The Padres’ roster churn kept rolling this week, with 11 more position players officially reaching minor league free agency, according to the club’s transaction log on MiLB.com. San Diego also lost eight pitchers to minor league free agency.
Among the group, Jose Johnson stands out as the most recognizable name. He has played 134 games for the Padres at the major league level over the past three seasons, but his role slipped this year after a sharp drop at the plate.
Johnson hit .342 in 55 games in 2025, then fell to .178 over 32 games in 2026. At 31, the plus defender with speed now heads into free agency after sliding out of the Padres’ outfield mix.
A few others had at least a taste of the majors, even if only briefly. Tirso Ornelas, who has been in the organization since 2017 after signing as an international free agent, was once ranked as high as the team’s No. 11 prospect in 2025 by MLB Pipeline. He got a short MLB look in 2025, going 1-for-14 (.071), then spent all of 2026 back in Double-A, where he hit .253 with 17 home runs, 54 RBIs and an OPS of .771.
Nick Solak also made a brief stop in San Diego’s big league picture after the Padres signed him this past offseason. He was promoted for a four-game stretch and went 1-for-10 (.143).
The 31-year-old did most of his damage in El Paso, where he hit .311 with 16 home runs, 80 RBIs and an OPS of .863 across 116 games. He has 263 career MLB games under his belt and is a .249 hitter with a .692 OPS at the major league level.
The rest of the list is made up of players who spent the year grinding through the minors. Yonathan Acuna, 26, was with the organization since November 2024 and hit .195 with six home runs, 27 RBIs and a .671 OPS in 85 games at Double-A San Antonio. Gabriel Duarte, signed as an international free agent in 2018, played 16 games at Triple-A El Paso and hit .224 with a .631 OPS.
Moises Dungan, 30, spent 100 games at Triple-A this year and hit .228 with nine home runs, 40 RBIs and a .688 OPS. He has yet to make his MLB debut after being drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 2019. Brandon Fabian, another international free agent signee from 2018, hit .268 in 107 games at Double-A with 12 home runs, 54 RBIs and an OPS of .758.
Ryan Tucker, a former first-round pick by Cleveland in 2020, joined the Padres on a minor league deal this past offseason and hit .270 over 75 games at Double-A with an OPS of .692. Brandon Rodriguez, with the Padres since 2019 after signing as an international free agent, hit .218 with an OPS of .655 in 83 games at High-A Fort Wayne.
The Padres also lost a second Rodriguez from the system: the one who signed last offseason on a minor league deal and played 124 games in El Paso, where he hit .308 with six home runs, 77 RBIs and an OPS of .791. Rounding out the group, Alex Verdugo signed in January on a minor league deal and hit .248 with an OPS of .704 in 100 games at Double-A.
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