The Padres announced Thursday that they’ve claimed righty Glenn Otto off waivers from the Rangers, who designated him for assignment earlier in the week. San Diego designated outfielder Ben Gamel for assignment in a corresponding move.
Otto, 27, was a fifth-round pick by the Yankees out of Rice University back in 2017. He went to the Rangers alongside Ezequiel Duran and Josh H. Smith in the 2021 trade that sent Joey Gallo from Arlington to the Bronx.
At the time of the swap, Otto was one of the more well-regarded prospects in the Yankees’ system, ranking 19th on New York’s top-30 list at Baseball America. He placed 15th among Rangers’ farmhands heading into the 2022 season, with BA labeling him a potential fourth starter who could likely be moved to the ’pen if things didn’t pan out in the rotation.
Otto has gotten looks in the Majors in each of the past three seasons with Texas, but he’s yet to find his footing. While the right-hander tossed 135 2/3 innings over 27 starts last year, he posted a rather pedestrian 4.64 ERA and fanned just 18.2% of his opponents against an unpalatable 10.6% walk rate along the way. He also struggled in six starts down the stretch following the trade in 2021, and he was hit hard in six bullpen appearances this year. Overall, Otto has pitched 169 2/3 innings in the Majors but carries just a 5.69 ERA with worse-than-average strikeout, walk and home-run rates (in addition to a roughly average ground-ball rate).
That said, there’s plenty in Otto’s minor league track record to give the Friars some optimism. He posted a strong 3.20 ERA in 96 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A during the 2021 season that saw him traded, and that year’s 35.3% strikeout rate and 6.2% walk rate in the minors were both excellent. Otto has never posted an ERA higher than 3.48 at any minor league level, and he’s punched out 32% of his total opponents in the minors.
Otto missed the first three months of the 2023 season due to a lat injury, so he’s pitched just 40 total innings this year. While his 10.13 ERA in the big leagues (12 runs in 10 2/3 frames) is an eyesore, he’s also posted a sharp 3.38 ERA with his typically promising strikeout tendencies (32.5%) in 29 1/3 Triple-A frames. Otto also has a pair of minor league option years remaining beyond the current season, plus an additional five years of team control remaining. Given that context, it’s not a surprise to see a Padres club that could lose a good bit of pitching depth this winter take a more or less free look at the former prospect.
San Diego, after all, could see each of Blake Snell, Josh Hader, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Rich Hill and Nick Martinez reach free agency this winter, either via the expiration of their current contracts or via opt-outs/player options that could be declined. The Padres aren’t going to firmly bank on Otto replacing anyone from that group, but he’s a controllable depth option who could earn his way into the mix and help patch some of those gaps. If nothing else, he could be called upon as a spot starter or extra bullpen arm next year in the event of injuries on the MLB roster.
As for the 31-year-old Gamel, he appeared in just six games with the Padres before today’s DFA. The veteran outfielder has been quite good between the Triple-A affiliates for San Diego and Tampa Bay, batting a combined .286/.402/.498 in 332 plate appearances, but the Friars are prepared to cut ties after just 15 plate appearances, during which Gamel collected three hits (two singles, one double).
In parts of eight Major League seasons between the Mariners, Pirates, Brewers, Padres, Guardians and Yankees, Gamel is a .252/.332/.384 hitter. He’s drawn walks at a healthy 10.1% clip but also fanned in just under a quarter of his plate appearances. Gamel is primarily a corner outfielder but lacks the prototypical power associated with those positions, evidenced by a career-high 11 home runs and a tepid .131 ISO in his career (slugging percentage minus batting average). Now that Gamel has been designated for assignment, the Padres will place him on outright waivers or release waivers within the next five days.
PTWSTN
Gamel’s brother’s last game was against the Padres… If this is it, there’s a coincidence.
He was gona be a future ray
Savvy move.
I think.
Thanks Ben, but kick the tires on an arm.
Sigh, just call up Profar to run around as a mascot to boost everyone’s morale for the last 3 weeks, then call it a year. Everyone has lost faith by now, from players to coaches.
Why do they have a picture of a player in a Rangers uniform when Gamel played for the Padres?
The picture is of Glenn Otto who played for the Rangers.
San Diego, after all, could see each of Blake Snell, Josh Hader, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Rich Hill and Nick Martinez reach free agency this winter
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Their starting 2024 rotation consists of two pitchers currently on the IL. The Padres are never, ever dull.
Otto will be a bullpen piece for the Padres.
Can’t be worse then watching hill take the mound.
Dick Mountain no more.
Yankees should of considered bringing back Otto. The Yankees could use more starting pitching depth.
Does Padres strip it down and start over? With some hefty salaries, it might be hard to find some legit starting pitching in free agency unless the Padres do the NY Mets-style payroll. I think if the Padres trade off one of their biggest salaries like Tatis Jr or Machado, they could potentially get an ace in the deal. Looking at possible areas to shed payroll to improve the rotation, should be highly considered. This free agent class has at least a dozen top of the rotation pitchers available. At least 2 or 3 are Japanese pitchers. I think this free agency is very pitcher heavy. Shedding some payroll to get 1 or two of these pitchers and get another in a trade, should put the Padres into contention next year. If they do the Mets-style and sign every player imaginable without concern of breaking the penalty threshold tax (losing first round draft pick, fines, etc), could hurt their depth and farm system. I think Padres should retool and add pitching. They still have plenty of bats to withstand losing Tatis Jr or Machado. They can dip into their system or get a bargain price in free agency to cover for one of the two. I think Padres lack quality pitching for several years now. Might as will make the big splashes and shorten the window of contention dramatically. If they add 3 quality starting pitchers, they are going to be very good next season even if one of the two above is dealt. Right now is a perfect time to consider trading one. Look at the market last off season for SS and 3B (Machado can play both), it was very expensive free agency and trades. This years SS/3B is nonexistent and many teams are looking for a guy to be productive at the position(s). He might be the Padres best guy to trade and get a solid return
My Rangers are giving up on some of these pitchers too quickly.
We need a complete overhaul of our pitcher coaching staff from top to bottom.
Padres have the best era in the national league. They have had great pitching this year. It’s not hitting in the clutch that has killed them. Obviously a little thin at starters right now with mustgrove and darvish out.
The padres will have those two and sign an additional 3 starters this off-season. Money isn’t going to force them to sell one of their stars. Plus if they even wanted to trade any one of them but Soto it would be very complicated.
You are talking about two huge contracts, manny’s contract look under water after the year he has had. Plus they both have full no trade clauses which would further mess that up/
Count on the padres continuing down the road of spending. Perhaps they move one of their top prospects to acquire a starter then get the other two via free agency or desire to pick up wacha’s options.
@simm even if they don’t decrease payroll, they should try to shake up the team. 2 years straight of disappointment and no progress. This has to be a concern for the Padres fans.
I want to know if your team will sell out all their games next year. Great fan support for such an underachieving team!..
Who knows for sure, prob will depend on what they do this off-season. I wouldn’t put it passed the padres to add some more shinny players. They have about 100m to spend to equal this years payroll. It’s already be said by the owner that payroll will not be going down.
@uwpsuperfan77 not sure if that was a dig at me or real sincere response. Either way, the Pirates are selling out. Haven’t you seen the last 7 years? They may not sellout every game, but they “sellout” the fans and their supporters every year. The only thing I can hope for is Bob Nutting has some health problems and the team is sold. His kids don’t want the organization and if something happens to Nutting, the MLB takes over and it gets sold. I am quite over listening to Bob Nutting and his BS every year. He wants to put the best product on the field, but I see several AAAA guys starting in the majors. Best thing he did to warm up to the fans is bringing back Andrew McCutchen. In the last 6 years, it’s been a reminder of that dreadful 30 year losing streak all over again. This year is at least a 20 (wins) games over last year. Something positive to think about before being disappointed next year
“San Diego, after all, could see…”
Why interrupt the sentence when you could just place “after all” at the beginning? I cannot stand the writing style here. Cringey to read.
Must be an English major!