TUESDAY, 4:06pm: MLB.com's Corey Brock tweets that the deal is now official.
SATURDAY, 4:05pm: The Padres will sign Matt Stairs, according to a tweet from ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. The soon-to-be 42-year-old has a minor league deal with a major league invite, though Crasnick says (via Twitter) that it appears he has a very good chance of making the roster.
Stairs is hoping to be San Diego's left-handed bat off of the bench. Earlier in the week, Crasnick reported that Stairs dropped a whopping 31 pounds in order to get himself into shape for Spring Training.
Stairs hit .194/.357/.379 with 5 HRs in 129 plate appearances for the Phillies last season.
seems like a good signing. could never get going in philly last year due to lack of at bats but certainly a veteran for cheap can’t hurt
cool, good for matt!
awesome! now broxton can wet his pants 18 times a year
cant go to wrong with this, he will get more AB’s in san diego then he did in phillie. Gotta respect someone that committed to losing so much weight to keep on playing. And its only a minor league deal
Yes, I’m sure it was an extremely intense conditioning program ol Matty went through. Simply stop inject………………oops sorry!
(Reminds me a lot of the “intense” off-season “conditioning” program Ivan Rodriguez also went through a few years ago)
I like it a lot for the Pads :), this adds more depth, they started really slow the off-season, but have picked it up since the kouz trade, cant wait for the season to start
Oh no, I misread the birth date. My apologies Zach, and also to all the posters.
keep swingin it stairs!
you know the padres are in trouble. they have no bats and in case of an emergency you use stairs.
Why not. Good guy, good pop, and should net them a low-level prospect mid-season when the Phils trade for him back.
More VET presence for the youngsters, I like it! Its not even like this is a guaranteed deal, no harm at all!
Wish he was back with Jays
Broxton has got to be going crazy right now.
LOL
In case of emergencies, use Stairs!!! Best name for a PHer, ever.
I wonder if this is a test run, Jaff Decker is always compared to Stairs or Kruk. If Stairs gets any time in the outfield and doesn’t embarass himself, it may give the Padres a little more assurance that Decker can also roam leftfield in Petco. Also Stairs in the clubhouse alone would warrant him being on this team. He’ll help Eckstein teach the young guys how to be Major Leaguers.
Swizeet…. Man Every Move Hoyer has made has been pretty cool….I’m diggin the direction he is going…..and he dropped 32 pounds? that’s alot for a little guy lol other old guys should take note that getting in shape actually might help you get a job…
this is good for san diego, they could use a power bat off the bench joining the hairston brothers…….. matt can be clutch to not so much this year but 2 years ago he hit that homer off broxton to help win the game……all in all good signing
if he can get in 1 game, it will tie the mlb record for most teams played for with 12 (tied with Mike Morgan and Ron Villone)
getting your ass hammered by guys. there is no better feeling
I’m not drinking the kool-aid. This sounds exactly like a Cliff Floyd signing and makes me think that Towers is still pulling strings behind the scene. He loved aging OF vets.
He will be the primary pinch hitter from the left side opposite Oscar from the right side and will not need to play the field much if ANY. So… I don’t know if him being old or limited defensively really has much impact on the signing either way, especially because of the versatility from the other players we already have. Stairs has dropped significant weight and is said to be in great shape, that was never the case with Floyd!
Matt also brings much needed VET presence along with the ability to thrive in pressure situations. I love his swagger and leadership like qualities for the younger players.
Who else would you prefer to hit off the bench from the left side as a primary pinch hitter?
ya mickeys right, we got Floyd with a bum leg – Stairs is in good shape I wish the best for him and hope he can ad to his PH homer numbers and win a game or 5 for the pads
Seriously ? You think Kevin Towers is pulling strings behind the scenes to sign aging vets to minor league contracts ? Did we not land on the moon either? Oswald had help ?
This is a total no downside signing…I hope he does well off the bench and shares some knowledge with some of the younger players.
wait, we didnt land on the moon, and oswald did have help, hahahaha.
Great, The Bane of Jonathan Broxton comes to the NL West
it’s weird, he said he wanted to play for Philly then retire, so I guess this is a good thing that the Padres signed him.
Stubby Stairs lives on!!!
Minor League deal are the key words here.
If he doesn’t tear up spring training then he goes away.
From what I am hearing he also has a clause that says if he doesn’t make the ML team he can ask to be released.
I seriously doubt he makes the opening day roster unless the Padres are comfortable enough with their pitching staff to go with 11 pitchers.
With the young staff the Padres have, that is not likely to happen.
ya excellent logic…just sign and not free up a spot of the club…nice work, of course he is going to make the club…Id bet 10 bucks on it 😉
there is nothing wrong with adding depth and girth to your bench.
Glad he ended up in the N.L. West. Put him in against Broxton and its an almost definite blown save.
Good smart signing. He can spot start at 1B if they ever want to rest Gonzalez and he might even be able to handle the OF after that weight loss. The Phillies gave him 12 starts (7 RF,5 LF) out there last year. I won’t be surprised if he makes their team out of camp.
broxton is crying right now
Not only did Stairs give him nightmares, but now he’s been one-up’ed since Stairs has shaved off all that weight.
Broxton is getting trumped by this man without having to face him on the field.
/sarcasm.
no… he’s 41
Actually, he’s on the verge of turning 42. Though, with all of the weight he lost, he probably looks 10 years younger. – Zach