Padres sign power-hitting minor leaguer in hopes of catching lightning in a bottle

As Padres fans continue their wait through an off-season that could be described as downright lifeless, General Manager AJ Preller has made a move to potentially bolster the outfield. Moisés Gómez, a promising power bat who was released by St. Louis in February, has spent time in the Cardinals and Rays organizations. After being waived and spending time in the Venezuelan Winter League and an independent league, Gomez is hoping to finally break through to the MLB for the first time in his career.

The 26-year-old corner outfielder out of Venezuela has shown promise with his bat, but an abysmal final stint at the Triple-A level saw his average drop down to .208 and his power numbers diminish significantly before his release. Now, as San Diego faces the potential of losing two corner outfielders in Jurickson Profar and David Peralta to free agency, Gómez will be looking to crack the 40-man roster in 2025.

The possibility of losing Profar has been weighing on San Diego since the start of free agency. Coming off the best season of his career, Profar is looking to get paid, something that the Padres front office is looking to do less of. Enter Gómez. Although he is no Profar replacement, Gómez could add much needed depth to the Padres roster, even if he is yet to make his MLB debut.

In what has been an unusually quiet off season from Preller, Gómez is just one of a handful of signings made by San Diego. Utility man Mike Brosseau was signed late in December, while a number of minor-leaguers and players on last season's 40-man roster have been re-signed as well.

Gómez's future in the Padres organization is still up in the air. As a player who has the ability to hit 30 home runs in a season, but struggles to get on base and has very high strikeout numbers, his approach at the plate may not fit into a Padres team that ranked first in batting average and sixth in OBP and OPS for the 2024 season.