A new trade rumor has surfaced, though Kevin Towers may have already shot it down.
The report on San Diego radio (specifically XX Sportsradio 1090) was that the Padres could send southpaw reliever Justin Hampson as well as groundball artist Clay Hensley to the Reds for Adam Dunn. Kevin Towers described this rumor as "not worth chasing" to the San Diego Union Tribune’s Tim Sullivan.
Hampson is the only lefty in the Padres’ pen, and he’s allowed just two earned runs in 22.1 innings. However, his strikeout rate is quite low and his history isn’t that impressive. The Padres insist they don’t need a southpaw in the pen, but could easily bring up Royce Ring if they trade Hampson.
After a breakout rookie season in ’06, Hensley hasn’t been able to get on track this year. He’s been battered around in 12 starts split between the Padres and Triple A. He had a fine spring but blister and groin injuries surfaced and Hensley ended up losing his rotation spot to Justin Germano.
Kevin Towers and Wayne Krivsky have matched up on a trade once before. In March of 2006, Towers sent catcher Dave Ross to the Reds for right-handed starter/former top prospect Bobby Basham.
