With Jurickson Profar filing for free agency, the Padres have a gaping hole in left field. They might be in the same position in center and right field if they hadn’t moved their best shortstop prospects in the last decade to those positions.

Whether or not one of the longest-tenured members of the organization gets a chance to win a job this spring training, the 2024 draft at least added a toolsy prospect to dream on as the Padres look to establish depth in the outfield.

1   |   Tirso Ornelas

• Opening day age: 25
• How acquired: Signed as an international amateur in July 2016 (Mexico)
• Height / Weight: 6-foot-3 / 200 pounds
• Bats / Throws: Left / Right
• 2023 team(s): El Paso (AAA)
• 2023 stats: .297 avg., .367 OBP, .497 SLG, 23 HRs, 89 RBIs, 76 runs, 53 walks, 88 strikeouts, 7 steals (128 games, 548 plate appearances)
• Need to know: A $1.5 million signee from the Padres’ 2016-17 international class, Ornelas is among the longest-tenured members of the organization. But he had been left unprotected — and selected — in multiple Rule 5 drafts, reached minor league free agency last year and re-signed as a depth option. In the midst of his best year yet, Ornelas was finally added to the 40-man roster over the summer but he did not receive a September call-up. Ornelas does not move particularly well in the outfield, has an average arm and didn’t hit for much power until spending all of 2024 at hitter-friendly Triple-A El Paso (his first double-digit homer campaign was in 2023). He’s made a conscious effort to lift the ball more and he’s continued to walk as he’s climbed the system, but he’ll have to slug consistently to truly compete for a job this spring.

2   |   Kavares Tears

• Opening day age: 22
• How acquired: 4th round in 2024 (Tennessee)
• Height / Weight: 6-foot / 200 pounds
• Bats / Throws: Left / Left
• 2023 team(s): Did not play
• Need to know: The Vols have a history of players who waited their turn in the program and then broke out as early picks (Trey Lipscomb, for instance) and Tears did the same in 2024, hitting 20 home runs in 71 games (1.070 OPS) after various injuries limited him to 29 games (.897 OPS) in 2023. Baseball America, MLB.com and ESPN all rated Tears inside the top-85 draft prospects in 2024, so Padres scouting director Chris Kemp said he was “running to the board to take him” when he was still available in the fourth round. Tears has a plus arm for right field and could have enough range in center field, though he projects best as a corner outfielder. Tears, who signed for slot at $525,200, will make his professional debut in 2025.

3   |   Brandon Lockridge

• Opening day age: 28
• How acquired: Trade with the New York Yankees in July 2024
• Height / Weight: 6-foot / 185 pounds
• Bats / Throws: Right / Right
• 2023 team(s): Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (AAA), El Paso (AAA)
• 2023 stats: .306 avg., .410 OBP, .397 SLG, 2 HRs, 45 RBIs, 61 runs, 57 walks, 92 strikeouts, 46 steals (104 games, 402 plate appearances)
• Need to know: Acquired at the deadline for reliever Enyel De Los Santos and minor league pitcher Thomas Balboni, Lockridge arrived with 80-grade speed and a headwind as he was having his best season in three years when he jumped from the Yankees to the Padres. Lockridge hit .325/.420/.423 and swiped 12 bases in 32 games with Triple-A El Paso when he was called up to finish the season in the majors. Lockridge was 2-for-12 with two steals in two chances in the audition, and even hit his first home run, in earning his spot as speed off the bench in the postseason. With Bryce Johnson removed from the roster this offseason, Lockridge will enter spring training with a leg up in the competition for a bench job in 2025.

4   |   Joshua Mears

• Opening day age: 24
• How acquired: 2nd round in 2019 (Federal Way High, Wash.)
• Height / Weight: 6-foot-3 / 230 pounds
• Bats / Throws: Right / Right
• 2023 team(s): ACL Padres (R), Fort Wayne (A+), San Antonio (AA)
• 2023 stats: .205 avg., .260 OBP, .435 SLG, 17 HRs, 44 RBIs, 40 runs, 17 walks, 108 strikeouts, 11 steals (75 games, 292 plate appearances)
• Need to know: Few Padres prospects have as much raw power as the mountainous Mears. The problem, six years into his stay in the organization, continues to be his ability to make contact. He has struck out in 39.2 percent of his plate appearances since signing and that number jumped to 47.3 percent during an 18-game sample in 2024 at Double-A San Antonio, where he still homered six times. Mears also runs well but time is running out on his development as illustrated by the organization deciding to move him to the Texas League despite a .215/.262/.408 batting line in his third stint at high Single-A Fort Wayne.

5   |   Kai Murphy

• Opening day age: 24
• How acquired: Signed as an undrafted free agent in July 2022 (Arizona State)
• Height / Weight: 5-foot-8 / 173 pounds
• Bats / Throws: Left / Left
• 2023 team(s): Fort Wayne (A+), San Antonio (AA)
• 2023 stats: .238 avg., .345 OBP, .358 SLG, 6 HRs, 46 RBIs, 59 runs, 62 walks, 109 strikeouts, 10 steals (120 games, 492 plate appearances)
• Need to know: The son of NL Manager of the Year Pat Murphy, Kai first got to know the Padres while following his father around the clubhouse while he served as the interim manager in 2015. The younger Murphy ultimately played college ball at his dad’s old program at Arizona State before the Padres signed him after the 2022 draft. Murphy saw his most extensive opportunity to play in 2024, setting career-highs in games (117), plate appearances (492), doubles (26), triples (3), runs (59), RBIs (46) and walks (62). Murphy played his last three games of the season at Double-A San Antonio (3-for-8, two doubles), where he will likely return to start 2025. His ceiling is as a bench bat, but that’s also a tough road without top-end speed.

Others to know: Cole Cummings (AA), Jacob Campbell (A+), Albert Fabian (A+), Tyler Robertson (A+), Nick Vogt (A+), Kai Roberts (A), Braedon Karpathios (A), Spence Coffman (A), Sean Barnett (A), Ryan Wilson (A), Daniel Montesino (R).