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The Padres protected three pitching prospects from next month’s Rule 5 draft, adding right-handers Ryan Bergert and Henry Baez and left-hander Omar Cruz to the 40-man roster on Tuesday.
The team now has three open spots left on the 40-man roster.
Bergert, Baez and Cruz are all are ranked among the team’s top-30 prospects by MLB.com.
The 22-year-old Baez (No. 7) went 7-4 with a 2.99 ERA, 109 strikeouts and a 1.09 WHIP over 126 ⅓ innings split between high Single-A Fort Wayne (2.95 ERA) and Double-A San Antonio (3.06 ERA).
The 25-year-old Cruz (No. 22) struck 118 batters over 86⅓ innings (3.96 ERA) split between San Antonio (3.59 ERA) and Triple-A El Paso (4.42 ERA). Cruz was originally traded from the Padres to the Pirates in the Joe Musgrove deal in January 2021 but returned to the organization last December in the minor-league phase of the Rule 5 draft.
The 24-year-old Bergert (25) went 2-10 with a 4.78 ERA in 23 starts at San Antonio, striking out 87 batters against 33 walks over 98 innings. Bergert recently completed a stint in the Arizona Fall League, where he had a 7.36 ERA over 14 ⅔ innings.
A sixth-round pick out of West Virginia in 2021, Bergert was among the prospects competing for a rotation spot in camp last spring. Both he and Baez figure to get Cactus League starts as the Padres map out how to move forward without Joe Musgrove (Tommy John surgery) next season.
Cruz is a multi-inning reliever who received call-up consideration late in the season, although he did make seven starts in 2024 and pitched as many as six innings in one of those appearances.
The Rule 5 draft will be held at the winter meetings on Dec. 11.
Players not on the 40-man roster who signed when they were 18 or younger and have played five years in pro ball are eligible to be selected by another team willing to keep them on their 40-man roster. Any player who signed at 19 or older and just finished his fourth professional season is also eligible for selection.
Murphy edges Shildt for Manager of the Year
Mike Shildt finished second in National League Manager of the Year voting, announced Tuesday by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
Former Padres interim manager Pat Murphy, who replaced Craig Counsell in Milwaukee this year, earned 27 first-place votes en route to securing 144 voting points. Both Shildt (70) and the Mets’ Carlos Mendoza (35) each received one first-place vote.
All three finalists led their teams to the postseason in their first years on the job, with the Brewers winning the NL Central, the Padres claiming the NL’s top wild-card spot and the Mets surging to the sixth seed.
Shildt led the Padres to 93 wins, the second-highest total in franchise history, with a payroll that was $90 million less than in 2023.
This was Shildt’s third finish inside the top three in Manager of the Year voting. He won the award in 2019 in his second year with the St. Louis Cardinals.
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