Austin Nola's departure leaves Padres fans joyous as team non-tenders catcher: "Now we are free"

Following the trade of right-handed pitcher Scott Barlow to the Cleveland Guardians, the San Diego Padres have non-tendered four players — catcher Austin Nola, outfielder Taylor Kohlwey, and pitchers Tim Hill and Jose Espada.

Nola had a down year, where he batted .146 with one home run and eight RBIs in 52 games. After being a regular feature in the lineup, Nola found himself out of the lineup amid batting woes.

In the wake of the Padres' roster moves, in particular Nola, fans took to social media to express their delight:

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"Greatest day of my life besides Juan soto trade," one fan said.

"Alexa play now we are free," another fan quipped.

Here are a few other fan reactions on X:

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Austin Nola will need to find potential suitors and a destination prior to the 2024 season.

Another non-tendered player was Tim Hill, who is coming off a career-worst 5.48 ERA in 48 appearances and will now head to free agency at the age of 34.

Austin Nola's MLB career

The Colorado Rockies drafted the 33-year-old out of high school, but Nola declined the offer and committed to play college baseball for Louisiana State University, where he helped the Tigers win the 2009 College World Series championship.

The Miami Marlins picked Nola in the fifth round of the 2012 MLB draft for a $75,000 signing bonus. However, he wasn't promoted to the majors by the Marlins, and his contract ended in 2018. Soon after, Nola signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners and was called up to majors on June 16, 2019, making his major league debut against the Oakland Athletics.

Nola spent five seasons with the Padres and Mariners. He batted .249 with 261 hits, 24 home runs, 136 RBIs and 125 runs scored.

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