Padres Cut Ties With Former Top Prospect After Disappointing Tenure

The San Diego Padres released a 25-year-old outfielder who retired last year only three games into his comeback attempt.

The Double-A San Antonio Missions announced the Padres released Joshua Mears from his minor league contract on Thursday.

The end of an era: the Padres have released outfielder Joshua Mears, per San Antonio press release. He has incredible power but never made nearly enough contact to make it play. Wouldn’t be surprised if another organization takes a chance on him.
— Kevin Charity (@madfriarskevin) April 9, 2026

Mears' comeback bid ends after he went 0-for-9 with six strikeouts.

Who is Joshua Mears?

Mears, the 48th pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, made his professional debut in the Arizona Summer League that same year. He was one of the youngest players on a star-studded team that included then-Padres prospect C.J. Abrams, among a handful of youngsters who eventually reached the big leagues.

Mears held his own against his older peers in 43 Arizona League games. He led his team with seven home runs, finished second with 24 RBIs and was third with nine stolen bases in 10 chances. He slashed .253/.354/.440 overall.

Prior to the 2020 season, Mears was ranked as the No. 26 prospect in the Padres organization by MLB Pipeline — ahead of future major leaguers Anderson Espinoza, David Bednar, and Esteury Ruiz.

"Big, strong and physical, Mears has tremendous raw power that allows him to launch balls a long way," read the scouting report on MLB.com. "The rest of his game remains a bit raw, though he does show some feel to hit. He runs well for his size and makes good and accurate throws from the outfield with his average arm. Mears is a capable defender, though he needs to polish his reads and routes."

By 2021, MLB Pipeline moved Mears up to No. 10 in the Padres' organization, outranking several more future big leaguers: Reiss Knehr, Steven Wilson, Eguy Rosario, Lake Bachar and Mason Thompson.

Promoted to advanced Class-A Fort Wayne in 2022, Mears failed to cut down on the 39.1% strikeout rate that posed a concern at Lake Elsinore. His strikeout rate actually increased to 43.5% at Fort Wayne, accompanied by a .223/.304/.511 slash line and only 16 walks in 52 games.

Mears also got his first taste of Double-A in 2022. He slashed .169/.266/.373 at San Antonio, with 10 walks and 45 strikeouts in 94 plate appearances.

Mears made two separate trips to the injured list in 2023 and was limited to 62 games at Fort Wayne. When healthy, he slashed .158/.291/.347, with 96 strikeouts in 227 plate appearances (42.2% strikeout rate).

While power was always his calling card, Mears' home run stroke evaporated last year in San Antonio. He was batting .167 with a .256 on-base percentage and .306 slugging percentage for the Missions when he suddenly retired at age 24.

Mears' comeback might have been ambitious and well-intentioned. Ultimately, it proved short-lived.