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.
Yeah this isn’t a dire need. They will also likely bring in some vet on a minor league deal. Johnson and sheets can cover the outfield as 4/5 guys.
Eguy and Wagner as it stands will get first cracks at covering the infield. Also keep in mind they can play cronenworth at different spots to make the defense work if needed.
Padres have a starting 8 as of now with no real platoon hitters. So the bench is mainly used for injuries, days off and pinch running.
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
They may not love campy behind the plate but he should be fine to play twice a week. Also they will bring in a vet on a minor league deal to compete with him in spring. With the new abs system framing will still matter but not as much.
I don’t think this is a huge outside need for the padres.
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.
Nothing is going to happen. MLBTR has stated the Padres are working on a tight budget. Even though they are clearing a few bucks off the books. Hahahaha…
It’s literally so funny that we’re already on a tight budget…
🤣
Along with 75% of the league.
Tirso Ornelas is going to get a serious look for Padres as a 4th OF/DH/ pinch hitter. He is from Tijuana, Mexico. Would be great if he makes the team for the fan base that extends into Mexico. He has a good year @ AAA and has played well in the Winter leagues in Mexico.
Not sure what is up with the Padres and Luis Campusano.?! He hit well for the Padres a few years ago, then he was buried in AAA?!
They said it was his defense?! Well, hire someone to work with Luis on his Defense or assign him one of the coaches to get his defense up to speed,
Campusano is a former 1st round draft pick and played well before he was drafted.
There may be a “backstory” that the team is not talking about like the time Campusano got popped for possession of marijuana near his hometown in Georgia. The charges were reduced and he may have paid a fine.
What he did would not be illegal in San Diego/California.
Did the Padres sour on Campusano because of that incident?!
If AJ and/or the coaching staff don’t like the player, then trade him to a team that can use him and get a useful player or 2 back to the Padres for him. He is currently being wasted at AAA,
It seems like a punitive measure by the Padres against the player especially since the Padres were scrambling for offense last year and they parked a proven good hitting catcher/DH in AAA all year?!
And,when they did call up Luis Campusano to San Diego, Mike Schildt wouldn’t play him or even let him DH?!
Fresh leadership might get him a look if that is all it was. If it was an AJ thing, it cleft him traded. I hope he gets a shot at backup / 1b / DH to see what consistent ABs produce.
“Cleft” – thanks AI / autocorrect – insert “expect”
Saw exerpts from an interview with AJ Preller on another site.
Preller says the Padres may go with Fermin and Campusano at catcher in ’26 instead of circiling back to one of the two lite hitting catchers they used before they acquired Fermin.
That would be a wise decision in my opinion.
In 2023 MLB play, Campusano hit 319 with 7 home runs 30 RBIs and .847 OPS.
Campusano had some injury issues that limited his MLB playing time and effectiveness in ’24.
As far as Nick Castellanos to San Diego goes, It could be something to look at if Nick is flexible about DHing, playing some 1B/OF etc. He came up as a 3B. And, if the Phillies don’t mind covering a good chunk of Nick’s salary.
But, based on what Preller has recently stated, it won’t be Campusano traded since he is now in the Padres plans for 2026.
They make a trade with the Phillies to send them campusano. Take castellanos on the cheap. And they sign Garrett Stubbs.
** hometown guy. Garrett Stubbs