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Angels call up former SF Giants, Mariners corner bat from Triple-A

The Los Angeles Angels recalled infielder Kevin Padlo from Triple-A on Monday. Padlo appeared in the majors with the SF Giants, Mariners, and Pirates in 2022.
Marc Delucchi|
Angels call up former SF Giants, Mariners corner bat from Triple-A
Angels call up former SF Giants, Mariners corner bat from Triple-A

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San Francisco GiantsLos Angeles Angels

The Los Angeles Angels added infielder Kevin Padlo to their 40-man roster on Monday, recalling him from Triple-A. Padlo started at first base for the Angles and batted sixth in their 2-0 loss to the Dodgers in his first big-league game of the season. He finished the game 0-3. The SF Giants traded cash considerations to acquire Padlo last April, and he briefly appeared in the majors with the team before he was designated for assignment and subsequently claimed off waivers by the Seattle Mariners.

Padlo was drafted in the fifth round of the 2014 MLB Draft out of high school by the Colorado Rockies. After a pair of impressive seasons in Rookie Ball, Padlo was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in a four-player deal that sent Germán Márquez to Colorado.

With the Rays, Padlo slowly climbed the minor league ranks. He flashed impressive power potential but was held back by a hit tool that lagged behind. Padlo always had a good sense of the strike zone, consistently working walks at an above-average clip. Still, he struggled to find a balance between hitting for power and putting the ball in play.

Padlo made his MLB debut with the Rays in April of 2021 at the age of 24. However, he only received 14 big-league plate appearances with Tampa Bay before he was designated for assignment. The Mariners claimed him off waivers. Padlo appeared in one big-league game with Seattle but spent the rest of his season at Triple-A.

Last year, Padlo was sold to the Giants in April and started the year with their Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento. He hit .275/.333/.600 with seven home runs in 22 games. His impressive showcase of power earned him a brief big-league stint. Padlo went 2-for-12 across four games with the Giants. Then, he was designated for assignment and claimed by the Mariners.

Another brief Triple-A and a big-league stint with the Mariners later, Padlo was back on waivers after they designated him for assignment. This time, he was claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Once again, he spent roughly a month at Triple-A and received around a dozen big-league plate appearances.

Padlo was non-tendered by the Pirates following the season and finally became a free agent. Able to choose his next landing spot, he inked a minor-league deal with the Angels last offseason. So far this season, he has hit .273/.396/.555 at Triple-A with 10 doubles and seven home runs in 134 plate appearances with 22 walks and 31 strikeouts.

Still only 26, there's plenty of time for Kevin Padlo to put all his tools together at the big-league level. While he was unable to stick with the SF Giants, he will look to take advantage of his latest MLB opportunity with the Los Angeles Angels.

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Marc Delucchi
MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).

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