San Diego

Padres

No word on whether the contract includes an invite to spring training, but it seems likely. The 26-year-old spent 2024 in the Yankees’ organization and hit .294/.333/.469 in his 286 at-bats with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He’ll need to have a great spring in the Cactus League to make the San Diego roster.

All of these were easy cuts. Patiño, the former top prospect whom the Padres got back from the White Sox off waivers last winter, underwent Tommy John surgery in May. He’ll almost surely be offered a minor league contract to stick around.

It’s pretty hard to believe the Padres are keeping Wade on their 40-man, but good for him. The 29-year-old utilityman hit .217/.285/.239 in 156 plate appearances last season. Baseball-Reference has him at -1.2 WAR over the course of his eight-year career. Fangraphs puts him at -0.1.

The trio are now shielded from selection in next month’s Rule 5 Draft. Baez is the most notable member of this group as he checks in as MLB Pipeline’s seventh-ranked prospect in San Diego’s system. The 22-year-old righty finished last year with a respectable 2.99 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 109/40 K/BB ratio across 126 1/3 innings (26 starts) between High-A Fort Wayne and Double-A San Antonio.

Merrill, who received seven of 30 first-place votes, made the leap from top prospect to elite fantasy contributor after making San Diego’s season-opening roster as their starting center fielder, batting .292/.326/.500 with 77 runs scored, 24 homers, 90 RBI and 16 stolen bases across 593 plate appearances. The 21-year-old prodigy’s power/speed combination and presence as an x-factor in a loaded Padres lineup makes him a surefire top 15 fantasy outfielder heading into 2025 and beyond.

The 24-year-old shortstop spent the first seven seasons of his minor league career in the Pirates’ organization. In 2024, Acuña played in just 15 games at Double-A Altoona, slashing .290/.405/.387 with no homers, three RBI, one stolen base and a 6/6 K/BB ratio in 39 plate appearances. He’ll begin his Padres’ career as depth at Double-A San Antonio.

Brooks had a good season in Triple-A, hitting .302 with 10 home runs and 10 steals in 94 games; however, he went just 3-for-25 in his first taste of MLB action. He figures to spend most of 2025 at Triple-A as well.

De Vries connected for an absolute no-doubter to left field -- his second round-tripper of the AFL season -- which traveled 418 feet and carried a 104 mph exit velocity. The switch-hitting 18-year-old prodigy, who has recorded some elite batted ball data this fall, is arguably a top five dynasty prospect already, and projects as a potential fantasy superstar down the road, if everything comes together. He’s a hyperspace jump or two away from the majors entering the 2025 season, but he’s going to move extremely quickly towards San Diego.

Nunez heads to San Diego after spending the last eight years in the Cubs’ minor-league system. The hard-throwing 25-year-old righty struggled in 19 late-season appearances for Triple-A Iowa, but was virtually untouchable at Double-A Tennessee, posting a microscopic 0.98 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and 42/12 K/BB ratio across 36 2/3 innings (27 appearances). He’ll presumably compete for a spot in the Padres’ season-opening bullpen.

The Padres have yet to officially announce the deal. Padres’ general manager AJ Preller spoke very highly of Niebla shortly after the season ended, noting, “We’re going to reward the people that perform... Ruben’s been a big performer. Looking forward to him being a big part of the Padres organization for a long time.” Under the three seasons in which Niebla has been in charge of the Padres’ pitching staff, they have ranked near the top of the league in all major pitching categories.