The Padres are bringing infielder Mason McCoy back on a minor league contract, reports Russell Dorsey of Yahoo! Sports (X link). The Republik Sports client will be in major league camp as a non-roster invitee.
A glove-first utilityman, McCoy returns for his second season with San Diego. He signed a minor league deal last winter, not long after being outrighted off Toronto’s 40-man roster. The former sixth-round pick had made his big league debut with six games as a late-inning substitute for the Blue Jays in 2023. He got a slightly longer look in San Diego after being called up in late August.
McCoy made 19 appearances for the Padres. He tallied 57 plate appearances, hitting .204/.278/.245 with a pair of doubles. McCoy got 16 starts at shortstop as a result of Ha-Seong Kim’s shoulder injury. Back inflammation sent McCoy to the injured list himself at the end of the season. The Padres opted not to tender him a contract at year’s end. That took him off the 40-man roster, but he made a strong enough impression that San Diego circled back with a minor league offer.
The righty-swinging McCoy had a modest .260/.329/.382 batting line over 432 plate appearances for Triple-A El Paso this year. He’s a .239/.318/.400 hitter across parts of four Triple-A seasons. McCoy swiped 25 bases while spending the majority of his time at shortstop. He can play anywhere on the dirt and has limited experience in left and center field. He’s likely to open the season in the minors but could get an MLB look if injuries push the Padres to add another utility option to a bench that already includes Tyler Wade.
I like this move. He will serve then well in El Paso…
I like McCoy. Gave us some good defense down the stretch and made the most of his opportunity. As yiu said, good depth at AAA.
Welp, it’s a move.
The Stove is starting to heat up. I can feel the warmth way up here in Seattle.
McCoy is an extreme glove first SS that is good depth to have in case of injuries. He just can’t hit enough to even be a regular utility player in the majors.
Padres also signed Yonathan Perlaza to a minor league deal. He is a 26 year old OF that had spent 2024 in the KBO after being in the Cubs organization for 7 years after they signed him to a $1.3 million signing bonus out of Venezuela in 2017.
He crushes fastballs but has problems with top notch breaking stuff. He has some pop hitting 23 HR for the cubs AA and AAA teams in 2022 and 2023 and 24 HR in the KBO where he had a slashline of .275/.364/.486/.850 last season..
Good replacement for Ornelas in El Paso or a trade chip.
Way to go, Illinois Central College!