Rocky Gale

After six seasons of service in the minor leagues, Gale got his first taste of the majors in September when the Padres needed a replacement catcher after Derek Norris went down with a shoulder injury. Gale improved at the plate at Triple-A El Paso over the past two seasons, batting .303/.328/.355 and .307/.349/.391 in 2014 and 2015 respectively, but while his average adds value, his inability to hit with any discernible pop severely limits his upside and thus his likelihood of sticking in the majors for any time beyond an emergency late-season callup. With Derek Norris serving as the primary catcher and Austin Hedges looking like the club's catcher of the future, the Padres opted not to tender Gale a contract, making him a free agent. If he can catch on with another club he will likely remain at the minor league level for 2016, serving as a light-hitting backstop that can get on base and rarely makes unproductive outs (16.8% K-rate at El Paso in 2015).