Padres Sign Nick Solak, Omar Cruz To Minor League Deals
The Padres have signed infielder/outfielder Nick Solak and left-hander Omar Cruz to minor league deals, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America. Presumably, both players will be invited to big league camp in spring training.
Solak, 31, was once a prospect of note with the Rangers but he has struggled to hang around as a useful major leaguer. He stepped to the plate 974 times as a Ranger from 2019 to 2022 but produced a tepid .252/.327/.372 batting line. That translated to a 93 wRC+, indicating he was seven percent worse than league average at the plate.
That subpar offense made for a rough combination with his lack of defensive value. He has played the three non-shortstop infield spots and spent some time in the outfield but has largely received poor grades anywhere he has landed on the diamond.
He has continued to rake in the minors, however. Just last year, in the Pirates’ system, he stepped to the plate 482 times at the Triple-A level. He had a 10% walk rate, 13% strikeout rate, .332/.411/.492 line and 143 wRC+. That was aided by a .364 batting average on balls in play but it likely still would have been decent production even with a bit of regression there. He briefly got called up by Pittsburgh but only got into four games. Since he’s out of options, he was bumped off the 40-man roster entirely.
A right-handed hitter, Solak has notable platoon splits, with a .279/.358/.420 line and 115 wRC+ against lefties in his career. Perhaps that could help him carve out a bench/utility role, helping the Friars keep southpaws away from lefty hitters like Gavin Sheets, Sung Mun Song and Jake Cronenworth in the first base/second base/designated hitter rotation. For now, Solak gives them a bit of position player depth without taking up a roster spot.
Cruz, 27 later this month, just made his major league debut with San Diego last year. He tossed 3 2/3 innings for the Padres, allowing two earned runs on four hits and three walks while striking out five.
There’s only one day in the year where a player can be cut from a roster and sent to free agency without being exposed to waivers. That day is the non-tender deadline. The Friars non-tendered Cruz, sent him to free agency, and have now brought him back in a non-roster capacity.
Cruz was a starter for much of his minor league career. He was mostly used as a reliever in 2024 and appeared to have a bit of a breakout year. He had a 3.96 ERA in the minors, striking out 32.3% of batters faced and posting a 9.9% walk rate. Last year, the Padres tried stretching him out again but eventually gave up and moved him back to the bullpen. The result was 83 1/3 Triple-A innings for the year with a 4.75 ERA, 23.2% strikeout rate and 14.5% walk rate.
Whether the Padres still have dreams of stretching him out or will keep him in relief remains to be seen. Either way, he gives them some left-handed non-roster depth for now. If he eventually gets a roster spot again, he still has a couple of option seasons remaining.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
National League Non-Tenders: 11/21/25
Every National League team has officially announced their non-tender decisions. It was a quiet evening in terms of subtractions, with only the Rangers parting with any marquee players. All players who were non-tendered are free agents without going on waivers. A few teams dropped pre-arbitration players from the back of the 40-man roster. It’s possible they preferred not to expose them to waivers and are hopeful of re-signing them to non-roster deals.
Here’s a full list of today’s activity in the NL, while the American League moves are available here. All projected salaries are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.
- The Braves announced that right-handers Alek Manoah and Carson Ragsdale were not tendered contracts. Both had been acquired earlier in the offseason via waivers, and both are now free agents. Manoah was projected to earn $2.2MM. Ragsdale was not arb-eligible.
- The Brewers tendered contracts to their entire arbitration class, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.
- The Cardinals chose not to tender contracts to lefty John King, catcher Yohel Pozo and righty Sem Robberse, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Jorge Alcala, who was designated for assignment earlier this week, was also non-tendered, John Denton of MLB.com adds. King and Alcala were both projected for a $2.1MM salary. The others were not arb-eligible.
- The Cubs non-tendered catcher Reese McGuire, per ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. He hit .226/.245/.444 through 140 plate appearances in a backup catcher role and was arb-eligible for the final time. He’d been projected to earn $1.9MM. Right-hander Eli Morgan, who was projected to earn $1.1MM, was also non-tendered, according to MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian.
- The D-backs non-tendered left-hander Tommy Henry, who’d already been designated for assignment, and right-hander Taylor Rashi. Neither was eligible for arbitration. They tendered contracts to their entire arb class.
- The Dodgers did not tender a contract to closer Evan Phillips, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. He was only under club control for one more season and projected for a $6.1MM salary but underwent Tommy John surgery in June. Dodgers righty Nick Frasso, who was not arb-eligible and finished the season on the 60-day IL, was also non-tendered, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
- The Giants non-tendered left-hander Joey Lucchesi, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Lucchesi pitched to a solid 3.76 ERA with a below-average 18.8% strikeout rate and strong 7.3% walk rate in 38 1/3 innings and had been projected for a $2MM salary. San Francisco also non-tendered catcher Andrew Knizner, who was designated for assignment this afternoon when the Giants acquired Joey Wiemer from Miami.
- The Marlins tendered contracts to all of their eligible players, per Isaac Azout of Fish On First.
- The Mets are non-tendering right-hander Max Kranick, according to Will Sammon of The Athletic. Kranick, 28, posted a 3.65 ERA in 37 innings with the Mets this year. It was his first big league opportunity since a five-inning cameo with the Pirates back in 2022. Kranick’s season came to an abrupt end back in July due to flexor tendon repair surgery. Southpaws Jose Castillo and Danny Young were also non-tendered, Sammon adds. Young had Tommy John surgery back in May. Castillo was a waiver claim who pitched for four different teams in 2025.
- The Nationals tendered contracts to their entire roster, per a team announcement.
- The Padres announced that lefty Omar Cruz and righty Sean Reynolds were non-tendered. Neither was arbitration-eligible. They tendered contracts to every member of their arbitration class.
- The Phillies non-tendered righties Michael Mercado and Daniel Robert, neither of whom was arbitration-eligible. They’re both free agents. The Phils tendered contracts to all of their arb-eligible players otherwise.
- The Pirates non-tendered outfielders Alexander Canario and Ronny Simon, as well as righties Colin Holderman and Dauri Moreta. All four were designated for assignment earlier in the week. Holderman was projected for a $1.7MM salary and Moreta for $800K. The others weren’t arb-eligible.
- The Reds announced that catcher Will Banfield and right-handers Carson Spiers and Roddery Munoz were not tendered contracts. They’re all free agents. None of the three were arbitration-eligible, but by non-tendering them rather than designating them for assignment, Cincinnati bypasses the need to place them on waivers and can try to quickly re-sign any of the bunch to minor league deals, if the Reds are so inclined.
- The Rockies non-tendered first baseman Michael Toglia, the team announced. He’d been designated for assignment earlier in the week, making today’s non-tender all but a formality.
Padres Place Michael King On 15-Day Injured List
The Padres announced that right-hander Michael King has been placed on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to May 22) due to inflammation in his throwing shoulder. Righty David Morgan was called up from Triple-A El Paso to take King’s spot on the active roster, and earlier today, the Padres also called up left-hander Omar Cruz while right-hander Alek Jacob was optioned to Triple-A.
King was scheduled to start Saturday’s game against the Braves, but he was scratched from the lineup after arriving at the ballpark with a sore shoulder. The righty “just felt like he slept on it wrong,” manager Mike Shildt told the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Kevin Acee and other media members yesterday, and the discomfort persisted after some pregame testing and weighted-ball tossing.
After another day of evaluation, the decision was clearly made to put King onto the 15-day IL, perhaps just as precaution. Shildt said yesterday that “we do believe it’s not anything overly serious” and that King perhaps may have been able to pitch Saturday, but the club saw no reason to risk a more serious injury.
The centerpiece of the trade package the Yankees sent to the Padres in the Juan Soto trade, King more than lived up to the hype in his first season in San Diego. King had already gone from dominant reliever to dominant starter after he was moved into New York’s rotation near the end of the 2023 season, and he continued to elevate his game with a 2.95 ERA over 173 2/3 innings with the Padres last year. That superlative effort earned King a seventh-place finish in NL Cy Young Award voting, and he has kept up the terrific work this year.
Over 10 starts and 55 2/3 innings in 2025, King has a 2.59 ERA, 28.4% strikeout rate, and 7.6% walk rate. Both of the latter figures are improvements over his already strong numbers in 2024, though his whiff rate (28.4%) has declined and King is allowing far more hard contact than he did last year. These issues notwithstanding, King has continued to look the part of a frontline pitcher, and he has paired with Nick Pivetta to form a big one-two punch at the top of San Diego’s rotation.
Losing King even for 15 days, then, would be a setback for a Padres team that is still missing Yu Darvish to injury. Darvish threw four innings in a Triple-A rehab start on May 14 but hasn’t pitched since, seemingly adding some fresh doubt over when exactly Darvish will be making his 2025 debut. Shildt did say two weeks ago that Darvish’s rehab work would be going somewhat by feel rather than a strict throwing progression, as the club was relying on Darvish’s experience and knowledge of his arm to gauge his readiness.
With King and Darvish out, the Padres’ rotation now consists of Pivetta, Dylan Cease, Randy Vasquez, and Stephen Kolek. Kyle Hart is the only other pitcher who has made any starts for the Padres this year, as he had a 6.00 ERA in five starts and 21 innings for Friars before being optioned to Triple-A in April. Hart is the likeliest candidate to take King’s spot in the rotation, as Matt Waldron is also on a rehab assignment in his own recovery from an oblique strain.
Yesterday’s impromptu bullpen game saw the Padres use Jacob and three other pitchers, so Jacob was optioned in part to bring some fresh arms into the bullpen. Cruz is a swingman who has started four of his eight Triple-A appearances this season, and he made his MLB debut earlier in 2025 in the form of two relief outings and 3 2/3 total innings for the Padres. He might also factor into the rotation plans in some limited capacity with King out, as the Padres will need all hands on deck for a stretch of 26 games in 27 days that starts off on Friday.
With the Friars in need of pitching help, Morgan will get another opportunity to make his MLB debut. The right-hander’s contract was selected to the big league roster back in late April, but Morgan was optioned to Triple-A a week later without ever getting into a game. Morgan had never pitched even at the Triple-A level before that unexpected call-up, and after showing up in El Paso earlier this month, he has been hit hard to the tune of a 12.71 ERA over seven appearances and 5 2/3 innings.
Extreme problems with the home run ball have plagued Morgan this year, as he has allowed five homers over 14 1/3 total minor league frames at the Double-A and Triple-A levels. For comparison, the righty had given up only seven big flies in his 108 1/3 previous minor league innings. Morgan has displayed excellent control throughout his minor league career, and his good strikeout numbers have spiked to an eye-popping 45.45% over his 14 1/3 innings in 2025.
Padres Select Logan Gillaspie, Designate Tom Cosgrove
The Padres announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Logan Gillaspie from Triple-A. In corresponding moves, left-hander Omar Cruz was optioned to Triple-A, and left-hander Tom Cosgrove was designated for assignment.
Gillaspie first joined San Diego’s organization as a waiver claim off the Red Sox roster in November 2023, and he tossed 11 1/3 MLB innings (to a 7.15 ERA) last season. The Padres didn’t tender him a contract after the season, but then re-signed Gillaspie to a minors deal in December, and the righty has 2 2/3 innings of 6.75 ERA ball under his belt at Triple-A El Paso so far in the young minor league season.
Gillaspie is out of minor league options, so he’ll have to be designated for assignment the next time the Padres want to send him back to the minors. This could happen in relatively short order, as it would seem like Gillaspie has been promoted just to give San Diego a fresh arm in the bullpen. Cruz tossed 68 pitches over three innings of relief in yesterday’s 6-4 loss to the Cubs, and the Padres don’t have another off-day until Thursday. It wouldn’t be a shock to see Cruz recalled before the week is over, and once he’s had time to rest up from his extended outing.
Cosgrove is the other pitcher involved in today’s set of roster moves, and the 28-year-old heads to DFA limbo for the first time in his pro career. A 12th-round pick for San Diego in the 2017 draft, Cosgrove had an excellent 1.75 ERA in 51 1/3 innings during his 2023 rookie season, though secondary metrics indicated that Cosgrove enjoyed a lot of good fortune in managing that stellar ERA.
The luck turned in the other direction last season, as Cosgrove had only an 11.66 ERA in 14 2/3 big league innings, and he also struggled at the Triple-A level. In 2025, Cosgrove got off to another rough start, with a 7.36 ERA and four walks in his first 3 2/3 innings of work in El Paso. It was enough to make him the odd man out on the Padres’ 40-man roster, and Cosgrove will have to accept an outright assignment if he clears waivers since he doesn’t the service time or the past outright on his resume that would allow him to reject the assignment in favor of free agency.
Padres Designate Eguy Rosario, Tyler Wade For Assignment
The Padres finalized their Opening Day roster. As previously reported, they selected catcher Martín Maldonado and infielders Jose Iglesias and Yuli Gurriel onto the roster. San Diego created one vacancy on Tuesday when they returned Rule 5 pick Juan Nunez to the Orioles. They cleared the final two spots by designating out-of-options infielders Eguy Rosario and Tyler Wade for assignment.
Both moves were expected. San Diego announced on Monday that outfielder Brandon Lockridge had made the club. Maldonado, Iglesias, Gurriel, Lockridge and Gavin Sheets would round out the bench and designated hitter position. That left no room for Rosario and Wade, neither of whom could be sent to the minors without going on waivers.
Rosario, 25, has taken exactly 100 major league plate appearances over the past three seasons. He’s a .245/.283/.500 hitter. He has hit five homers but struck out 34 times while drawing four walks. The righty-swinging infielder hit .200 with three homers but 16 strikeouts over 61 plate appearances this spring. He owns a .275/.362/.502 slash line in nearly 1200 career Triple-A plate appearances. There’s a decent chance he’ll land elsewhere on waivers.
Wade appeared in 90 games last season in a utility role. He hit .217/.285/.239 through 156 plate appearances. The Padres signed him to a $900K deal to avoid arbitration in his final year of control. That included a $1MM club option for 2026. Wade has more than five years of service time, so he could decline a minor league assignment while retaining that salary if he goes unclaimed. He hit .209 with one homer in 19 Spring Training games.
Meanwhile, left-hander Omar Cruz cracked the Opening Day bullpen. San Diego added him to the 40-man roster in November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He’ll make his big league debut with his first appearance of the season. The 26-year-old southpaw worked 6 2/3 innings of three-run ball in Spring Training. He pitched mostly in a long relief role last year in the upper minors. Cruz combined for a 3.96 ERA with an excellent 32.3% strikeout rate over 86 1/3 innings between the top two minor league levels. He’ll provide a long relief option out of Mike Shildt’s bullpen with Bryan Hoeing and Jhony Brito each starting the year on the injured list.
Padres Select Three Players To 40-Man Roster
The Padres announced this evening that they’ve selected left-hander Omar Cruz as well as right-handers Henry Baez and Ryan Bergert to their 40-man roster ahead of today’s Rule 5 Draft protection deadline. No corresponding moves were necessary, and San Diego’s 40-man currently stands at 37 players.
Cruz, 25, signed with the Padres out of Mexico prior to the 2018 season and was actually traded to the Pirates as part of the Joe Musgrove trade in January of 2021. He returned to the Padres organization last winter, however, when the club selected him in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 Draft. Now, he’s been added to the club’s roster to protect him from this year’s draft on the heels of a solid season split between the Double- and Triple-A levels. Cruz was used primarily out of the bullpen in 2024 and looked good at Double-A with a 3.59 ERA and an eye-popping 35.4% strikeout rate in 47 2/3 innings. That earned him a promotion to Triple-A partway through the season, and while his ERA crept up to 4.42 in the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League he still struck out a solid 28.7% of opponents, though that was hampered by a 13.8% walk rate.
Baez, 22, signed with San Diego out of the Dominican Republic and made his pro debut in 2021. Baez has primarily pitched out of the rotation during his career and returned to High-A to open the 2024 season after struggling badly in four late-season starts at the level last year. Things turned around in a big way this year, however, as he pitched to an excellent 2.95 ERA in 17 starts with the club’s Fort Wayne affiliate while striking out 24.8% of opponents. That success continued even following a promotion to Double-A midseason, as the right-hander posted a 3.06 ERA in nine starts down the stretch in his first taste of the upper minors. With that being said, that stretch of starts did come with a concerning drop in strikeout rate as he punched out just 15.1% of opponents in 50 innings against a 7.4% walk rate.
Bergert, 24, is perhaps the club’s most surprising addition as his most impressive season actually came in 2023 rather than this year. Last season, the right-hander pitched to an excellent 2.73 ERA in 105 2/3 innings of work split between the High-A and Double-A levels, including a 2.86 ERA and a 28.8% strikeout rate with the club’s San Antonio affiliate. That impressive debut did not translate over to 2024, however, as Bergert surrendered a 4.78 ERA in 98 innings across 23 starts in a repeat of the level this year as his strikeout rate dipped to just 20.9%. He struggled in the Arizona Fall League this year as well, surrendering 16 runs (12 earned) in 14 2/3 innings of work across five starts.