The Padres announced that outfielder Adam Engel has been designated for assignment. The move opens up a roster spot for Jose Azocar, who has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list.
Left elbow inflammation sent Azocar to the IL (retroactively) on May 3, and he received a cortisone shot to help heal up. Azocar collected two hits for Triple-A El Paso yesterday, and that will end up being the only game of Azocar’s minor league rehab assignment before his return to the Show. Azocar has hit only .244/.262/.293 over 45 plate appearances for San Diego this season, but he’ll step back into his customary backup outfield role, displacing Engel in the process.
Engel began the season on the IL with a hamstring injury, and didn’t make his season debut until May 7. He has appeared in only five games and gone 0-for-6 over six plate appearances, and two of his appearances came as a pinch-runner. While not exactly a lengthy audition for Engel, the Padres appear more comfortable with Azcoar as their fourth outfielder, though San Diego’s roster is a little crowded by a DH-only player in Nelson Cruz, and a mostly-DH in Matt Carpenter.
The Padres signed Engel to a one-year, $1MM deal this past winter, so they are still responsible for the roughly $700K owed to the outfielder in remaining salary unless another team claims Engel off waivers or a trade is worked out. In all likelihood, Engel will clear waivers, so a new club could pick him up at only the cost of the prorated MLB minimum salary, leaving the Padres covering the rest of that $700K. Engel has enough MLB service time that he can refuse an outright assignment from the Padres in order to return to free agency.
Engel has a respectable track record as a defensive player and baserunner, even if his career .224/.279/.349 slash line over 1546 PA (all with the White Sox before 2023) is subpar. Outfield-needy teams seem likely to check in on Engel for a no-risk minor league deal, since the Padres are footing the bill for the remainder of his 2023 contract.
Go get him Hahn! /s
Amen, Tim, amen. He was the best Sox centerfielder since Jim Landis.
LOL, SDP have one of the best teams on paper (just like the Mets) yet they have no chemistry, or better put, they suck.
I have no interest in teams that simply can’t put it together. i.e SD
Dude got like 12 at bats or something. Didn’t get a hit and was sent packing:
Guess this is the shakeup the padres needed to fix this offense.
Right, but baseball can be a tough business. The brass probably had more faith in Azocar to be a productive player. And Azocar very well might have bonded with the team over the last 1+ year in ways that Engel didn’t get a chance to. Also, Azocar has 5 steals on the year, which was among the NL leaders before he got hurt. Azocar still leads the NL in SB% with 100%. He is 5-5 in steals.
Azocar is a decent 4th outfielder, was a member of the team last year and gets along well with everyone in the clubhouse. Engel was meant to outcompete Sugar for playing time. Didn’t happen.
Engel was the best Sox centerfielder since Jim Landis.
Yet odor has not been dfa and sound have been in March
Engel never had a chance. The Padres horrible strike zone and the dead ball that MLB routinely gives the Padres doomed Engel from the start. See Trayce Thompson and Brent Rooker for examples of what happens after players leave the Padres. The Padres Strike Zone rewards opposing pitchers and the dead ball saps power. When players leave they succeed because of a more liberal zone and the lack of a dead ball.
Misspelled odor
0-6 is an incredibly small sample, yet Odor remains…
A bad Odor, at that!
Odor looks like a good player, but he should be next, dead weight
Problem for the Padres is Dixon can’t hit. Carpenter looks more like his Cardinals-self than his Yankees-self this season so Odor probably gets a longer leash. The Padres bench is so bad this year Robinson Cano would have stuck on this years team
Was good with the bat in 20-21. Was expecting him to be healthy last season and productive. Didn’t happen. Always hurt. Great fielder when he’s able to play. Worth a look to a team needing an outfielder. Think he’s one of the better AAAA roster fillers.