Padres begin roster purge to make room for new arrivals

The San Diego Padres didn’t just dabble at the 2025 MLB trade deadline, they detonated it. After weeks of speculation, rumors, and calculated maneuvering, A.J. Preller once again proved he’s one of the boldest executives in baseball. When the dust settled, San Diego had acquired eight new players while sending off fourteen in a complete roster transformation.

But with new pieces coming in, the inevitable follow-up had to happen: subtraction.

The Padres began their post-deadline roster purge after the trade deadline, starting with the designation for assignment of veteran catcher Martín Maldonado and corner infielder Trenton Brooks. The club also optioned newly acquired infielder Will Wagner to Triple-A El Paso, a signal that while Wagner may have a future in San Diego, his present lies in the minors for now. These moves came on the heels of the Padres trading for catcher Freddy Fermin, first baseman/DH Ryan O’Hearn, and outfielder Ramón Laureano, a trio that instantly reshaped the team’s depth chart and made tough decisions unavoidable.

San Diego starts cutting loose after aggressive deadline overhaul

Maldonado, 38, brought veteran leadership and strong defensive chops to the Padres clubhouse, but his offensive production never caught up to his reputation behind the plate. Over 64 games this season, he slashed just .204/.245/.327 with four home runs and 12 RBIs. His .572 OPS was among the lowest in the league for a regular contributor, and while the glove was steady, the bat simply didn’t justify a roster spot anymore.

For Trenton Brooks, the opportunity in San Diego was always narrow, and the writing may have been on the wall long before the deadline. Appearing in only 25 games in 2025, Brooks was used primarily as a pinch hitter or depth option off the bench. Unfortunately, the results didn’t follow. He hit just .146 with one home run and two RBIs, managing a .454 OPS in limited action. Despite respectable hard contact numbers in the minors and a stellar season with Triple-A El Paso, Brooks struggled to find consistency at the major league level.

This wave of cuts reflects the Padres’ aggressive stance. Despite once again gutting a significant portion of their farm system, the returns were undeniable. San Diego came away with two big-league arms in flamethrowing closer Mason Miller and left-handed starter JP Sears from the Athletics. They added run producers in O’Hearn and Laureano from Baltimore, secured a quality backup catcher in Fermin from Kansas City, and took a calculated flier on Wagner from Toronto. And let’s not forget the addition of veteran lefty Nestor Cortes, who gives them another rotation option as they prepare for the postseason sprint.

For Preller, this was all part of the plan, an unapologetic effort to field the best possible roster to compete for a World Series. And for players like Maldonado and Brooks, it’s a reminder of just how quickly things can shift when a team goes all-in.

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