Abbotsford’s Carter Loewen has signed a free agent deal with the San Diego Padres.
The Yale Secondary grad made the announcement on his Instagram page on Sunday morning, thanking all the coaches that helped him to this point.
Loewen, a pitcher, was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 40th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft, but was never signed by the team.
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At that time he had already committed to the University of Hawaii’s baseball program, and spent three years on the Rainbow Warriors roster after redshirting and battling injuries in 2017. He made one appearance on the mound in 2018, before making 10 in 2019 and seven in 2020.
In 2019 Loewen was named an academic all-Big West athlete, and held his batters to a .175 batting average. He recorded one win, one loss and one save in 2020 and struck out six.
Loewen was a part of the 2016 Abbotsford Cardinals championship team and also threw a no-hitter on the mound with the Cardinals in 2015. He also spent one season with the Victoria HarbourCats of the West Coast League.
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It’s unclear where exactly Loewen will report if baseball gets going this year, but the Padres Class A Short Season affiliate is the Tri-City Dust Devils. If that league begins play, there is the possibility that Abbotsford fans could see Loewen in action against the Vancouver Canadians, who play in the same league as the Dust Devils, later this year.