The addition of Mike Brosseau gives Padres much-needed depth

The San Diego Padres have reportedly signed utility man Mike Brosseau to a minor league deal. Does the former Rays playoff hero have a role for the 2025 Padres?

Mike Brosseau is a San Diego Padre.

The former Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers utility man spent 2024 in the Mets’ minor league system, slashing .276/.368/.441 (.809 OPS) for a 114 wRC+. Brosseau played all over the diamond in his major league career, and that remained the case in 2024 at Triple-A Syracuse, where he saw playing time at first base, second base, third base and left field. Brosseau improved his contact quality in the Mets’ system, increasing his hard-hit rate from a meager 20.8% to 37.3% in his MLB time in 2023.

Brosseau has always been a traditional splits guy, having posted a career wRC+ of 117 against left-handed pitchers compared to a wRC+ of 87 against same-handed pitchers. Most of his career power came against left-handed pitchers, as he hit 17 of his 26 career home runs against southpaws. He could be the perfect sort of addition to a team that hit .239/.310/.379 against left-handed pitching in 2024. Brosseau has also been an average baserunner throughout his career, as his sprint speed ranked in the 57th percentile in 2023.

Mike Brosseau has reportedly signed a contract with the Pads

Here he attacks Petco with a nuclear bomb

This will play!pic.twitter.com/8mse1r4zAX

— Devine Sports Gospel (@DevineGospel) December 28, 2024

Like most utility players, Brosseau’s strength lies in his positional versatility, although he has performed as an average to below-average defender at most positions he has played. Brosseau has spent most of his playing time at first base in recent seasons, and with the Padres lacking a clear option at first base, Brosseau could be part of a potential move there with a left-handed batting option. However, there is also the question of whether he fits with the squad, as the Padres have a very similar player in Eguy Rosario on their roster.

Rosario exhausted his final option year in 2024 and still has a lot to prove at the MLB level. Rosario has youth and positional flexibility in his favor, having played more in the midfield in recent seasons compared to Brosseau. However, Rosario has some of the most pronounced platoon splits in baseball, as he has a career 182 wRC+ against right-handers, but a measly 23 wRC+ against right-handers.

Brosseau also has one minor league option remaining through the 2025 season. So if he secures a 40-man roster spot, he can be optioned to Triple-A El Paso if the team needs midseason reinforcements elsewhere on the roster.

There is no such thing as a bad minor league deal, and Mike Brosseau could give the Padres a solid utility option around the diamond with some punch against left-handed pitching.

Born and raised in San Diego, Diego Garcia is a lifelong Padres fan and self-proclaimed baseball nerd. Diego wrote about baseball on his own website in 2021-22 before joining the East Village Times team in 2024. He also posts baseball content on his YouTube channel, Stat Nerd Baseball, creating content surrounding trades, hypotheticals, player analysis, and the San Diego Padres and MLB as a whole.

As a 2024 graduate of San Diego State, Diego wants to continue to grow as a writer and content creator in the baseball community.

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