Padres swipe Rangers castoff in hilariously petty Triple-A revenge move

The Padres signed Nick Pratto to a minor-league deal in the most “why not?” way possible. He was released by the Rangers, then almost immediately latched on with the Padres. Under normal circumstances, that would be a transaction about a former first-round pick getting another shot. Maybe even a cool redemption story arc.

Except this one came more in the form of a sitcom. Pratto had been playing for Round Rock, Texas’ Triple-A affiliate. And the Padres assigned him to Triple-A El Paso. And as luck would have it, El Paso was already in Round Rock playing the Express. So instead of catching a flight, packing bags and heading home after being released. He just needed to grab his belongings and switch dugouts.

Nick Pratto’s Rangers release created a perfect Padres punchline

There is something perfect about this kind of visual. We see these things happen every once in a while, usually through a trade. What we don’t see very often is a guy being out of a job, barely getting through his goodbyes, and then finding out the organization across the field has already drawn up his next contract.

The Padres have made plenty of weird roster moves over the years because, well, they are the Padres. Preller often treats the bottom half of the roster like a junk drawer. Sometimes you find gold. Sometimes there’s just…lint.

This one works as a story because it is not anything bigger than what it is. Pratto is a former top prospect and former Royals first-round pick, so there is at least some pedigree. He has legit power with 5 home runs and 17 RBI over 94 at-bats in the minors this season. He has also struck out enough and stalled out enough that this is very clearly a minor-league flier.

Still, for the Padres, they need bodies and options. Adding Pratto is a practical move, even if he’s not the second coming of Gavin Sheets.

Pratto gives El Paso another left-handed first base and corner bat option. He has big-league experience and enough prospect history that the Padres could probably find decent depth when they’re in a pinch. 

At the same time, the Padres may not get anything out of it. But for one day, the Padres got to look across the field, see a released former first-rounder, and say, “Actually, we’ll take him.”

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