Campfire’s octopus, chorizo, and celery-root entrée.
Gage Forster
Major League Baseball’s annual Winter Meetings are underway in Dallas. Now that Juan Soto’s gargantuan contract has been solidified the market for free agent outfielders should get active in a hurry. Soto is a special case so his 15-year, $765 million “I am Steve Cohen, hear me roar” contract really has no impact on how other players are going to be paid.
Michael Conforto, on the other hand, could create a ripple effect. The Dodgers gave the 32-year-old outfielder a one-year, $17 million deal that seems like a reach for a guy who’s never driven in 100 runs in a season. If that’s the going rate for a good but not life-altering talent then … and we take no joy in admitting this … it might get extremely difficult for the Padres to hang on to Jurickson Profar.
It’s no secret that Profar is at his best in San Diego and the Padres are at their best with Profar. But, if Conforto got $17 million then Jurickson has a legitimate argument he’s worth at least that, which could very well make him too expensive for the the Friars, especially with big-spending teams like the Yankees and Red Sox in the market for a corner outfielder.
Padres general manager A.J. Preller, who is rarely caught without a backup plan, has assembled some interesting under-the-radar players that seem like low-risk, potentially high-reward plays (not unlike Profar was a year ago when he signed for one year and $1 million). The first guy on that list has been with the club for several years already but never played at Petco Park.
Tirso Ornelas was signed as a 16-year-old as part of the Padres 2016-17 international class. The Tijuana, Mexico native has been in the organization ever since, putting up good but not great numbers. In 2024, things may have finally clicked.
Ornelas had his best professional season at Triple-A El Paso, hitting .297 with 23 home runs and 89 RBI. He’s carried that success over into the Mexican Winter League, rolling up a .922 OPS with Charros de Jalisco. In the middle of last year the Padres added Ornelas to their 40-man roster, meaning he’ll be at big league Spring Training with a chance to earn a roster spot.
Then we have a couple of players who were added on minor league contracts. Yonathan Perlaza is a 25-year-old, switch-hitting outfielder who looked like he was an up-and-coming prospect in the Cubs organization. As a member of the Iowa Cubs in 2023 he finished 5th in the International League in OPS (among qualified players), then headed overseas to play the 2024 season with the Hanwha Eagles in the Korea Baseball Organization, where he led the club with 24 homers.
Perlaza will also be at Spring Training to see if he can earn a reserve outfield spot. But, the guy who might have right of first refusal on left field if there’s an opening is Oscar Gonzalez, who goes by the nickname “SpongeBob.”
Gonzalez got the moniker in the minor leagues when he started using the theme song from the SpongeBob Squarepants TV show as his walkup music because, as he said in an interview, “Because kids love that song and this is a kids game.” If that doesn’t make you immediately like the guy, perhaps his penchant for winning playoff games will.
When he came up as a rookie in 2022, Gonzalez hit one of the most memorable home runs in postseason history. Cleveland and Tampa Bay were tied in the 15th inning when he launched a walkoff solo shot to send the Guardians to the American League Division Series.
He followed that up with a walkoff single in Game 3 of the ALDS against the Yankees, a series New York eventually won in Game 5. After that season, things went downhill. Gonzalez battled injuries in 2023 and was placed on waivers. He spent last season in the Yankees organization but never got back to the Major Leagues. When he hit free agency, the Padres swooped in to grab him on a minor league deal.
Gonzalez is still just 26 years old. The Friars are hoping he can revert to his rookie and, at worst, be a reliable depth piece on a club with World Series aspirations.
San Diego Padres (14-7) at Los Angeles Angels (11-11), April 19, 2026, 1:07 p.m. PST
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SANDY, Utah — SANDY, Utah (AP) — Sergi Solans had two goals and an assist, Diego Luna added a goal and two assists, and Real Salt Lake beat San Diego FC 4-2 on Saturday night to extend its unbeaten streak to six games.
Morgan Guilavogui scored his first goal in MLS and had an assist for Real Salt Lake (5-1-1). The 28-year-old designated player has five goal contributions in his first six career games.
RSL hasn’t lost since a 1-0 defeat at Vancouver in the season opener.
San Diego (3-3-2) has lost three in a row and is winless in five straight.
Luna opened the scoring in the fifth minute when he re-directed a misplayed pass by Duran Ferree, San Diego’s 19-year-old goalkeeper, into the net.
Moments later, Solans headed home a perfectly-placed cross played by Luna from outside the right corner of the 18-yard box to the back post to make it 2-0. Solans, a 23-year-old forward, flicked a header from the center of the area inside the right post and past the outstretched arm of Ferree to make it 3-1 in the 37th minute.
Guilavogui slammed home a first-touch shot to give RSL a three-goal lead in the 45th.
Marcus Ingvartsen scored a goal in the 14th minute and Anders Dreyer converted from the penalty spot in the 66th for San Diego.
Ingvartsen has five goals and an assist this season and has 10 goal contributions (seven goals, three assists) in 16 career MLS appearances.
Rafael Cabral had three saves for RSL.
Ferree finished with five saves.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer
When John Resnick opened Campfire on a quaint little street in Carlsbad, Calif., in 2016, some locals weren’t sure what to think. The coastal enclave wasn’t exactly awash in innovative, chef-driven establishments, so it was a shock to see the dining room consistently full. Early on, one woman wondered aloud to Resnick, “Where did all these people come from?”
It’s a moment he remembers vividly. “I was struck by her statement, because I think she was surprised that so many other people in Carlsbad were there,” Resnick says.
The rest of the culinary world would take some time to catch up to what was happening. In 2019, when Michelin expanded to rate restaurants throughout all of California—not just the San Francisco area—Addison was the only one in San Diego to earn a star. But since emerging from the pandemic, the region’s food scene has grown dramatically. Driven by outstanding farms, ingredients, a bumper crop of talented chefs, and a G.D.P. approximately the size of New Zealand or Greece, San Diego County has become one of America’s most underrated dining destinations.
Campfire’s octopus, chorizo, and celery-root entrée.
Gage Forster
Perhaps no single restaurant is a better emblem for this shift than chef William Bradley’s Addison, which opened in 2006. After landing his first star, Bradley knew he wanted more. To get them, he transformed his French-leaning fare to serve what he calls California Gastronomy, which combines the cultures of SoCal with impeccable ingredients and wildly impressive techniques, prizing flavor over flair. Michelin responded, awarding Addison a second star in 2022, and making it the first Southern California three-star restaurant just a year later. The accolade has created a halo effect, attracting culinary tourists from around the world.
Berry beet tartlets at San Diego’s three-star stalwart Addison.
Eric Wolfinger
“Earning three stars forces the global dining community to pay attention to a place that may not have been on their radar before,” says chef Eric Bost, a partner in Resnick’s four Carlsbad establishments.
Resnick recruited Bost, who spent time at award-winning outposts of Restaurant Guy Savoy, to run Jeune et Jolie, which he led to a star in 2021. They’ve since taken over an old boogie-board factory down the street and converted it to an all-day restaurant and bakery, Wildland. The space also hosts an exquisite tasting-counter experience called Lilo, which was given a Michelin star mere months after opening in April 2025. And as Resnick and Bost grew their successful Carlsbad operation, chef Roberto Alcocer earned a Michelin star for his Mexican fine-dining spot Valle in nearby Oceanside.
The stylish tasting counter at Michelin one-star Lilo in Carlsbad.
Kimberly Motos
About 25 miles to the south, another affluent coastal community is going through its own culinary glow up. In La Jolla, chef Tara Monsod and the hospitality group Puffer Malarkey Collective opened the stylish French steakhouse Le Coq. Chef Erik Anderson, formerly of Michelin two-star Coi, is preparing to launch Roseacre. And last year, Per Se alums Elijah Arizmendi and Brian Hung left New York to open the elegant tasting-menu restaurant Lucien, lured by the ingredients they’d get to serve. “A major reason we chose San Diego is the quality and diversity of the produce,” Arizmendi explains. “San Diego County has more small farms than anywhere else in the U.S., and its many microclimates allow farmers to grow an incredible range of ingredients year-round.”
Wildland’s spicy Italian sandwich.
Gage Forster
Chef Travis Swikard has also been a tireless advocate for the region’s ingredients since he returned to San Diego, his hometown, and opened Mediterranean-influenced Callie in 2021. There’s no sophomore slump with his latest effort, the French Riviera–inspired Fleurette in La Jolla, where he’s serving his take on classics like leeks vinaigrette and his San Diego “Bouillabaisse” with local red sheepshead fish and spiny lobster. Its food is bright, produce-driven, and attentive in execution, while the dining room maintains a relaxed and unpretentious style of service. And Swikard sees that approach cohering into a regional style with a strong network of professionals behind it.
“It’s really nice that we are developing our own identity, not trying to be like L.A. or any other market, just highlighting what’s great about the San Diego lifestyle and ingredients,” he says. “Similar to New York, a chef community is starting to develop where chefs are supporting each other. There is a true sense of pride to be cooking here.”
Top: In La Jolla, Lucien serves ocean whitefish with tomatoes turned into concasse, sabayon, and other expressions.
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