Padres sign Jason Heyward to one-year contract
SAN DIEGO ¨C The San Diego Padres have signed outfielder Jason Heyward to a one-year contract for the 2025 season, President of Baseball Operations and General Manager A.J. Preller announced today.
A 15-year Major League veteran and five-time Gold Glove Award winner (2012, 2014-17), Heyward split the 2024 season between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, batting .211 (48-for-228) with 12 doubles, two triples, 10 home runs, 37 RBI, 22 walks and 33 runs scored in 87 games. He appeared in games at all three outfield positions and posted a .987 fielding percentage in 149 total chances (2 E). The 6-foot-5, 240-pound left-handed hitter batted .500 in the pinch (5-for-10) with a triple, two home runs and seven RBI. Over his final 13 games of the season, Heyward hit .270 (10-for-37) with a .963 OPS, one double, four home runs and seven RBI.
Originally selected by the Atlanta Braves with the 14th overall pick in the 2007 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Henry County High School (Ga.), Heyward has a .256 career average with a .748 OPS, 304 doubles, 41 triples, 184 home runs, 718 RBI, 700 walks, 125 stolen bases and 870 runs scored over 1,790 games between the Braves (2010-14), St. Louis Cardinals (2015), Chicago Cubs (2016-2022), Dodgers (2023-24) and Astros (2024). A 2010 National League All-Star and 2016 World Series Champion, Heyward ranks 22nd among all active Major League outfielders in career fielding percentage (.988) and fifth among primary right fielders (min. 650 games), making only 40 errors in 3,442 total chances over 14,311.0 innings. The Ridgewood, N.J. native entered the 2010 season as the No. 1 overall prospect in baseball (per MLB.com) and finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting that season to San Francisco¡¯s Buster Posey.