Padres sign Dodgers World Series champion pitcher in late season move

The San Diego Padres have signed reliever Brent Honeywell Jr., who emerged as a postseason hero for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2024, to a minor league deal.

Honeywell last pitched in MLB during Game 4 of the 2024 World Series, where he “saved” the bullpen by allowing five runs in the eighth inning to put the game out of reach. While it’s not the typical tale for a hero, Honeywell’s task of being an innings-eater preserved the Dodgers bullpen for Game 5, where LA defeated the Yankees in the Fall Classic.

Honeywell also did the same for the Dodgers in the NL Championship Series against the New York Mets. The right-hander tossed a career-high 4.2 innings in NLCS Game 5 and sacrificed his arm in order to rest the primary bullpen arms.

After the Dodgers’ blowout loss in Game 5 to the Mets, Honeywell famously said: “Gotta save the dogs.”

That season, the Dodgers bullpen was nicknamed the “Bullpen Dawgs” after Alex Vesia described the ground as a bunch of dogs and Brusdar Graterol began the tradition of barking when relievers ran out from the bullpen.

The Dodgers claimed Honeywell off waivers in July 2024 and he produced a 2.62 ERA across 34.1 innings in 18 regular season games for LA.

Now, Honeywell is starting a new chapter with one of the biggest Dodgers’ rivals, the Padres.

The 31-year-old has previously spent time with San Diego in 2023, which consisted of 36 games, posting a 4.05 ERA over 46.2 innings.

Since his World Series run with the Dodgers, Honeywell hasn’t reached the major league level. But that could change with the Padres.

Honeywell remained unsigned all of last season, but joined the San Francisco Giants earlier this year on a minor league deal. The Giants released him before the start of the season.

While things haven’t worked out for Honeywell in recent seasons, the reliever’s minor league deal with the Padres presents a key opportunity.

President of baseball operations A.J. Preller is known for taking on reclamation projects and transforming them into stars. Honeywell could be Preller’s next savvy under-the-radar pickup.

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