The Padres released outfielder Preston Tucker, tweets Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune. He’d been designated for assignment on Tuesday as part of San Diego’s post-deadline roster maneuvering.
Tucker didn’t play in a big league game for the Friars. The lefty-hitting outfielder signed a minor league contract over the winter. He mashed at a .293/.433/.565 clip with Triple-A El Paso, walking and striking out at identical 17.9% rates while homering 11 times in 55 games. The Padres selected his contract in mid-June to keep him from opting out of the deal but immediately placed him on the injured list with plantar fasciitis.
The 33-year-old spent a month on the IL and then was sent back to El Paso on a rehab stint. The Friars would’ve soon had to carry him on the big league roster. Tucker is out of minor league option years and the allotted 20-day rehab window for position players was wrapping up. Rather than carve out an active roster spot, San Diego released him.
Assuming he clears release waivers, Tucker will return to the open market. He’s still looking for his first MLB action since 2018. Tucker has bounced between South Korea and a few Triple-A affiliates in the years since then. His big numbers in El Paso should at least find him another minor league landing spot.
Time to put that college degree(hopefully)to good use.
Can lead to a very nice 6-figure job in the near future.
With an OPS like that in AAA—-he’ll probably have another opportunity to go overseas if he wants to.
Why, he was getting money just for being on the padres MLB IL
I remember Chipper Jones praising this guy’s swing when he was with the Braves in 2018. Why leave the sport, if you think you still have a shot making it the show. He made over $2 million in three season in Korea as well in 2019-2021. He had an off year in Korea and came back to the USA. He hit .342 with 10 home runs in 44 games in 2022 triple a.
Exactly, keep the dream alive. If he makes it back to the bigs even for a short time it is significant money (for us normal non-athletes at least.) He would be making far more money for a lot less work than I do. I only wish I had the talent he has but like most of us my baseball days were over after highschool. If you can still pay the bills playing a game you love more power to you.
Houston on a minor league deal.
Come on Sox sign him, we need offense
Can’t imagine this guy not at least getting minor league invite next year. That may not sound like much but it’s more than the rest of us are getting!
Alex Anthopoulous boutta swoop in and get Braves legend
Kyle’s brother might get a deal from the Astros for depth.