The Padres are in agreement with veteran first baseman on a minor league deal. first reported that the sides were making progre s on Kris Dunn Jersey a contract. Jon Heyman of The New York Post that the Mato Sports Management client gets a non-roster invite to MLB camp and would secure a $1.25MM base salary if he cracks the big league roster. Theres an additional $1MM in performance bonuses. Its a solid landing spot for the former batting champ, who is going into his age-41 season. The Friars have an opening at designated hitter. Skipper Mike Shildt that he intended to use as his primary first baseman while keeping at second base. That more or le s leaves DH up for grabs. 24-year-old outfielder would probably be the choice if San Diego opts for a player who is already on the 40-man roster. Theyll probably go with a non-roster invitee, though, considering Ornelas has yet to reach the majors. Gurriel joins former White Sox first baseman in camp. Outfielder and utility infielder also landed camp invites from San Diego. Gurriel is the most accomplished of the group, though his production has dropped sharply over the past three seasons. Hes a two-time World Series champion from his seven-year run in Houston. Gurriel won a Gold Glove and the aforementioned batting title in 2021, which stands as his most recent productive season. Gurriel stumbled to a .242/.288/.360 slash during his final year with the Astros. He posted similar production over 329 plate appearances for the Marlins in 2023. Gurriel barely played in the majors last year. He spent the bulk of the season in Triple-A with Atlanta before catching on with the Royals as a September call-up. The righty hitter turned in a .241/.338/.296 showing acro s 18 games with Kansas City. He appeared six more times in the playoffs, hitting .190 in 21 at-bats. While Gurriel hasnt produced against major league pitching in a decent amount of time, he had a strong year in Triple-A. He slashed .292/.378/.485 with nearly as many walks as strikeouts acro s 75 games for Atlantas top affiliate. He still has excellent pure contact skills. Under the collective bargaining agreement, MLB free agents who sign minor league deals more than 10 days before Opening Day have three guaranteed opt-out opportunities: five days before Opening Day, May 1, and June 1. Gurriel qualifies, since he has six-plus years of MLB service time and finished last season on K.C.s big league roster. He can head back to the open market at the end of camp if the Padres decide not to carry him on the Opening Day roster. Onyeka Okongwu Jersey