Padres sign OF Adam Engel to one-year contract

SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Padres have signed outfielder Adam Engel to a one-year contract through the 2023 season, President of Baseball Operations and General Manager A.J. Preller announced today.

Engel (EHN-guhl), 31, appeared in 119 games (60 starts) in his sixth Major League season with the Chicago White Sox in 2022, hitting .224 (55-for-245) with 13 doubles, one triple, two home runs, 17 RBI, 32 runs scored and 12 stolen bases in 16 attempts. The 6-2, 220-pound right-handed hitter played in 57 games (33 starts) in center field, 55 games (27 starts) in right field and three games (zero starts) in left. According to Baseball Savant, he ranked in the 92^nd percentile in sprint speed, the 90^th percentile in outfielder jump and the 82^nd percentile in outs above average. On April 13 vs. Seattle, he robbed pinch-hitter Jesse Winker of a home run in right field, marking his fifth career over-the-wall, homer-robbing catch.

The Cincinnati, Ohio native has appeared in 523 games from 2017-2022 with the White Sox, batting .225 (318-for-1413) with 65 doubles, 11 triples, 30 home runs, 123 RBI, 173 runs scored and 47 stolen bases in 64 career attempts. He was originally drafted by the White Sox in the 19th round of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Louisville (Ky.). He’s played in seven career Postseason games, and in 2020, he became the first player in White Sox history to homer in his first career Postseason at-bat and collect extra-base hits in his first two Postseason plate appearances.

The Padres now have 40 players on their 40-man roster.