The Padres have added a familiar arm for the stretch run, signing right-hander Brent Honeywell Jr. to a minor league contract. He hasn’t pitched in an official game since the Dodgers used him during the 2024 World Series.
This is the kind of move that makes sense for a club trying to squeeze every last useful inning out of the roster. Honeywell is not coming in as a headline grabber. He’s a low-cost option with a specific job description, and San Diego already knows what that looks like.
Honeywell spent part of 2023 with the Padres and gave them real value in a tough season, making 36 appearances and posting a 4.05 ERA with 42 strikeouts over 46 2/3 innings. He wasn’t overpowering, but he was dependable enough to keep the game moving and cover innings when the bullpen needed help.
That type of usage has followed him around. The Padres DFA’d him after adding pieces at the 2023 trade deadline, and he later moved from the White Sox to the Pirates before ending up with the Dodgers in 2024. Between Pittsburgh and Los Angeles, he logged a 2.63 ERA across 37 2/3 regular-season innings, though the strikeout numbers left some doubt about how much of that run was sustainable.
Still, the Dodgers found a role for him in October. He handled low-leverage innings during their championship push, taking pressure off the relievers they wanted fresh for the biggest spots.
Now the Padres are seeing whether that version of Honeywell is still there. Contenders wear down pitching staffs faster than anyone expects, and San Diego has spent the past month turning a corner. Honeywell’s background fits the kind of depth move a club like this makes: he can work multiple innings, come in on short notice and take on the thankless assignments that help preserve higher-leverage arms.
What makes the reunion stand out, though, is the pitch. Honeywell’s screwball is the kind of thing you almost never see anymore, and it gives this signing a little extra personality.
The pitch came down through his family - his father learned it from former Cy Young winner Mike Marshall and passed it along. Honeywell carried it with him through his climb as a top prospect, through four elbow procedures and through the long stretches when his career looked finished.
He didn’t pitch anywhere in 2025. The Giants signed him to a minor league deal in February 2026 and released him in March before he appeared in a game. So this is another chance, and maybe the most familiar one yet, for Honeywell to show his arm can still hold up and his oddball arsenal can still get outs.
A.J. Preller has never shied away from this sort of bet.
He likes former top prospects, unusual skill sets and players with something left to prove. Honeywell fits right in.
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