The Padres have started stocking up on corner outfield depth, and their latest move adds another familiar minor league bat to the mix.
After word broke that San Diego had agreed to a minor league deal with Kala'i Rosario, the club has now also landed left-handed hitting outfielder Cal Stevenson on a minor league pact. MadFriars reported the agreement on X and noted that Stevenson and Rosario should “be in the mix” for the corner outfield at Triple-A El Paso next spring.
Stevenson, 30, spent the 2026 season in the Detroit Tigers organization without getting a major league call. He played 92 games for Triple-A Toledo and put together a strong line: .264/.410/.456 with nine home runs, 33 RBIs and an .866 OPS.
He does bring some big league mileage with him. Stevenson has appeared in 52 career MLB games over parts of four seasons, with the then-Oakland Athletics in 2022, the San Francisco Giants in 2023 and the Philadelphia Phillies in 2024-25.
His overall major league numbers are light - a .178 average, six doubles, eight RBIs and a .513 OPS - and his last MLB action came in 2025, when he went 2-for-8 across five games.
What gives Stevenson a real shot in San Diego’s system is the flexibility. He has logged time at all three outfield spots and also played first base this past season, which makes him a useful depth piece for a roster that still has some openings to sort through.
First base is one of those spots. Ty France is currently a free agent, leaving the Padres without an established option there. Left field is also unsettled, with San Diego currently projected to use a platoon of Samad Taylor and Dustin Harris.
Taylor and Harris were both pleasant surprises in 2026, but the Padres probably don’t want to lean on them as full-season answers in 2027. That’s part of why the club has been tied to several of the better outfield names in free agency.
At the same time, the Padres know how valuable organizational depth can be. They wouldn’t have been in the position they were in last year without Taylor, Harris and others helping hold things together.
So Stevenson joins Rosario as another player San Diego will get a close look at in spring training, whenever that arrives with an impending lockout. Since neither is on the 40-man roster, both can still play in the minors next season.
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