
Jason Heyward agreed to a one-year deal with the Padres. Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images.
Veteran outfielder Jason Heyward and the San Diego Padres finalized a $1 million, one-year contract on Tuesday.
Heyward can earn $250,000 in performance bonuses: $50,000 each for 200, 250, 300, 350 and 400 plate appearances.
The 35-year-old spent last season with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros, batting .211 with 10 home runs and 37 RBIs in 87 games. He was 5 for 10 with two homers, a triple and seven RBIs as a pinch hitter.
A five-time Gold Glove winner, Heyward has a .256 career batting average with 184 homers, 718 RBIs, 125 stolen bases and a .748 OPS in 15 major league seasons with the Atlanta Braves (2010-14), St. Louis Cardinals (2015), Chicago Cubs (2016-2022), Dodgers (2023-24) and Astros (2024).
He helped the Cubs win the 2016 World Series and was an All-Star in 2010, when he finished second in NL Rookie of the Year balloting.
He had a $9 million salary last year in his deal with the Dodgers, who released him on Aug. 24. He signed with the Astros four days later.
Marcus Semien hit his 250th career home run and Adolis García also went deep to back up a strong start by Nathan Eovaldi and give the Texas Rangers a 5-1, series clinching victory over the Houston Astros on Sunday.
Eovaldi (7-3) limited Houston to five hits and a run with eight strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings for his third straight win.
Houston starter Hunter Brown (9-4) allowed five hits and four runs while striking out eight in five innings as the AL West leaders lost for the fifth time in six games. It was the second straight tough outing for the All-Star, who gave up a season-high six runs in his last start against Cleveland.
Wyatt Langford walked to open the second and the Rangers made it 1-0 when he scored on a triple by Evan Carter. There were two outs in the inning when Carter scored on a ground-rule double by Ezequiel Duran to push the lead to 2-0.García’s third homer in the last four games put Texas ahead 3-0 with two outs in the third inning.
Carter doubled to start the fourth and Kyle Higashioka singled before Carter scored on a sacrifice fly by Alejandro Osuna to make it 4-0.
The Astros cut it to 4-1 on a home run by Zack Short with no outs in the sixth inning.
Semien’s shot with one out in the eighth inning was his second of the series and gave him 250 in his 13-year career.
Key moment
Texas jumping on Brown for two runs in the second inning to take the lead for good.
Key stat
García’s 20 home runs against the Astros since 2021 are the most of any player in that span.
Up next
The Astros open the second half of the season Friday night at Seattle, and the Rangers host Detroit on the same night.