Padres sign former second-round draft pick to minor league deal

The San Diego Padres have signed another player to a minor league deal, this time bringing in 28-year-old free agent Gavin Sheets. Sheets, who spent his first four major league seasons with the Chicago White Sox, was non-tenured by the team in November following a below average 2024.

Sheets will join the list of 28 other non-roster invitees headed to spring training with the Padres. Having played left field, right field, and first base in his career, Sheets could be a good depth piece for the Padres roster if he can improve his numbers at the plate.

Padres hoping to find something in underperforming Sheets

In his four-year career with the White Sox, Sheets has been a below average hitter, putting up a .680 OPS and a negative WAR over 435 career games. A highly touted prospect coming out of Wake Forest, Sheets was drafted in the second round by Chicago, but never matched the power numbers he produced in college.

A career .230 hitter, Sheets may not fit in with the high average style of Padres hitters, but with the overall lack of depth and low number of bench options with notable MLB experience, he may still find himself as a useful addition.

The Padres two recent signings, Connor Joe and Jason Heyward, will be the top two options for San Diego in left field, which will most likely move Sheets to a utility role if he does make the roster. His experience at first base will give him more of an opportunity, as the Padres current first baseman Luis Arraez would be better suited in a designated hitter role.

Having signed four one-year deals in a row all worth less than $1 million, Sheets should bring very little financial strain on a team looking to cut costs. As AJ Preller and the Padres fight their way through a tumultuous offseason, the Sheets signing could very well be an under-the-radar addition that provides San Diego with a much needed utility man.