Another former Chicago White Sox player has been snatched up by another team, and this time it isn’t the Boston Red Sox.
The San Diego Padres recently added utility outfielder, backup first baseman, and part-time DH Gavin Sheets to their 40-man roster.
We have selected the contract of INF/OF Gavin Sheets to our 40-man roster and placed RHP Joe Musgrove on the 60-day IL.
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 20, 2025
Nearly four months after being non-tendered by the Sox, Sheets can now call San Diego his new home.
He signed a one-year, $800,000 Minor League deal in February with the Padres with a non-roster invite to spring training.
Pleased with Sheets’ spring so far, Padres manager Mike Schildt shared in a spring training update, “For some reason, he wasn’t on a 40-man, and we were able to get him in in a non-roster invite, and he’s more than earned his opportunity to be on the 40-man roster. I’m excited and I know he is.”
Sheets looks phenomenal this preseason.
He’s slashing .300/.352/.700 with six home runs and 12 RBIs in 21 games in Arizona.
His most shining moment was on March 10, when he slammed a two-run walk-off homer against the Sox as if to make a point. Sheets has stood out this spring at a Padres training camp that Schildt considers “the most competitive position player camp” he’s ever seen.
With the hopes of making the Opening Day roster, Sheets is expected to slot in as a DH in a power-hitting lineup that includes All-Stars Fernando Tatís Jr., Manny Machado, and Luis Arráez.
Sheets also reunites with former Sox ace Dylan Cease.
The 180-degree turnaround Sheets has pulled off is dramatic.
In his last two years with the Sox, he batted below .240 and held a slugging percentage under .400. He never had a breakout moment with the Sox, and towards the end, it looked like it would never happen.
Sheets’ success with the Padres should be seen as a sunk cost by Sox fans. He was never going to reach his potential with the Sox, and the Sox were never going to figure out how to unlock it. It’s unfortunate things didn’t work out, but the mismatch needs to be accepted.
Although the Sox and Sox fans gave up on him, it’s nice to see him thrive with another team.