PEORIA, AZ (KUSI/KSWB) - As the San Diego Padres are gearing up for the start of the 2025 MLB season, a player who has his sights set on making the Opening Day roster with his hometown Friars is Poway resident Connor Joe.
The five-year Major League veteran Joe signed with the Padres on a one-year, $1million deal, that can grow up to $2.25million if Joe hits the 650 plate appearances mark this season. "I don't think it will fully hit me until we transition from camp and get to San Diego," said Joe on his signing with his hometown ballclub, "When presented the Padres opportunity, it was really enticing. It's hard to not want to go back home, and it's hard not to want to play in front of the Padres fans. But, also just to be competitive and win. The team has one goal, and that's been very apparent since I've been here, and that's to win a World Series." It is very easy to see why Joe would want to play for a contender, these are the baseball teams he has played for in his five year career:
2019 - San Francisco Giants (77-85)
2020 - DNP (Joe fought and beat Testicular Cancer)
2021 - Colorado Rockies (74 -87)
2022 - Colorado Rockies (68-94)
2023 - Pittsburgh Pirates (76-86)
2024 - Pittsburgh Pirates (76-86)
That's a combined winning percentage of (.458) for the ballclubs he has made appearances for; not exactly the worst, but you can certainly understand Joe's desire to finally take an at-bat in the postseason.
Joe is a super utility player, capable of playing just about everywhere in the field; including being the emergency catcher for some of his previous ball clubs. When I asked him what he's looking for at this point in his career, Joe responded with "Opportunity, I feel like I can help a big league club, I can contribute to a lineup, and contribute to a competitive team. That's what I'm looking to bring to this team."
With Joe playing the entirety of his career in the National League, stepping into the batters box at Petco Park will be nothing new for Connor; but what will be different in 2025, will be the colors he wears while stepping up to the dish. I asked Joe what that moment will be like for him, now that he's wearing the brown & yellow, "They'll be cheering for me instead of against me, that'll be really cool. The fans are great at Petco, they've turned it into a really electric environment. I'm excited for them to be rooting for me, and just to feel that is great energy."