Brent Honeywell finds new home with San Diego Padres

The Oakland A’s have lost an intriguing arm in their system.

According to Jeff Passan from ESPN, Brent Honeywell has signed with the San Diego Padres. Interestingly, he has signed a major league contract for $725,000 for the 2023 season. If he is in the minors, Honeywell will instead earn $200,000.

Brent Honeywell getting chance with San Diego Padres

Honeywell has long tantalized with his talent. Armed with a solid fastball and devastating screwball, he was expected to be a future ace with the Tampa Bay Rays. His potential made him a consensus top 100 prospect from 2016 through 2019, only for his career to be derailed by numerous arm injuries.

Those injury woes held Honeywell back again last year. He had been expected to compete for a spot on the A’s pitching staff only to be shut down again due to injury. Eventually, Honeywell was able to return to the mound but never found his way back to the majors.

Such opportunities do exist with the Padres. The back of their rotation is still unsettled and they could use more depth in the bullpen. Even with his litany of injuries and occasional struggles in the minors last season, he still has plenty of strikeout potential and could be a weapon if he can remain healthy.

At this point, that is Honeywell’s greatest question mark. He will turn 28 years old at the start of the 2023 season and still has plenty of time to become a solid major league option. It is just a matter of whether or not his arm will stay healthy enough for him to tap into that potential.

Brent Honeywell had continued to be an intriguing player despite his injury history. The former Oakland A’s farmhand is now heading to the San Diego Padres.