Padres Sign Mason McCoy To Minor League Deal

The Padres have signed shortstop Mason McCoy to a minor league contract, The Athletic’s Dennis Lin reports (via X).  The deal contains an invitation for McCoy to attend San Diego’s big league Spring Training camp.

The Blue Jays outrighted McCoy off their 40-man roster in late September, and he became a minor league free agent after the season.  Originally a sixth-round pick for the Orioles in the 2017 draft, McCoy is changing teams for the third time in his career, after previous playing with the Mariners and Jays.  Seattle dealt McCoy to Toronto in July in exchange for Trent Thornton, and McCoy ended up making his MLB debut, making six appearances as a late-game sub with one plate appearance.

McCoy has hit .257/.330/.393 over 2796 career PA in the minor leagues.  Twenty-one of his 51 career homers in the minors came with Seattle’s Triple-A affiliate in 2022, though he was unable to keep that surprising power surge going, and the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League might have played a role in McCoy’s sudden extra pop.  McCoy is more of a threat on the basepaths, stealing 90 bases in 106 tries in the minors.

Most of McCoy’s playing time has been at shortstop, though he has seen a lot of work as a second baseman and some action at third base and in left field.  With Manny Machado set to miss some time at the start of the year while recovering from elbow surgery, the Padres in need of extra infield depth, so McCoy might have a decent chance to win himself a backup job in Spring Training.