Padres sign former Royals first-round pick to minor league contract

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The San Diego Padres on Wednesday signed first baseman Nick Pratto to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A El Paso.

Pratto, a 27-year-old left-handed hitter and former Kansas City Royals first-round pick from the 2017 MLB Draft, joins San Diego after beginning the 2026 season in the Texas Rangers system. He was released by Texas just one day before the Padres finalized the signing.

Before the release, Pratto spent the first month of the season on the development list, a non-injury reserve designation used for minor league players working through mechanical adjustments outside of game action. He later reported to Triple-A Round Rock at the end of April.

In 26 Triple-A games this season, Pratto recorded a .237 batting average with a .287 on-base percentage and a .473 slugging percentage across 101 plate appearances. He garnered five home runs and 10 extra-base hits, but also struck out 33 times while drawing six walks. Across six Triple-A seasons, he holds a .226/.327/.430 slash line with a 30% strikeout rate.

Pratto’s major league experience includes time with the Royals in 2022 and 2023, where he hit .216/.295/.364. He appeared in one MLB game in 2024 as a late-game substitute. Over his MLB career, he has smacked 14 home runs, including seven in both the 2022 and 2023 seasons, across 144 games with 55 RBIs and a .659 OPS.

Earlier in his career, Pratto produced significant minor league power in 2021, hitting 36 home runs and driving in 98 runs across Double-A and Triple-A.

San Diego’s addition comes amid roster adjustments after the team released Nick Castellanos last week following his usage at first base and designated hitter. The Padres have primarily used Ty France and Gavin Sheets at first base, and Pratto is expected to provide additional organizational depth at the position at Triple-A El Paso.

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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source sports.yahoo.com ’