The Padres have turned down options on three players, per Annie Heilbrunn of the San Diego Union-Tribune. They have declined a $7MM mutual option for catcher Elias Díaz, going for the $2MM buyout instead. Infielder/outfielder Tyler Wade’s $1MM club option has been turned down in favor of a $50K buyout. Left-hander Kyle Hart’s $5MM club option has been turned down in favor of a $500K buyout. All three will head to free agency.
None of the three moves comes as a major shock. The Padres signed Díaz last offseason, a one-year deal with a $3.5MM guarantee for his age-34 campaign. That took the form of a $1.5MM salary and a $2MM buyout on the $7MM mutual option. It’s been over a decade since both sides of a mutual option were exercised. They are usually a way for the team to kick part of the payment down the road. That appears to be the case here, as the option buyout was more than the salary in this case.
Díaz got into 106 games for the Padres, slashing .204/.270/.337 for a 74 wRC+. His defense was considered around par. With Díaz now removed, the Padres are down to two backstops on the roster. Freddy Fermin projects as the top option. Luis Campusano is still there but the club doesn’t appear to trust him behind the plate, as they opted to give playing time to older veterans like Díaz and Martín Maldonado, even though Campusano was crushing in the minors. It wouldn’t be surprising if Campusano were traded, now that he’s out of options, with the Friars circling back to Díaz or some other veteran.
Wade, 31 in November, has long been a glove-first utility guy in the majors. He got into 60 games for the Padres this year and played all the outfield slots as well as the three infield positions to the left of first base. However, he hit just .206/.309/.252.
The Padres signed Hart in February, hoping he could build off a strong year in Korea. Pitching for the KBO’s NC Dinos in 2024, he posted a 2.69 ERA in 157 innings. The Friars brought him back to North America on a one-year deal with a $1.5MM guarantee. That included a $1MM salary this year and a $500K buyout on a $5MM club option.
Unfortunately, his return to the majors didn’t go smoothly. He logged 43 big league innings with a 5.86 earned run average this year. His 20.7% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate were decent but he was mostly used in a low leverage swingman role. The Friars need pitching but they have a tight budget and Hart didn’t perform well, so it’s understandable that they haven’t given him a raise.
Photo courtesy of Denis Poroy, Imagn Images
SD will need a player that fills roles that T Wade could fill (defensively). Eguy may make the roster at league minimum but he can’t play spot CF.
Will Wagner replaces Wade probably
They probably sign a backup catcher
You can find a lefty reliever Tim reunion maybe
Bryce Johnson probably gets crack at 4th OF again
Campy has to be backup C unless he is traded. Bruce for sure is 4/5 OF.
Morejon, Peralta and Matsui probably don’t need a 4th LH BP.
Had forgotten about Will but someone has to replace Iglesias too – I guess that is Eguy.
Wade didn’t play at all after July so I don’t know crucial that is. They can find minor league filler for that.
Bryce Johnson plays CF. Rosario plays all 4 IF spots and the corner OF and has a better bat and nearly as good of defense in the MI as Wade. Wagner, and McCoy can cover IF spots as well.
Campy was put on a tough situation last year where they didn’t like his game. I believe he pressed trying to impress Shildt.maybe he can bring some of that success he had down in AAA to atleast be better than we had last year DIaz and Maldonado on offense defense is a concern but if he’s only playing backup should be ok
Tyler Wade = Bubba Crosby, but somehow stuck around a bit longer, made a smidgen more money.
I am guessing he will go into the real estate biz with his brother.
The Cubs have Reese McGuire who is out of options and who took over as the backup when Miguel Amaya was hurt, and did a surprisingly acceptable job. It’s unlikely that the Cubs will retain a 40 man space by offering McGuire arbitration. If the Padres really are done with Campusano, trading cash for McGuire and offering him arbitration would be a path forward.
No surprises on that list. Padres have their #1 catcher in Fermin and $7 million is far more than Preller will spend on a starting catcher, let alone a backup which is all Diaz would have been. Diz will not be back. Hart stunk all around. He was an inexpensive mistake on Preller’s part. Wade is a great guy and a good cheerleader, just not a good ballplayer.
With Rosario healthy and Wagner and McCoy on the 40-man, Wade is redundant. Rosario is really good defensively around the IF and has played RF as well. He has both above average power and speed and he gets on base at a very good clip. He would have been the Padres utility guy in 2025 if he had not broken his ankle in Winter League play.
It would be exceedingly surprising if the Padres traded Campusano, who was the best hitter in AAA this past season, when they need a backup catcher and a RH hitting option at DH and 1B. What would be surprising is if Campusano does not get a spot in the lineup. While Shildt didn’t trust him to call games, his bat is so good that there is no reason to not play him. Before you try to say that he is bad defensively, take a look at his minor league numbers where he was better than average in AAA and the Padres started him behind the plate in 62 of his 105 games.