The Padres and Gavin Sheets have come to terms on a minor league contract, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The deal includes an invitation to big league spring training. Sheets was non-tendered by the White Sox earlier this offseason.
A second-round pick in the 2017 draft, Sheets slugged his way to the majors in 2021. His bat stayed hot throughout the year, and he finished his debut season with 11 home runs, an .830 OPS, and a 123 wRC+ in 54 games. Unfortunately, the big lefty batter has struggled to make an impact at the plate ever since. Over 381 games from 2022-24, Sheets produced a .659 OPS and an 84 wRC+ with just 35 home runs in more than 1,200 trips to the plate. His walk and strikeout rates hovered relatively close to league average, but he just wasn’t impacting the ball the way he needed to – and the way he once seemed like he could, as a promising, power-hitting prospect. On the contrary, his hard-hit rate ranked in the bottom third of the league each year from 2022-24.
As a corner outfielder/first baseman who doesn’t contribute with his legs or his glove, Sheets needs to hit to offer value to his club. Thus, it wasn’t exactly surprising when the White Sox non-tendered him rather than pay his projected $2.6MM salary in his first year of arbitration eligibility. Even for a pitiful White Sox club, Sheets has been a disappointment. His -2.2 FanGraphs WAR over the last three seasons ranks last on the team in that time. Meanwhile, none of the well-known projection systems see him bouncing back. ZiPS, Steamer, and PECOTA all agree that Sheets is more likely than not to be a below-average hitter once again in 2025.
All of that explains why Sheets was unable to land a guaranteed contract entering his age-29 season. Instead, he will head to spring training and look to make a good impression. While the Padres recently addressed a weakness in the corner outfield by adding Jason Heyward and Connor Joe to form a platoon in left field, their designated hitter spot remains wide open. If Sheets earns a job on the Opening Day roster, he and Luis Arraez could share duties at first base and DH. Given the way Sheets has played lately, that’s a huge “if.” Then again, it’s not as if San Diego currently has a glut of better options. The Padres are desperately seeking upside as they try to replace hitters like Jurickson Profar and Ha-Seong Kim on a shoestring budget. Barring further additions, they have no reason not to give Sheets every opportunity to prove himself in camp.
If there is good news from acquiring Gavin Sheets, Jason Heyward and Connor Joe, it looks like the Padres are not trading more than one guy away. Otherwise there would be no reason to acquire this motley crew.
Hoping this isn’t the only option for 1B/DH.
Was hoping for a Rizzo signing but it was pulling teeth just to sign Joe and Heyward.
Kudos to Preller pulling a Kevin Towers but that’s what this organization has been reduced to.
Sad.
Rizzo wants > $1M so they won’t sign him.
@consigliore
What do you think Ty France would command?
I’m much better than this so I’ll apologize from the outset. I’m gonna be a sheet show, one really big one. Ahahahahaha!
What’s all that about…
San Diego traded 150 minor leaguers last year—they kinda need a sheets for some depth down there. Don’t really have a 1B sitting down there who can play Major League Baseball right now.
He is on a minor league deal
Yeah. Pads don’t have much org coverage if a 1B goes down. This was one of the clearest potential paths Sheets had available.
To me, Gavin Sheets is a solid player, if the Sox would not have constantly misused him by having him in the OF to make room for the smaller guy with warning track power the Sox drafted, he may have found more consistency in the majors, but I still think he has a lot of potential still.
He’s a backup 1B/DH left handed bat off the bench. Nothing more.
He’s an awful major league player. He’s already 29. He has an 84 OPS+ over the past three years and brings little defensive value or speed. He’s not even good enough to be tendered a contract by a historically bad team.
The stats are wildly skewed considering he mostly play out of position for most of his time in the majors. He is not an OF, he is a 1st baseman. Playing him out of position (when they allowed him to actually go out and play) only made it harder for him to have consistency with the bat and his defense was always going to be under par as, again, he is a 1st baseman playing in the OF, and even then did not do horribly out there considering his shortcomings as a 1st baseman playing the OF.
The White Sox ruin players, give him a chance with a successfully run organization
Strictly position players but nevertheless understand your context.
He has nothing to offer but his bat and that has proven to be sub par. There’s loads of guys like that. He’ll always be one of the last guys on the roster if he plays in the bigs again.
His potential is a thing of the past. Time to get the young guys a look. Which is why none of the 30 teams are willing to give him a roster spot.
He’s one of the very worst players in the game. He’s never going to get the opportunity to get enough AB’s to disprove that at this point in his career, his career is hanging by a thread that is quickly unraveling.
Should have kept him and ditched Vaughn
Should have dumped them both.
He’s gone on a few short power stretches with the bat and came through with some big hits here and there. Just no consistency. Hope things work out for him.
Came up big in the playoffs
No one was big, but Robert, and he’s the only guy left except Vaughn.
Small sample size, but I remember Gavin’s HR and 1.000 OPS vs the Astros. Unlike say, Dylan Cease, the Pods won’t have to worry about Gavin shrinking from the moment. Something to be said about growing up as a kid in an MLB clubhouse. Was really cool when he hit that HR on his return to Camden and his mom and dad were in the front row. Hope he works out for the Padres.
Padres fans are saying “Aw, Sheets”?
If I drink too much tequila and tajin I’ll be Gavin de Sheets
Or you’ll be 3 Sheets to the wind…….
You know that at least one of Sheets, Joe or Heyward will have a good year. Everyone doubted Preller last year and look how well his moves turned out.
Maybe Heyward
Cardinals fans say Sheets! to Heyward.
No we don’t KNOW that.
I think AJ and all the blindly faithful are HOPING that one of them can approach league average
Two of the three are bench pieces and one will be in AAA. So it’s not like expectations are through the roof
Guess he will battle with a few others including Tirso for the last spot.
Lockridge might factor in as well.
As well as Perlaza. Think he can be a sleeper pick to make the squad.
Lockridge is a sleeper.
Lockridge is one of 4 Padres that have extreme platoon splits. In AA and AAA in the Yankees system he hit OK against RHP and crushed LHP.
He’s a Terrance Gore type; not a major league starter or backup.
A lot of LHP in NL West.
Doesn’t bode well for Tirso Ornelas’s chance of making the roster.
If Tirso tears up ST he will be either LF or DH against RHP. If he doesn’t then he goes back to AAA to see how things go – both with these recent signings at mlb and his AAA hitting.
Tirso having 2 Options left didn’t bode well for his realistic chances…
Still young, solid BB/K % numbers. Maybe guy like this could be a Carlos Peña lite with the right adjustments?
Now let’s go get some pitching followed by a lil more pitching…
good luck to padres. under circumstance$ adding decent platoon possibility.
Oh Sheit!
Bobby Dalbec clone?
Another low-priced guy for the Pirates of the West. Wish Pods’owners would stop saying they care about winning. They’d like to win but they won’t spend $ needed to do so. Admitting this might accelerate attendance decline so they won’t. They’ll just mislead us.
Sad Diego is dead broke
How many broke teams have a top 10 payroll?
If they were broke they’d be dumping contracts…have they dumped even one?
No….no they haven’t
How many teams are borrowing 50 million and then having a fire sale. As much as I hate nutting it’s not the pirates. All that money goes to stadium renovations and international academies and development.
Fire sale? Who’s been traded?!? HATErs gunna HATE. Go Pads
It’s started w not resigning Kim. cease will get moved. Suarez is gone. And I think if prelers dancing w the devil on payroll he would move tatis simply on the flex vs the ability too. If he could unload machado hes be gone yesterday. Lot of money moving out or on the verge for a team taking out that 50 mil last year.
The Padres do a lot of good for baseball. But if your taking bank checks to not pay these guys mlbpa should be all over this if we’re gonna tear Oakland and Pittsburgh for not spending money obtained through league means on the major league roster.
I mean Oakland did sign Severino and I think they extended rooker? Can’t remember my Al isn’t on point like my nl is today.
Don’t hate San Diego at all. But I do think preller belongs in jail over controlling operations there for sure. I’ll fly out when the city demands his head on a stake. But closer there than midnight hour but it’s not by much.
Too harsh on Preller. You’re missing the whole human element to the predicament. He has done a great job at getting them into it and a great job trying to manoeuvre around it.
lol
Lol HATE, no chance that all happens. I’d go so far to say none of that happens.
I wish you had better control over the English language, just sayin’…
That’s why we have a mute button if i’ve offended. I avoid it like the plague here, but if my English bothers you totally fine. I know what I bring to the table and it’s definitely out of the box baseball debate. Enjoy, add or move along. Nothing much to see otherwise.
Huh?
My point exactly if you don’t bring anything to the table you must not be hungry and just wanna eat.
There’s a lesson in there somewhere for you. For me it’s clearly mute worthy Absolutely.
Brother, if people are waiting for what you bring to the table to eat…I’d rather go hungry.
SD is top 10 in payroll while 17th in revenue.
GTFOH comparing them to the Pirates.
I’d like to see what the Padres would have done if they figured out their ownership/control person situation a little earlier in the offseason
AJ Preller typically fills out the roster in February as opposed to December
Is Sheets this years Profar in the rough!??
Watch him turn it around like Brent Rooker.
I liked Sheets in Chicago, as a Sox fan, I thought his mediocre performance was in part a result of the issues the White Sox were having as a club. He is still a young player, good size, lefty bat. It’s a good signing for the Padres.
Moncada, often hurt, who plays like he is disinterested gets 5M and Sheets gets a minor league contract?
Peter Seidler need to rise up from the dead and splurge on this team again; this offseason has just been depressing.
When Seidler was spending all that money the Padres were terrible. Can you name a single good player on their 2019 roster. I couldn’t. Had to go look it up. That was the year they signed Machado. 4 of their opening day players had a negative WAR that season. Their only 4 WAR player was rookie Tatis Jr. They were a bad team. The next season they were in the NLDS.
Their roster today has 9 ALL Star players. Only LF and C were question marks coming into the offseason. They had no reason to spend. All they needed was some filler around the spending Seidler had already done.
Wouldn’t you agree that Padres baseball was more fun when they traded for Yu Darvish and Blake Snell in the same week? Or when they traded for Craig Kimbrel on Opening Day? Or when they shocked everyone by singing Ha-Seong Kim and Bogaerts? (the latter was ill advised but it was the only way)
@Reynaldo’s. Eventually a team becomes full of stars with long-term contracts and the roster-building is more about the small pieces. But hey, it’s not OD yet so maybe a splashy trade is still on the horizon.
Fun for whom? For fans having a roster full of star players and only needing a couple of pieces is much more fun.
David Peralta’s personality alone isn’t enough to win him a job again.
He absolutely should have gone to play in Japan or Korea. He has no chance of redeeming himself in MLB.
“The Padres are desperately seeking upside as they try to replace hitters like Jurickson Profar and Ha-Seong Kim on a shoestring budget.”
That’s quite a convictive narrative, Leo. The Padres aren’t desperate, they have a loaded roster. Nor are they on a shoestring budget; their budget is top 10 in baseball. But okay.
Between Heyward, Joe, Ornelas, Cronenworth, Rosario and Arraez, they have LF, 1B and DH fairly covered. It’s also not unusual for GMs to offer underachieving once promising guys a chance to restore their game in the minors. Sometimes those guys make corrections and become viable ML options again. It’s just due diligence, not desperation.
Nah. They don’t have a loaded roster. They have a top heavy roster that is fast approaching aging territory. Loaded rosters aren’t predicted for 82 wins.
Loaded and complete. Tatis, Machado, Merrill, Bogaerts, Cease, Darvish, Arraez, King, Suarez, Adam, Estrada, Cronenworth, etc… not exactly thin or top heavy
Not thin, but definitely not loaded.
Solid? I’m assuming better years from the guys who were injured much or all of last year, Tatis, Machado, Bogaerts, Arraez
Not desperate
The projectionists have you mid pack. “Solid” will do. As you know, I tend to go with the people that do it for a living.
Machado yes. Tatis a good chance I suppose. Bogaerts i would back against unless the chronic wrist he has battled for years is suddenly healed. I’m not sure arraez will be there but he is pretty much a known production anyway. It’s not thin but it’s the not the Dodgers. That’s loaded.
Not The Dodgers; is the league credo
LAD been loaded x 2 for a decade. Now loaded x 5
A minor league deal for a potential bench bat that may be able to be stashed in AAA if needed is not a bad thing
Damn, I was hoping they signed Andy Sheets
Or Ben?
Needs to send Rick Hahn a thank you note every time he receives that sweet sweet (Negative One Street Countdown Voice) MLB pension check in his twilight years.
Any relation to the late great Ben Sheets?
He is the son of former Baltimore Oriole, Larry Sheets.
Also pretty sure Ben Sheets is still alive and well.
Did his car break down? Why’s he late?
Early great is how my wife describes me under the sheets
Geez!!! I hope he’s never depended on to be more than a DH in El Paso! I thought we’d be beyond signing guys like this by now. Cmon, AJ, you’re starting to frighten the fans.
I fell in love with a Mexican girl in El Paso.
Didn’t end well for me.