The Padres have signed 27-year old righty swinging catcher Chris Stewart to a minor league deal. Stewart played in 78 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 65 for 232 (.280 avg, .716 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 1 homer and 18 RBIs. He has played in 24 games in his major league career to date and he is 9 for 48 (.188 avg, .464 OPS) with 4 runs scored and 3 RBIs. Stewart will probably start the season in AAA and get a call to the show if either Nick Hundley or Dusty Ryan get injured.

The Padres have acquired 25-year old righty swinging catcher Dusty Ryan from the Padres for either a player to be named later or cash. Ryan played in 12 games for the Tigers last season and he was 4 for 26 (.154 avg, .459 OPS) with 1 run scored and 4 RBIs. He also played in 63 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 52 for 202 (.257 avg, .814 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 10 homers and 35 RBIs. But, he also whiffed 64 times in the minors showing that he has some holes in his swing that he will need to correct in the near future. Ryan has now played in 27 games in his 2 years in the majors and he is 18 for 70 (.257 avg, .723 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 2 homers and 11 RBIs. It will be interesting to see if the Padres allow Ryan to battle Nick Hundley for the starting job behind the plate in spring training. I like this move for the Padres.

The Padres have signed 29-year old righty swinging outfielder Chris Denorfia to a minor league deal. Denorfia played in 4 games for the Padres last season and he was 0 for 2 (.000 avg) with 1 run scored and 1 RBI. He has now played in 100 games in his four years in the majors and he is 58 for 208 (.279 avg, .736 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 3 homers, 19 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. This was a great landing spot for Denorfia who might get a chance to show what he can really do in the majors if he has a big spring.

The Padres did not tender contracts to 23-year old righty reliever Jackson Quezada and 26-year old righty reliever Mark Worrell. Quezada pitched in 59 games (0 starts) in A-ball last season and he was 2-4 with 27 saves, a 2.12 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. He only gave up 42 hits in 63 2/3 innings last season while whiffing 79 batters. It surprises me that the Padres wouldn’t want to bring back a guy like Quezada. Mark Worrell missed all of last year due to Tommy John surgery. He has pitched in 4 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 0-1 with a 7.94 ERA and a 2.12 WHIP.

UPDATE: The Padres have re-signed both Jackson Quezada and Mark Worrell to minor league deals.

The Padres have released 25-year old righty reliever Eulogio De La Cruz. De La Cruz pitched in 3 games (0 starts) for the Padres last season and he was 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA and a 2.40 WHIP. He also pitched in 48 games (4 starts) in AAA-ball last year and he was 2-6 with 9 saves, a 3.12 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. De La Cruz has now pitched in 15 games (1 start) in his three years in the majors and he is 0-0 with a 11.84 ERA and a 2.53 WHIP. The Padres won’t lose any sleep over letting De La Cruz go.