Odds & Ends: Hall, Padres, Smoltz

Some links to tide you over during the game — or lack thereof, if you're facing the dreaded rain delay:

• Geoff Baker at the Seattle Times wonders if Josh Wilson will be DFA'd tomorrow to make way for Bill Hall.
• Brewers assistant GM Gord Ash weighs in on the Bill Hall trade, admitting that the move was partially financially motivated, reports Adam McCalvy at MLB.com.
• Tom Krasovic of Inside the Padres reports that the Padres are in serious talks with an unnamed, switch-hitting 16-year-old amateur for a bonus of $450k.
• Krasovic also notes that the White Sox taking on Jake Peavy's contract made it a whole lot easier for the Friars to foot the bill for their top picks Donavan Tate, Everett Williams and Keyvius Sampson.
• Dave Cameron at Fangraphs thinks the John Smoltz signing was a win for the Cardinals, saying that Smoltz's 40 inning sample size is far too small to judge his performance.
• Israel Gutierrez at the Miami Herald has a list of reasons why John Smoltz would have been a great fit on the Marlins.
• Royals GM Dayton Moore says he expected a backlash when the team demoted Alex Gordon and defends the decision, reports Bob Dutton at the Kansas City Star. The move came just a day before the deadline that would have set Gordon as a free agent after 2012, and now his free agency is delayed until past 2013.