The Padres have sent first baseman/left fielder Trenton Brooks outright to Triple-A El Paso, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week. He has the right to elect free agency though the log doesn’t indicate if he has done so.
Brooks, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Friars in the offseason. He was selected to the big league roster in the middle of June and held a spot for about six weeks but without playing much. He stepped to the plate 43 times with 13 strikeouts and two walks, leading to a .146/.186/.268 line.
The Padres made a number of notable upgrades ahead of the deadline, adding Ramón Laureano, Ryan O’Hearn, Freddy Fermin and Will Wagner to the position player mix. Those moves bumped Brooks off the roster and onto the waiver wire, with no club claiming him. He was also outrighted by the Giants last year, which is why he has the right to elect free agency this time.
If he accepts his outright assignment, he could perhaps get more playing time in Triple-A but he wouldn’t have a great path back to the majors now that the San Diego roster has been bolstered. If he were to elect free agency, perhaps he could find interest from a club with more theoretical playing time available. His major league track record isn’t good but he has always hit in the minors. From the start of 2022 to the present day, he has a 14.5% walk rate, 15.3% strikeout rate, .292/.397/.501 line and 126 wRC+ in 1,540 Triple-A plate appearances.
Photo courtesy of Denis Poroy, Imagn Images
How much $ do AAA ball players make?
It depends if they’re on the forty man, roster or not.