Headlines

  • Bobby Jenks Passes Away
  • Braves Release Alex Verdugo
  • Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
  • Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline
  • Rays Reinstate Ha-Seong Kim
  • Yankees Have Shown Interest In Ryan McMahon
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025 Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Padres Non-Tender Will Middlebrooks

By Steve Adams | December 2, 2015 at 11:24pm CDT

The Padres announced tonight that they’ve non-tendered third baseman Will Middlebrooks, making him a free agent. San Diego also elected not to tender contracts to catcher Rocky Gale and left-handed reliever Frank Garces, dropping the club’s 40-man roster to a total of 36 players.

Middlebrooks, 27, was acquired in a trade with the Red Sox that sent catcher Ryan Hanigan to Boston last year. The former top prospect was San Diego’s Opening Day third baseman, but he faded after a hot start and ultimately endured similar struggles to the ones that led the Boston front office to deem him expendable. Middlebrooks hit just .212/.241/.361 with nine homers and eventually lost his grip on the starting job at third base. He saw eight innings at first base and, surprisingly, also logged 39 innings as the Padres’ shortstop in 2015.

Middlebrooks was also demoted to Triple-A midway through the season but struggled even in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League where he batted a meek .255/.287/379. He’s young enough that his pedigree and early success will earn him some looks this offseason, but he’s now three full seasons removed from an impressive rookie campaign in 2012 that saw him bat .288/.325/.509 with 15 homers in 286 plate appearances. Still, it’s conceivable that clubs such as the Braves, White Sox and Indians (among others) which lack a concrete option at third base will consider Middlebrooks something of an upside play and hope he can recapture some of the promise he showed earlier in his career.

Share 28 Retweet 4 Send via email0

San Diego Padres Transactions Will Middlebrooks

Players Avoiding Arbitration: 12-2-2015
Main
Rays Acquire Hank Conger
View Comments (28)
Post a Comment

28 Comments

  1. YourDaddy

    10 years ago

    And the Padres already decimated bullpen gets even weaker. 3 traded away, 2 allowed to walk in FA and 1 non-tendered. Not sure what that leaves that is MLB quality other than Quack, Vincent and Pomeranz. Once Maurer moves to the rotation as expected, the Padres now have a 6th-8th inning guys and a bunch of AAA scrubs.

    Reply
    • AndThisGameBelongsToMySanDiegoPadres

      10 years ago

      There is no indication anywhere that they intend to move Maurer to the rotation. All I’ve heard is that they “Haven’t ruled it out.”

      Reply
      • YourDaddy

        10 years ago

        Other than Preller and Dee saying it in interviews. What they have said is they haven’t ruled out a return to the bullpen for him. They have been very consistent in saying he was headed to the rotation unless they pick up a better option.

        Reply
        • gopads

          10 years ago

          yes consistent in that he would get a chance and Maurer’s last 2 months of the season makes it reasonable he will be on some sort of innings limit in 2016 if he’s a starter – interesting to see how his role shakes out but i see a team player who will be a strong pitcher wherever he ends up (he really controlled left handed batters better than most righties i’ve seen out of the pen in awhile w/o striking out half the guys)

          Reply
        • AndThisGameBelongsToMySanDiegoPadres

          10 years ago

          Literally the only place I have ever heard that they are absolutely moving him to the rotation is from you.

          Reply
    • gopads

      10 years ago

      it’s a week before the Winter Meetings, the 2016 team will be over .500 and the bullpen will improve before opening day – Jon Edwards and couple others are MLB ready or atleast as good as quack & vincent were last year

      Reply
    • disgruntledreader 2

      10 years ago

      While they’ll certainly need to come up with some more LHP options in the upper minors, pretending that Garces is something beyond just another guy is ridiculous. He’s a poor man’s Alex Torres in terms of solid stuff, awful command, bad grasp of the game.
      In terms of some of the other options, I suspect both Mateo and Jackson will get additional looks as middle relief guys. Preller clearly likes big bodies and big arms, and they are both.

      Reply
      • gopads

        10 years ago

        Cesar Vargas

        Reply
    • ebert32

      10 years ago

      It’s December 3… Winter meetings haven’t even started. Chill. Padres are probably looking at Petit who just got non-tendered by the Giants.

      Reply
  2. gopads

    10 years ago

    Lots of room on the Padres 40 man for additions

    Reply
  3. davbee

    10 years ago

    Middlebrooks would be a decent stop gap for the Brewers.

    Reply
    • bjtheduck

      10 years ago

      I was thinking the same thing. I’m still not sure why the Brewers never pop up on these lists of teams needing a 3B, because plugging in (insert random utility infielder) isn’t going to cut it.

      Reply
      • disgruntledreader 2

        10 years ago

        Middlebrooks = “random utility infielder”

        Reply
  4. bogaerts

    10 years ago

    Complete free swinging bust. He did break off his engagement to a Cowboys cheerleader to get engaged to Jenny Dell, so he has that going for him, which is nice.

    Reply
    • Ruben_Tomorrow 2

      10 years ago

      Was that last line a loose reference to Carl Spackler from Caddyshack?

      Reply
  5. YourDaddy

    10 years ago

    Cesar Ramos would be a nice lefty addition to a totally decimated bullpen. Are you listening Preller?

    Reply
    • gopads

      10 years ago

      everyone in baseball checks out this site, shoot most of them got this app on their phone sending them alarms – always good to get some opinions outside of his circle & think it out. Henderson Alvarez would be a heck of a lefty starter to take a shot on. (if Shields sticks around, he will be getting whatever 5 starters to buy into pitching a combined 1000 innings in 2016) * starters eating up innings is the #1 way to help the bullpen

      Reply
      • disgruntledreader 2

        10 years ago

        Alvarez is a RHP.

        Reply
    • disgruntledreader 2

      10 years ago

      It’d be nice to bring Cesar back around to the organization after all these years – especially if it’s the version with the 2013 or 2015 walk rate.
      There are certainly a variety of other options including Neil Cotts, Franklin Morales, Tony Sipp, and Matt Thornton. I’d also be curious if Sean Marshall’s rehab is at a point where bringing him in on a “forgotten man” contract would make sense.
      It should probably be obvious that all of the names listed above are at least as good as Scrabble and in a different class entirely than Garces, but will probably sign for around what Rzepzc is going to get.

      Reply
  6. gomerhodge71

    10 years ago

    Atlanta could give Middlebrooks a shot.

    Reply
  7. blackleather

    10 years ago

    Middlebrooks, has to ask himself “how much do I love the game?”…if he REALLY loves it, then he’ll make the necessary sacrifices to be the player that a lot of people saw when he was a hyped prospect.

    its nice to have a hot GF, but she wont stick around long, if you turn into a career minor leaguer, homeboy. You can take that to the bank.

    Reply
    • gopads

      10 years ago

      he gave short a shot last year in SD & from the looks of it a team player – could see the Padres resigning him at the minimum for one last go around in the organization/minors plus McGwire/Zinters effect at sprind training would be fun to watch, may get more of a shot elsewhere in ’16

      Reply
  8. R.D.

    10 years ago

    Poor guy can’t even put up a .700 OPS in the minors now. 2 years of struggles makes you wonder what happened.

    Reply
    • SixFlagsMagicPadres

      10 years ago

      His love life happened.

      Reply
  9. Twentyone21

    10 years ago

    The Tigers should sign Middlebrooks, he would be a solid platoon option at 3rd with Castellanos

    Reply
  10. Philliesfan4life

    10 years ago

    With Middlebrooks on the market, the angels could give him a shot

    Reply
  11. mike156

    10 years ago

    Sometimes the can’t miss future HOF prospects never become more than just AAAA players and marginal major leaguers. Maybe the expectations for them are too high (with front office, media and fans pumping their value up) and maybe they have the physical tools but not the emotional makeup. Baseball is a hard game. Middlebrooks will get other shots.

    Reply
  12. SixFlagsMagicPadres

    10 years ago

    This wasn’t surprising, he looked lost at the plate sometimes. Solarte will be serviceable at 3rd base for now. At least they didn’t give up much to acquire him last year, so it was a chance worth taking.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Bobby Jenks Passes Away

    Braves Release Alex Verdugo

    Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline

    Rays Reinstate Ha-Seong Kim

    Yankees Have Shown Interest In Ryan McMahon

    Brandon Woodruff To Start For Brewers On Sunday

    Royals Interested In Bryan Reynolds

    Rangers Option Josh Jung

    Kevin Pillar Announces Retirement

    Braves Place Spencer Schwellenbach On IL With Elbow Fracture

    Giants Exercise 2026 Option On Manager Bob Melvin

    Yordan Alvarez Shut Down Due To Setback With Hand Injury

    Astros Place Jeremy Peña On Injured List With Fractured Rib

    Tucker Barnhart To Retire

    Tyler Mahle To Be Sidelined Beyond Trade Deadline

    Reds Release Jeimer Candelario

    Dave Parker Passes Away

    Griffin Canning Diagnosed With Ruptured Achilles

    Pirates Reportedly Have Very Few Untouchable Players At Trade Deadline

    Recent

    Bobby Jenks Passes Away

    Rangers To Sign Rowdy Tellez To Minor League Deal

    Yankees Likely To Promote Cam Schlittler

    Astros Sign Hector Neris

    Dodgers Not Planning To Add Third Base Help Before Deadline

    Braves Release Alex Verdugo

    Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Blue Jays Place Yimi Garcia On 15-Day Injured List

    Mets Sign Zach Pop, Designate Tyler Zuber

    Mets Interested In Mitch Keller

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Sandy Alcantara Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Alex Bregman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version