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Inside The Padres

Padres Top Prospect Could Face Suspension for Pending Legal Matter: Report

He was placed on the restricted list.
Noah Camras|
Jun 17, 2022; Denver, Colorado, USA; A detail view of a San Diego Padres hat on a glove in the dugout in the ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
Jun 17, 2022; Denver, Colorado, USA; A detail view of a San Diego Padres hat on a glove in the dugout in the ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

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San Diego Padres

San Diego Padres top pitching prospect Humberto Cruz was placed on the restricted list last month, per the team's transaction log on MiLB.com.

The Padres released a statement to MadFriars regarding Cruz.

“Humberto Cruz has been placed on the restricted list. We have no further comment at this time as it is a pending legal matter," the Padres said.

Cruz, 19, is the Padres' No. 5 overall prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. He was expected to miss the entire 2026 season after having surgery on his right elbow last September.

Players can be placed on the restricted list for a variety of reasons, including violating the sport's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program or other legal proceedings. As of this writing, the league has not announced any penalty for Cruz.

In addition to Cruz, the Padres have also placed right-handed pitching prospect Emmanuel Pinales on administrative leave for an unrelated legal matter, per MadFriars. He's facing sexual battery charges from a 2024 incident.

Pinales was active during spring training but was placed on administrative leave instead of being assigned to a minor league team.

Who is Humberto Cruz?

Cruz signed with the Padres in 2024 as an international free agent out of Mexico. He was in the same class as Leo De Vries, so the Padres traded 2023 12th-round pick Blake Dickerson to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for international signing money to sign Cruz, who they inked for $750,000.

Cruz was in the Arizona Complex League in 2024 and the start of 2025 before reaching Single-A.

Across six starts in Single-A last year, Cruz went 0-3 with a 6.97 ERA and 20 strikeouts across 20.2 innings pitched. He then underwent internal brace surgery on his right UCL that's likely to sideline him for the entire 2026 season.

Cruz has shot up the Padres' prospect rankings, currently ranking as the team's No. 5 prospect overall and No. 4 pitching prospect.

Cruz's fastball sits in the mid-90s, and he also has a slider and changeup.

Who is Emmanuel Pinales?

Pinales, 24, signed with the Padres in 2022 out of the Dominican Republic. He came stateside in 2023, where he slowly began working his way through the minor league ranks.

He made it to Double-A in 2025, where he made 20 appearances (15 starts), sporting a 5.32 ERA with 81 strikeouts across 88 innings. He was dominant across five starts in High-A last year, sporting a 1.40 ERA with 27 strikeouts across 25.2 innings pitched.

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Noah Camras
NOAH CAMRAS

Noah Camras graduated from the University of Southern California in 2022 with a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in sports media studies. He was born and raised in Los Angeles and has extensively covered Southern California sports in his career. Noah is the publisher of Padres on SI after contributing as a writer and editor over the last three years.

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