Padres Minor Leaguer Has Locker at Petco Park Hinting at Roster Move

Aug 4, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; San Diego Padres pitcher JP Sears (38) throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

San Diego Padres southpaw JP Sears has a locker at Petco Park, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune's Jeff Sanders, hinting at a roster move.

Sears was acquired from the Athletics at the trade deadline, but after just one start in a Padres uniform, was optioned to Triple-A El Paso. The 29-year-old left-hander is expected to start Wednesday's contest.

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JP Sears has a locker at Petco https://t.co/zNKGqNJS8A

— Jeff Sanders (@sdutSanders) August 19, 2025

Sears was included as part of the deal that brought formidable right-handed reliever Mason Miller to the Friars on deadline day. As a result, right-handed pitching prospects Henry Baez, Eduarniel Nunez, Braden Nett were dealt to the Athletics, and most notably, shortstop Leo De Vries — the top ranked player in San Diego's farm system.

Sears was working with a 4.95 ERA across his first 22 starts of the season, tossing 97 strikeouts to 29 walks across 111 innings of work.

His sole appearances with the Padres saw 10 hits and five earned runs in just five innings. The southpaw also threw one start for Triple-A El Paso, allowing two earned runs over five innings.

With the Friars in the midst of a four-game losing streak, and right-hander Michael King back on the injured list after just his first start since missing close to three months of time, Sears will need to be able to produce quality innings for his new squad.

King is eligible to return on Aug. 26 when the Padres will be in Seattle, but his added time away can prove to be the perfect storm for Sears to prove himself.

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Something that Sears has proven to be well above average at this season is his walk rate of just six percent, which is good for the 83rd percentile in baseball. However, when batters are making contact, that is more where the problems lie.

Sears is one of the worst in the league in terms of generating ground balls, doing so just 28.5 percent of the time, which grades out to the 3rd percentile in MLB. As for batted balls hit 95 mph or over, Sears is just about in the middle of the pack, allowing this 40.2 percent of the time (53rd percentile).

The southpaw's sweeper has an average velocity of 79.2 mph, which is his slowest pitch in his arsenal, but also his second most frequent pitch. It has a batting average of just .212 against it, and a swing-and-miss rate of 25.9 percent.

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