Brewers' recently released infielder lands new opportunity with Padres

When the Milwaukee Brewers designated third baseman Luis Rengifo for assignment back on June 16 in order to clear a roster spot for top prospect Cooper Pratt, it was all but guaranteed that the struggling, switch-hitting infielder would clear waivers and eventually be released by the Brew Crew.

That belief stemmed from two realities that the Brewers and Rengifo faced. The first was that any team that traded for or claimed Rengifo off waivers would be responsible for the remainder of the $3.5 million deal that the long-time Los Angeles Angel agreed to during the offseason, which amounted to roughly $2 million at the time of his DFA. The second was that if Rengifo cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Nashville, his service time ensured that he could reject the assignment and become a free agent instead.

Rengifo unsurprisingly cleared waivers, and the Brewers didn't go through the formality of outrighting him to Triple-A just to have him reject the assignment. They instead released Rengifo right after he passed through waivers. The move allows any team to freely sign Rengifo and pay him the prorated league minimum salary for the rest of the season, creating an opportunity to add a "buy low" candidate to their roster with very little risk.

Just moments ago, as initially reported by Dennis Lin of The Athletic, the San Diego Padres have taken that opportunity and signed Rengifo to a minor league deal.

Luis Rengifo lands with San Diego Padres after Brewers' failed free agent experiment

Rengifo's time with the Brewers did not go as planned. Milwaukee signed the free agent infielder to be a temporary fill-in at third base after the team traded Caleb Durbin to the Boston Red Sox in early February. With several top infield prospects knocking on the door, Rengifo was tasked with manning the hot corner for the Brewers for one season tops.

However, Rengifo never found his groove in Milwaukee. With a slash line of .205/.280/.254 at the time of his release, the most difficult part of the move for the Brewers was admitting their offseason mistake on the free agent market.

Rengifo now heads to the NL West, joining a Padres team that is in second place in the division with little hope of catching the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers. However, the Padres remain squarely in the NL Wild Card race, sitting just a half game back of the St. Louis Cardinals for the final spot as play begins on June 26.

Should Rengifo show improvement at the plate while playing the Padres Triple-A squad, it's entirely possible that he ends up carving out a role with the big-league club. Though Jake Cronenworth is nearing his return to the lineup after experiencing concussion symptoms back in early May, which will round out the Padres' starting infield group that includes Manny Machado at third base, Xander Bogaerts at short, and Gavin Sheets and Ty France at first base, Rengifo could carve out a role as the team's utility infielder. His main competition in that regard will be fellow offseason free agent signee Sung-Mun Song, whose MLB career is off to a slow start.

Overall, the separation between the Brewers and Rengifo could end up working out for both sides. Things weren't improving for Rengifo in Milwaukee, and with several prospects knocking on the door, it was only a matter of time before he lost his roster spot. Now, he earns a fresh start in a new organization that could end up needing his services in the near future.

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