The Padres have re-signed right-hander Drew Carlton to a minor league deal, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He will presumably receive an invitation to major league Spring Training and compete for a roster spot.
Carlton, now 28, came up through the Tigers’ system but this is the second year in a row that he’s landed with the Friars on a minor league pact. He was added to the roster in May and made 11 appearances, tossing 20 2/3 innings with a 4.35 ERA. His 21.2% strikeout rate was a bit below average but his 7.1% walk rate and 43.9% ground ball rate were both a bit better than par.
He landed on the injured list due to right elbow inflammation at the start of July and never made it back. He started a rehab assignment in August but only made three appearances in the minors that month. The club outrighted him off the roster last week as the offseason was beginning, as the IL goes away from five days after the World Series until Spring Training. The current health of his elbow isn’t publicly known but the Padres felt good enough about it to bring him back for another year.
The San Diego bullpen saw significant pieces like Josh Hader and Nick Martinez reach free agency last week. They could replenish that group over the offseason but may have diminished funds to work with, perhaps making depth signings a bit more important. If Carlton cracks the roster, he’s still optionable and has just over a year of service time, meaning he has the potential to serve as a long-term depth piece with roster flexibility.
Preller loves damaged goods. I am surprised he didn’t sign Carlton to a 5-year, $35M guaranteed contract.
Pleasantly?
This is gonna pay dividends next year
I thought they would do this when he selected free agency. He is a decent bullpen piece, so I’m happy about that
Every team has a few Drew Carltons. No mater what happens it is the way it works when adding arms at this stage. If he contributes to mlb team – awesome. If he doesn’t then he was just AAA / emergency starter / BP if you needed him.
Every team has an El Guapo too
Decent keep imo. Does he require a space on the 40-man roster?
Cannot find any articles on here about it so going to post this here. Yariel Rodriguez was declared a free agent by MLB and can now sign with any team. The thing I found most interesting is that he has been working out in the Dominican Republic at the Padres facility since being released from his contract by the Chunichi Dragons of the NPB.