San Diego Padres taking a chance on Nomar Mazara

According to Red Sox beat writer Chris Cotillo, the San Diego Padres are signing outfielder Nomar Mazara to a minor-league contract that includes an invite to 2022 spring training.

Nomar Mazara, 26, debuted in 2016 at 21 years old with the Texas Rangers and has had a hard time finding his MLB footing to this point.

Despite that, the San Diego Padres are willing to take a chance on Mazara.

While Mazara does have three 20-home run seasons (followed by a 19-home run campaign in 2019), the pandemic-shortened 2020 and his limited action in 2021 were different stories entirely. He spent 2020 with the Chicago White Sox and then 2021 with the division-rival Detroit Tigers.

In 92 games across the past two seasons, Mazara has hit just four home runs in 300+ plate appearances with a well below average slash line of .219/.285/.309. On defense, he has looked even worse during his time in MLB. Primarily a corner outfielder, Mazara has been worth exactly -4.3 dWAR since he broke into the league.

Through 50 games in 2021, the Detroit Tigers had obviously seen enough out of the young outfielder to warrant giving up on him. The left-handed batting Mazara was released by the Tigers on July 23 and was not able to find another home in any team’s organization for the remainder of 2021.

One thing Mazara has on his side is the fact that he is still only 26 years old. He has shown in the past that he has some thump in his bat which undoubtedly played a role in the San Diego Padres‘ interest in him. Strikeouts have been a serious issue for him over the years. However, if he is able to make mechanical adjustments in the Padres’ minor league system, it’s not unreasonable to assume that he’ll see some time on the big league squad in the upcoming campaign.

As it currently stands, the San Diego Padres have Jurickson Profar and Wil Myers penciled in to the starting corner outfield roles. Nomar Mazara should be first in line for a promotion if any injuries should arise.

Nomar Mazara has yet to find his footing in Major League Baseball. The San Diego Padres are taking a chance on him in hopes that he can make adjustments to his game and find the success that Texas Rangers fans expected out of him early in his career.