Padres thankfully bring back veteran infielder on insane Triple-A heater

Nick Solak decided to test the free agent market for a few days after being outrighted by the San Diego Padres. Totally fair move. He’s a 31-year-old veteran player who probably prefers to have a home on a major league roster. It sounds like there wasn’t a better path available, so he decided to stay where he was and re-signed with the Padres. 

Now that he’s back with the Padres, it’s not a move that should not be brushed off lightly. Even though he only got a cup of coffee with the major league roster, he was one of the loudest bats in the Triple-A lineup. Hitting .333 average, a .412 on-base percentage, nine homers, 40 RBI and a .924 OPS, to say he was consistently banging on the door would be an understatement. 

Nick Solak gives the Padres back a right-handed bat they could still need

Solak didn’t get enough major-league at-bats to prove much of anything. But that doesn’t mean he’s not an important part of the Padres organization. There’s also the wrinkle that comes with  Triple-A production. The Pacific Coast League can make hitters look a little shinier than they really are. Solak has also been around enough organizations for everyone to understand why there’s skepticism. If teams fully believed the bat would play in the majors every day, he wouldn’t be bouncing through depth charts.

But that is not really the point. The Padres are making sure they have useful depth from the right side of the plate. So when a veteran infielder in your own system is mashing, gets away for a few days, and then comes back, that’s still a win. 

This also helps explain the Padres’ recent depth shuffle a little better. When Luis Rengifo came in, it was easy to look at the move as another sign that San Diego was throwing darts at the wall. Even if that’s still partly true, the Padres have been searching and turning over bench pieces. With Solak back, the picture is a little less chaotic because they know what they’re getting with him. 

The Padres still have bigger questions than Nick Solak. Their rotation needs help, and they also have to figure out what kind of production they can realistically get out of their current lineup. The trade deadline is going to be much bigger than re-signing a minor leaguer. But still, this isn’t nothing.

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