Padres release struggling infielder

The Padres released infielder Mike Brosseau from his minor league contract on Friday, as initially reported by the Mad Friars website.  Brousseau inked his deal with San Diego back in December, but didn’t receive any time on the active roster during his stint in the organization.

With only a .222/.308/.358 slash line over 344 plate appearances with Triple-A El Paso, Brosseau didn’t do much to force the issue for a call-up.  Even with the Padres hurting for bench depth for much of the season, it would seem that Brosseau simply didn’t hit enough to get himself on the team’s radar.  It perhaps didn’t help that Brosseau has played almost exclusively as a third baseman in El Paso, and the Padres naturally had no needs at that position due to Manny Machado’s presence.

Brosseau hit .242/.313/.428 over 647 plate appearances with the Rays and Brewers from 2019-23.  He posted particularly big numbers during the shortened 2020 season for Tampa Bay’s pennant-winning club, and also hit well in 2019 and 2022.  However, Brosseau’s numbers tailed off during the 2023 season, and the Brewers released him midway through the season so Brosseau could sign with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball.  That brief stint in Japan was followed up by minor league contracts with the Royals and Mets during the 2024 season, before Brosseau signed on with the Padres this past offseason.

Though most of his 2025 has been spent at the hot corner, Brosseau has plenty of experience at a first and second baseman, plus he has played as a shortstop and at both corner infield slots in the past.  Teams could have interest in adding Brosseau for the remainder of the 2025 campaign either as a depth option, or just to fill out any Triple-A roster vacancy left open by prospect trades at the deadline.