The Padres are bringing back left-hander Austin Davis on a minor league contract, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The KHG Sports Management client returns to the organization after electing free agency early in the offseason.
Davis made seven appearances for the Friars last season. The 31-year-old (32 next month) gave up eight runs across seven innings. He issued five walks and struck out six. Davis had a much better year with Triple-A El Paso. He worked 47 2/3 frames in the Pacific Coast League and managed a 3.40 ERA while striking out nearly 30% of opposing hitters. His 12.5% walk percentage was alarming, though that marked a notable step forward from the previous season. In 2023, he walked more than a quarter of batters faced in Triple-A.
Clearly, Davis’ command is not a strength. The bat-missing ability and solid minor league production is intriguing enough for San Diego to give him another non-roster opportunity. He’ll have an uphill battle to cracking the Opening Day bullpen. The Padres have a few left-handed relievers even after losing Tanner Scott.
Last winter’s free agent signees Yuki Matsui and Wandy Peralta are back for their second seasons with the team. They’ll have Adrian Morejon on the MLB roster in some capacity, though they’ve left open the possibility of giving him a chance to compete for a role in a rotation that is lacking certainty beyond the top three of Dylan Cease, Michael King and Yu Darvish. Tom Cosgrove is also on the 40-man roster but he still has an option remaining and really struggled in his MLB action last year.
Nope
Minor league signings just aren’t going to cut it.
Time to sign some major league free -agents.
Can’t use the ‘wait until Sasaki signs excuse’.
That’s tired.
Ownership will use the good ol’, trusty reliable CBT excuse or the TV deal excuse.
Not going to fly with fans.
Padres have a thing for Austins
We need Austin Adam’s the wild thing. Teams like throwing inside to tatis .
Austin hedges was worst outside of the head hunter Austin Adams
Print WS tickets now.
Padres got their man. Look out, Dodgers!
He’ll put them all on the IL!
I think Austin thought he could get a major league deal and when that didn’t materialize he came back to the Padres.
This is a nice minor league signing. As bad as it was in 2024, Davis’ control has improved in each of the past 3 years.
Last season the Padres deleted the 4 seam FB, curveball, and changeup from his repertoire and had him go to a sinker, cutter, and slider. Get him in the biomechanics lab and see if they can get his BB into a range that is tolerable.
You can never have enough pitching…