The San Diego Padres are taking a chance on a former highly regarded prospect who has battled through an extraordinary number of injuries throughout his career.
San Diego has signed right-hander Brent Honeywell Jr. to a minor league contract, according to Jordan Shusterman of Yahoo Sports. Honeywell last pitched in the majors in 2024 and is expected to report to Triple-A El Paso as he attempts to earn another opportunity in the big leagues.
Honeywell Once Ranked Among Baseball’s Best Prospects
Honeywell, now 31, was considered a consensus Top 100 prospect in the Tampa Bay Rays organization roughly a decade ago.
The Rays selected his contract in November 2017 to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, but his path to the majors was anything but straightforward.
Honeywell underwent Tommy John surgery in 2018, suffered an elbow fracture in 2019 and then required nerve decompression surgery in 2020. Those injuries delayed his MLB debut until 2021, when he appeared in just 4 2/3 innings.
The Rays traded him to the Athletics following that season, but another elbow problem—a stress reaction—kept him out for the entire 2022 season.
Honeywell Has Shown He Can Still Pitch
The Padres originally signed Honeywell to a major league deal entering the 2023 season.
He worked 46 2/3 innings out of San Diego’s bullpen that year, posting a 4.05 ERA with solid strikeout and walk numbers. His 48.9% ground-ball rate was particularly encouraging.
There were warning signs, however. Honeywell surrendered 1.54 home runs per nine innings, while his 5.13 expected ERA and 4.33 SIERA suggested his results were better than his underlying performance. He also struggled after being traded to the White Sox late in the season, giving up seven earned runs in 5 2/3 innings.
But Honeywell put everything together in 2024.
He posted a career-best 2.63 ERA over 37 2/3 innings, including 34 1/3 innings with the Dodgers. He allowed only three home runs all season, good for 0.72 HR/9, while lowering his walk rate to 7.4%.
Honeywell relies on a mid-90s four-seam fastball and his signature low-80s screwball, and he continued generating ground balls at an above-average 42.2% rate.
Now, the Padres are giving the former top prospect another opportunity to resurrect his career. If Honeywell can stay healthy and recapture his 2024 form, San Diego could have found an intriguing bullpen option for the stretch run.
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