Padres Sign Former Cubs Top Prospect in Free Agent Move

Sam Garcia | 14 Hours Ago

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The San Diego Padres signed free agent center fielder Cole Roederer to a minor league contract on Dec. 16. Roederer has played six minor league seasons with the Chicago Cubs franchise, where he reached the Triple-A division.

Roederer’s contract marks the 13th minor league contract the Padres have agreed to this offseason. San Diego also signed right-handed pitcher Miguel Alvarez to a minor league contract on the same day as Roederer.

The Cubs signed Roederer as the No. 77 overall pick in the second round of the 2018 MLB June Amateur Draft. He was committed to playing baseball at UCLA before signing with the Cubs.

Roederer was ranked as the franchise’s No. 5 overall prospect and third out of Chicago’s outfield prospects in 2020. Roederer’s MLB prospect profile expected him to make his Major League debut in 2023 but he has yet to make a MLB appearance.

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His first promotion to Triple-A happened near the end of the 2023 season, which was four seasons into his professional career. Roederer was assigned to the Triple-A Iowa Cubs on Sept. 12, 2023. He showed improvement at the plate compared to his performance in Double-A in the same season. Roederer slashed .290/.378/.387 while logging a .765 OPS and four RBIs in 10 games in Triple-A.

By the start of the 2024 season, Roederer had been reassigned to the Double-A Tennessee Smokies. He played 83 games and made appearances in all three outfield positions and as a designated hitter. Roederer primarily played left field with the Smokies, recording 34 starts.

At the end of May, Roederer was promoted back up to Triple-A. While playing with the Iowa Cubs, Roederer’s primary position shifted from left field to center field. He made 23 starts at center field and 13 in left field with the team.

Roederer is coming off a career-worst hitting season. For the first time in his professional career, he averaged below .200 throughout the season. The 25-year-old slashed .186/.306/.311 with a .617 OPS. 

All of these batting metrics were career lows for Roederer except for his slugging percentage, which was .300 in 2021 with the High-A South Bend Cubs. However, in 2021, Roederer only played in 20 games as he underwent Tommy John surgery in the middle of the season. Roederer had a brief stint on the seven-day injured list in August but remained healthy for the majority of the 2024 season.