In November, he pleaded guilty to participating in a human smuggling operation in Arizona and then self-deported to his native Mexico, putting his budding Major League Baseball career on hold. His case is the latest to highlight the complex operations of human smuggling networks, operated by so-called coyotes, which in recent years have been shown to recruit all kinds of people—youngsters, mothers, military personnel, and even the son of a popular singer—to circumvent increasingly stringent border security controls.
"The Padres are more than a baseball team; they are a unifying force in San Diego, rooted in community, connection and belonging. As life and business partners, and as a family, we are honored to lead this next chapter together."
Miranda, 28 in June, seemed like a long-term piece for the Twins not too long ago. He debuted with Minnesota in 2022 and hit 15 home runs in 483 plate appearances. His 5.8% walk rate was quite low but he was also tough to punch out, going down on strikes just 18.8% of the time. He finished that year with a .268/.325/.426 line and 116 wRC+, splitting his time between the two infield corners.
The question going into next season, naturally, is just how much the team has available to spend, and the answer appears to be that same $211MM-$221MM range. " We anticipate payroll will remain at a similar level to last year....We're operating the club as we have for the last five or six years," Padres chairman John Seidler told the San Diego Union-Tribune's Kevin Acee and other reporters on Monday at the Winter Meetings.
Rodriguez ranked among Atlanta's top 30 prospects after signing in minor league free agency ahead of the 2025 campaign. FanGraphs and MLB.com both had him ranked at 25th. The 22-year-old torched Double-A pitching for 10 games, then moved up to Triple-A. Rodriguez posted an underwhelming .640 OPS with Gwinnett, but did pop a career-high eight home runs to go with 17 stolen bases.
