Inside The Padres

Padres Sign Free Agent Pitcher to Kick Off Winter Meetings

J.P. Hoornstra|
New York Mets pitcher Daison Acosta (62) throws a pitch during the seventh inning against the Houston Astros at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches on Feb. 25, 2023.
New York Mets pitcher Daison Acosta (62) throws a pitch during the seventh inning against the Houston Astros at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches on Feb. 25, 2023. | Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

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San Diego Padres

Daison Acosta wasn't the biggest free agent on the winter market. He hasn't even pitched an inning in the big leagues.

More news: Padres Free Agent Linked to Another American League Contender

But the 27-year-old right-hander did enough to intrigue the San Diego Padres, who signed Acosta to a one-year contract to kick off the Winter Meetings on Monday.

Acosta went 5-1 record with a career-best 2.42 ERA (14 ER, 52.0 IP), a .195 opponents’ average (36-for-185) and 72 strikeouts to 27 walks across three levels of the Washington Nationals' system in 2025. He appeared in a total of 46 games with Triple-A Rochester (19 G), Double-A Harrisburg (26 G) and Single-A Fredericksburg (1 G).

Among qualified relievers in the Washington system, Acosta ranked first with a 12.46 strikeout per nine innings rate, while ranking second in strikeouts and third in ERA.

From the beginning of May through the end of the 2025 regular season, Acosta recorded scoreless outings in 30 of 36 appearances with a 1.09 ERA (5 ER, 41.1 IP), a .163 opponents’ average (23-for-141), 0.97 WHIP and 13.50 strikeout per 9.0 innings pitched.

More news: Padres Sign Free Agent Outfielder

Overall, Acosta held right-handed hitters to a .154/.250/.209 slash line with just five extra-base hits (all doubles) with 40 strikeouts and only nine walks.

Acosta originally signed with the New York Mets as a non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2016, and was later selected by Washington in the third round of the minor league phase of the 2023 Rule 5 Draft.

Acosta is 22-25 with 20 saves, a 3.59 ERA (146 ER, 365.2 IP) and a .216 opponents’ average (289-for-1,337) across 188 career minor league games (40 starts) across 10 seasons in the Mets (2016-23) and the Nationals (2024-25) organizations.

The Padres' bullpen is deep on talent and experience, even with the expected departure of closer Robert Suarez in free agency. Manager Craig Stammen said Monday that Mason Miller, Adrian Morejon, and David Morgan will all return as relievers in 2026 after dallying with the idea of converting one or more of them to starters.

That leaves Acosta's path to big-league innings uncertain. At the very least, the Padres picked up an intriguing option for the late innings at Triple-A El Paso; at best, they kicked off the Winter Meetings by uncovering a hidden gem.

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J.P. Hoornstra
J.P. HOORNSTRA

J.P. Hoornstra is an On SI Contributor. A veteran of 20 years of sports coverage for daily newspapers in California, J.P. covered MLB, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Los Angeles Angels (occasionally of Anaheim) from 2012-23 for the Southern California News Group. His first book, The 50 Greatest Dodgers Games of All-Time, published in 2015. In 2016, he won an Associated Press Sports Editors award for breaking news coverage. He once recorded a keyboard solo on the same album as two of the original Doors.

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