
Padres need MLB ready OF and pitching, so Cespedes and Kopech for Cronenworth. Although Cespedes is not really all that good nor MLB ready and Kopech is not a starter. White Sox farm is bare. Not a single guy in the top 100.
Why would you trade Jake Cronenworth that’s a terrible idea.
They are not trading Crone
Cronenworth seems like a logical trade candidate if CJ Abrams lives up to his hype and can stay healthy. Crone is a great player, but he’s already in his late 20’s. I can see them moving him in a blockbuster type deal for controllable starting pitching
I wouldn’t extend Crone (honestly if there’s one player Preller looks bad for not getting the extra year on it’s him) but there’s no reason he can’t stay good for the remainder of his club control. And there’s no guarantee Abrams will be as good as Crone is now.
Having Abrams and Cronenworth is a good thing. You can find ways to get both in the lineup.
The logical solution would be put Abrams in CF Grisham in LF to replace Pham and Myers in RF.
Long term Padres could be looking at a Grisham Abrams Hassell OF
He’s not great player he craters in August and September
He’s nothing more than minor league depth. He’s a scrub.
But — Preller’s fixation with Rangers castoffs continues.
Hopefully he’ll be on the roster by Leyba day.
A distant relative of Nick Leyva , once removed
How does Preller still have a job? Except for Musgrove every trade he has made in the past 16 months has been nothing short of a disaster.
Musgrove had 5 era in September the next big game he pitches well will be 1st
I wonder if San Diego will look to trade Ha-Seong Kim this offseason? CJ Abrams is really close to being called up so even after moving Frazier, they are still overloaded in the Infield. Since SD went over the CBT cap last season, it would make sense to try and move Kim’s salary ($8M?) to give them some breathing room. I know the Padres really want to unload Hosmer or Myers but no one is going to take either player unless SD takes back a bad contract themselves or gives up some serious prospect capital to facilitate a deal. Given how much young talent Preller has already unloaded the last two seasons, I don’t see them trading any of their Top 5 prospects, so it seems like they may be stuck with Myers & Hosmer in 2022. Unload Kim and use the money towards the bullpen. Plenty of teams will still take a chance on Kim at age 26. He showed glimpses of his KBO talent last year and he should be better prepared for MLB pitching after his 2021 debut. Kim to the Phillies makes a lot of sense.
Kim probably has negative trade value at this point. Padres outbid everyone to sign him one year ago and then he showed zero ability to hit MLB RHP’s.
Punch and Judy hitter.He gets overpowered.Maybe he mastered the art of slapping the ball.AAA depth
Angels will take Kim & Lament salaries .Padres should rebuild their pen.
@Dorothy. I’ve wondered the same about Kim, as he’s perhaps their most tradable asset to clear some salary space. He certainly looked capable in the field, but had a propensity at plate to try to pull every pitch….and pitchers took advantage of that. Abrams is recovering from a broken tibia AND MCL injury from last year, so he won’t likely break camp with team. He might make an impact on Pads by mid summer however. For that reason I don’t think they move Kim this off-season.