The San Diego Padres announced that they’ve designated outfielder Tirso Ornelas for assignment, and Ornelas will start the season in Triple A after being outright off the Padres’ 40-man roster, with the story reported by Darragh McDonald of MLBTradeRumors.com via the team’s web page.
The announcement was originally made back on Feb. 17, but it didn’t become official until yesterday as the necessary roster move to make room for since-signed starter Griffin Canning.
Ornelas, who will be 26 next month, has been on the Padres roster since July of 2024, according to McDonald, and he made his major league debut last season, posting a .071/.188/.071 batting line in 16 plate appearances over seven games.
Ornelas has profiled as a classic “Four-A” player during his brief career, i.e., he hits well in the minors and has some value as a corner outfielder, but he really doesn’t bring much to the table beyond those limited benefits.
He’s played mostly at Triple A, making 1,471 plate appearances as a minor leaguer, and his 11.3 walk rate and 17 percent strikeout rate in those appearances are good numbers, plus he has 48 home runs. But Ornelas has put up those numbers in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, and according to McDonald his 285/.371/.452 slash line is just 8 percent better than league average.
His competition in San Diego is stiff, however. The Padres have Fernando Tatis Jr. in right, of course, and left fielder Ramon Laureano will be back after breaking a finger late last season. There are others in the outfield mix, including Gavin Sheets, Miguel Andujar and Bryce Johnson, so he has to do a lot to vault over that trio.
There could be other opportunities opening up for Ornelas, though. The waiver process takes 48 hours to play out, and in theory the Padres have five days to explore a trade. Ornelas still has one minor league option left, so he could be intriguing to another team looking for depth and a left-handed bat. Baseball America recently rated him as the #28 prospect in the Padres system, despite his issues to date.
What makes this situation especially sticky for Ornelas is that he won’t be a free agent even if he makes it through waivers, as he has less than three years of big league service time and he doesn’t have a prior outright in his career. He may be forced to return to Triple A and prove himself worthy of the jump once again.