San Diego Padres Single-A Affiliate Appears to Introduce New "Bat Dog" For 2025 Season

Originally posted on Minor League Baseball on SI
By Brady Farkas | Last updated Feb 6, 2025 5:13 PM ET

The Lake Elsinore Storm, the Single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, appear to have introduced a new "Bat Dog" for the 2025 season: Omaha!

Now, we're doing a little deductive reasoning here as there was no formal announcement that Omaha will serve as the bat dog, but given that there's a contract with his paw print on it, and the popularity of bat dogs around the minors, it feels like a safe bet.

If not, perhaps Omaha will be the team dog or a dog that goes around the stadium. But either way, it's a win for all involved in the Lake Elsinore operation.

Can we get a "Good Dog" in the chat for Omaha??? #EmbraceTheStorm️ pic.twitter.com/GFRInT34Xe
— Lake Elsinore Storm (@Storm_Baseball) February 6, 2025

Lake Elsinore is the Low-A affiliate of the Padres, playing in the California League. The season begins on April 4. Lake Elsinore is the lowest rung on the Padres minor league ladder, with players often beginning their careers there before moving onto Fort Wayne (High-A), San Antonio (Double-A) and El Paso (Triple-A).

The roster for the Storm will start to take shape once the Padres began to trim down the participants in spring training, which begins next week.

The Padres are coming off a season that saw them finish second in the National League West. They beat the Atlanta Braves in the wild card round of the playoffs before losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS. The Dodgers went onto win the World Series and appear to have gotten better this offseason by adding Roki Sasaki, Blake Snell, Kirby Yates and Tanner Scott.

The Padres have yet to make any big moves this offseason.

This article first appeared on Minor League Baseball on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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