TODAY: Ornelas cleared waivers and was assigned to Triple-A after being outrighted off San Diego’s 40-man roster, according to the Padres’ official transaction page.
FEBRUARY 17: The Padres announced that outfield Tirso Ornelas has been designated for assignment. That’s the corresponding 40-man roster move for right-hander Griffin Canning, whose signing is now official.
Ornelas, 26 next month, has been on San Diego’s roster since July of 2024. He got to make a brief major league debut in 2025, putting up a .071/.188/.071 batting line in 16 plate appearances over seven games.
He has generally been a pretty good hitter in his minor league career. Over the past three years, he has stepped to the plate 1,471 times on the farm, mostly at the Triple-A level. His 11.3% walk rate and 17% strikeout rate in that span are both good numbers, with 48 home runs to boot. However, since that production came in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, his .285/.371/.452 line isn’t as impressive as it initially appears. That translates to a 108 wRC+, indicating he was 8% better than average for that league.
That’s still solid hitting but Ornelas really needs to crush to provide value. He has some center field experience but is mostly a corner guy who isn’t considered a strong defender, nor is he a burner on the basepaths. The Friars have Fernando Tatis Jr. and Ramón Laureano in their outfield corners with Jackson Merrill up the middle. The roster also features other guys who could factor into the outfield mix, such as Gavin Sheets, Nick Castellanos, Miguel Andujar, Sung Mun Song and Bryce Johnson.
The overall picture has pushed Ornelas off the roster and into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Friars could take five days to field trade interest. He still has one minor league option remaining, so he could appeal to a club looking for some extra outfield depth, especially one that needs another lefty bat. Despite his flaws, Baseball America recently ranked him the #28 prospect in the system.
If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he would not have the right to elect free agency since he has less than three years of big league service time and does not have a previous career outright.
Photo courtesy of Chadd Cady, Imagn Images
Well Tirso, we will always have Paris.
Time for a change of scenery
So long partner
Padres making some quality moves, looks like Preller was waiting for items to go on the clearance rack.
Isn’t Canning hurt though? I thought he was starting the year on the IL. Does the IL status only mean he can stay off the 26 man roster?
He has to occupy a spot first before he can go on the 60-day. They’ll have a free spot after he’s put on the 60
Preller said their medical team will decide if they feel a 60 day stint is necessary.
If he were to be placed on the 60-day IL anyway. Sounds like Canning won’t be out that long. That’s how it would work if he was though.
Maybe Padres can outwit Phillies and pre-sign an international 10 year old player
How is either team different from the other 28 in that regard
Maybe?
Ornelas has an option and he’s got a good AAA track record.
Someone will claim him or he gets traded. He’s only 25 years old.
Wherever he ends up he should learn to play first for some roster flexibility.
I can certainly see him getting traded for the old “cash considerations”. He’s a worthy quad A guy fer sure
If I’m Houston I’m taking a look. He’s young enough and can be optioned.
My main question here is why not put Yu Darvish on the 60 day IL to open this spot up for Canning? Retirement/buyout situation aside, he’s hurt and not going to play this year, so you would think they would likely want to use that roster spot before exposing Ornelas to waivers.
I think a DFA was coming for Ornelas eventually because they are going to need more roster spots for non-roster spring invitees who make the team anyways, but the timing here is interesting because they could have used the IL first.
If they put Yu on the 60 day IL, I believe he cannot void his contract for 2026. He cannot go on the restricted list because he is injured.
Was wondering the same thing, but according to “AI” he can retire and void while on the 60. This is probably a dual purpose thing giving a player an early chance to latch on somewhere else and giving Darvish a nudge towards deciding to retire.
Ornelas has been on the system a long time was previously exposed to Rule 5 and no longer in their plans
False!
It’s a good time to DFA him. Most teams are full up on the 40 man. I can see him passing through waivers and going to El Paso.
Down in the old Texas town of El Paso,
That’s where my career went to die…
You called it!
Kind of sad to be pushed off the roster for Castellanos. I know it says Canning, but that is just about timing. It was the signing of Castellanos that made it so there was no room on the 40 man for Ornelas.
Tirso has average numbers in AAA. I can’t see him all of a sudden being an everyday player at the ML level.
I would have liked to see him get more of a chance in the bigs. 16 PA isn’t enough. Especially when you were running J. Heyward out there at the time. They did that to Campy last year as well.
Update. He’s still a Padre! And that’s a good thing. We need the OF depth at AAA
I had high hopes for Tirso Ornelas.
He just didn’t get enough major league ABs to get going
on the Padres Major league team
There are a lot of factors why Tirso should have been given a “longer look” by the Padres:
Business perspective
1) Tirso is a native of Tijuana,Mexico which is right on the border with
San Diego.
2) Tijuana is a growing border City with with a population of 2.3M (2nd biggest City in Mexico) and has a good amount of Padres fans
3) For the Padres to maximize their fan base, TV and Gate Revenues.,
they need to develop the Tijuana Baseball Fans Market
4) San Diego borders on: Pacific Ocean to the West, the Desert to the East, the Angels and Dodgers to the North
and Tijuana to the South.
To expand their market and maximize revenues, the Padres
could use some Mexican players on the roster that Tijuana fans
can relate to and connect to as baseball fans.
Otherwise, the Dodgers will just steal these fans away.
Tirso has some talent
Tirso Ornelas won a batting title in Mexican winter ball. During the 2021-22 Mexican Pacific League (MPL) season, Ornelas finished with the highest batting average among qualifying players, hitting .353 in 60 games for Navojoa.
Key Details of his 2021-22 Winter Title:
Average: .353 (77-for-218).
Team: Mayos de Navojoa.
Other stats: He also recorded 16 doubles, two triples, two home runs, and 35 RBIs in that season, which was part of his development within the San Diego Padres organization.
Ornelas, a native of Tijuana, has consistently played in the Mexican Pacific League during the winter, continuing to perform well in subsequent seasons, such as starting the 2024-25 winter league with a high average for Charros de Jalisco.
If he Tirso can prove he can hit and play @ the MLB level,’
then he has 2.3M fans from Tijuana who are instant Padres fans.
Tirso is not generating revenue lol He is just an AAAA player who plays in the PCL where your grandma can hit .300.
He has played in other leagues also and done well.
Look at both the macro and micro picture
and you would see what I mean.
Well the Dodgers didn’t claim him. Probably because they don’t care about stealing a AAAA player from SD.
Dodgers roster is full and they are juggling 41 players and using the IL also to keep guys .
So, logically, they won’t be claiming anyone unless they trade or release some guys.
An AAAA player is one who has had ample time in the big leagues and just cannot cut the mustard so to speak.
That is usually measured in years and not just 14 ABs.
Tirso has had a “cup of coffee” consisting of 14ABs in the major leagues.
Certainly not enough time and ABs to label him a bust or an AAAA player.
If you were a Padres or Dodgers Front office guy running the waiver wire, their farms would be leaking talent left and right to other ballclubs on the waiver wire and you would not be long for that Front Office job.
Median wage in Tijuana is that of a very poor American city. Not nearly as easy for Mexican Nationals to move around the US.
Be a great story for Tirso but the economics aren’t moving any needles