The Padres have agreed to terms with Chris Denorfia on a one-year deal worth $800K, but two of San Diego's other outfielders may find themselves on the open market before long. MLB.com's Corey Brock hears that the Padres will non-tender Tony Gwynn Jr. and Scott Hairston (Twitter links).
Both Gwynn and Hairston showed up on Tim Dierkes' revised list of non-tender candidates after they were identified as such earlier in the year. Check out our new non-tender tracker here.
Braves need a defense-oriented 4th OF. Tony Gwynn, Jr will fill that role just fine.
I’d love to have Gwynn on the Braves. Ive said before I think he could post something like .250/.350/.350 with just average BABIP luck along with ++ defense in center and speed on the basepaths.
I could see him taking over center by the end of the year or throughout the year when McLouth is in LF and Prado is at 3B to spell Chipper.
Having seen Gwynn for the better part of two years, I’m not sure he’s capable of hitting .250 at this level. For one, his hands are very slow, so he struggles with even average fastballs. Second, he really struggles with pitch recognition. He also strikes out way too much for someone who lacks power. He’s probably never going to walk enough to have a .350 OBP, and his speed doesn’t translate to the bases as well as it does to the field because his base running instincts are somewhat lacking.
Good 4th OFer, decent pinch runner, not much else. And this is coming from a life-long Padres fan who desperately wanted the Padres to bring him in.
^This
Anthony Jr constantly appeared over matched at the plate last season.
In 2009 Gwynn had a .270/.350/.344 line in 451 PA with a pretty average luck wise .316 BABIP. He also had a 10.6% walk rate which is very good.
In 2010 he hit .204/.304/.287 in 339 PA with horrible BABIP luck at .236 even though he had a wonderful 12.1% walk rate (not sure where you go the doesn’t walk enough from). Looking at his numbers you can see that each one took about a .50-.70 drop which can very easily be explained by his ~.70 drop in BABIP though his LD% rate and BB% rate remained pretty good. Even if he gets close to a .300 BABIP in 2011 its not hard to see at all how he can hit .250/.350/.350.
Funny, he posted a .350 OBP in ’09.
BABIP was in the tank in 2010, should regress, he’ll be a nice .330-.340 OBP guy, which has value with his defense in CF.
Fringe-regular with the chance at being a solid-regular in peak years. Definitely has value.
Having seen Gwynn for the better part of two years, I’m sure he’s capable of hitting .250 at this level.
I don’t know if he could sustain a .350 OBP. Hitting anywhere but 8th he’s probably a guy that would walk at about a 7-9% clip. His 10+% walk rate the last 2 years were partly because he hit in front of the pitcher a lot. I bet he could sustain an OBP in the .330ish range though which would make him valuable for sure. He’s maybe the best defensive center fielder in the game right now. His base running has improved a lot from 09 to ’10 and he’s definitely a threat on the base paths.
The Padres need Gwynn’s defense and base running skills more than some are willing to admit. In a tight game, I would rather have Gwynn in the outfield rather than Ludwick or Denorfia, and I’m sure the Padres pen would feel the same. He is capable of hitting .250 and he will provide some team, hopefully the Padres, with some exciting play.
See my reply to gaslampguru
Maybin will make us Padres fans forget all about TGJr.The Deno signing was a good move by Jed.The Padres saved some $ not picking up CY’s option and Correia turning down arb.With the $11 Million coming off the books just from them, we could find a decent 2B/SS combo for a year or two, until the kids on the farm are ready.They could also think about finding an innings eater like Garland to compliment Latos, Richard and Stauffer.
I saw a Gregerson for Bartlett trade mentioned earlier by a TB fan, I told him NO chance.
If the Padres move any other reliever this off-season, it would be Bell, and it will be a semi-blockbuster trade to an AL team
I agree on Maybin. Â That’s precisely the type of young, controllable player with upside the Padres have resisted acquiring for years. Â Hopefully taking the leap on Maybin is a sign of what is to come. Â As I’ve said since we got him, if he just develops into Mike Cameron (.265, 25 HR, 25 SB, 70 RBI), the Padres have hit the jackpot. Â Honestly, if the kid can hit .265 with 15 HR and 30+ SB, he’s a massive upgrade.
There have been reports the Padres toyed with signing Jorge de la Rosa for something similar to what the Rockies paid him, so it seems they are willing to dish out some cash for the right player. Â I’d have loved a 1-4 of de la Rosa, Latos, Richard, Stauffer. Â That being said, they passed because they couldn’t make the dollars work. Â That probably means we’re looking at Latos, Stauffer, Richard, Leubke and either LeBlanc or Castro as our rotation this year.
I see what your saying and I really do hope/expect Maybin to make us forget about Gwynn, but having Gwynn as your 4th/5th outfielder isn’t exactly going to kill this team is it? I really liked how the Black was running the team until Tejada and Ludwick arrived, small ball is what is going to win in Petco. The chances of Maybin not having any growing pains is slim and having Gwynn to fall back on to at the very least play great defense in center and steal the odd base will be missed.
I respect your opinion, but I just don’t agree. Whether Gwynn stays or goes, I think we may have a few long years ahead of us as Padre fans.
I expect the Padres to remain very competetive for the next several years. Their pitching talent is young and controllable and they have Castro and Lollis coming to the majors soon, along with many back of the rotation fill outs like Hefner and Bass. The pitchin talent alone will keep this team competetive. I do question where they will get run production from, though. They have only 1 big impact bat and he may be a-gone soon.
I see what your saying and I really do hope/expect Maybin to make us forget about Gwynn, but having Gwynn as your 4th/5th outfielder isn’t exactly going to kill this team is it? I really liked how the Black was running the team until Tejada and Ludwick arrived, small ball is what is going to win in Petco. The chances of Maybin not having any growing pains is slim and having Gwynn to fall back on to at the very least play great defense in center and steal the odd base will be missed.
I respect your opinion, but I just don’t agree. Whether Gwynn stays or goes, I think we may have a few long years ahead of us as Padre fans.
Gwynn may have better speed bur Hairston would probably hit for a little better average and have a little pop as well. IMO Hairston would be the better choice for the Braves.
But he’s not as good defensively, and is certainly not a CF. Gwynn is clearly a better option as a defensive 4th OF, a need that we have. Hinske (if he comes back) and Mather/Diaz can add the extra little bit of offense.
Denorfia is a former top prospect, and he looked pretty damn good this year. He’s the right one to keep.
I’ve said it before, the Padres cannot afford to have Tony Gwynn Jr on their roster making around $1M with their limited payroll when they acquired Cameron Maybin that plays the same position. Denorfia, was in my opinion the right choice and I am surprised so many people seem to be shocked by the notation of non tendering Tony Gwynn Jr. Deno will produce off the bench, all the UZR in the world will not help Tony Gwynn produce. The Padres need production off the bench, players who can hit, Deno proved he is valuable last year off the bench and starting games to some degree. I don’t care if he looks awkward in the outfield at times, he can hit.
yea definitely the right one to keep, mans got some skills. Angels should pick up Tony Gwynn Jr. keep him close to home and he’ll back up the rookie bourjos if something goes wrong.
Wouldn’t be shocked if Kevin Towers jumped on one or both of these guys. He’s already acquired them before, and he’s been doing a lot of re-acquiring of KT guys lately (Burroughs, Sweeney, Blum, Miranda). These guys can actually merit some serious playing time, so why not?
Could AJ platoon with Jay Gibbons in left for the Dodgers? Late-innings defensive replacement for Kemp in center? Just a thought.
If Tony Gwynn Jr was in the AL, the pitcher would be hitting in his spot.
He is that bad at the plate.
Most people don’t realize it but the padres have the deepest OF in baseball. Not the best OF but the most options. Hairston would be decent because he kills lefties; but Deno is a better hitter than both Hairston and Gwynn so I’m glad they brought him back. Cunningham also succeeded last year in AAA; and in his time up in the majors. Kyle Blanks should also start the year on the bench backing up 1st and LF (he started last year hitting clean up); and lots of people think he sucks because he was terrible last year; but he had a messed up elbow which caused him to have Tommy John early in the year; and no matter how bad he looked in the box I’ve seen enough of him to know he’s a Great hitter. The only other padre hitter I would take over him moving forward is Agon. Really he’s that good to me, better than Ludwick. The pads also have Durango who can’t get a ball out of the infield; but if the team decides ever play him everyday in CF he’ll have at least 40 sbs with blazing speed (probably fastest player in the mlb). I’m just saying, the pads have lots of major league ready options in the OF. In 2011 the OF will be Venable, Maybin, Ludwick to start; but Denorfia, Blanks, Cunningham, and Durango are all better options than TGJ.
Most people don’t realize it but the padres have the deepest OF in baseball. Not the best OF but the most options. Hairston would be decent because he kills lefties; but Deno is a better hitter than both Hairston and Gwynn so I’m glad they brought him back. Cunningham also succeeded last year in AAA; and in his time up in the majors. Kyle Blanks should also start the year on the bench backing up 1st and LF (he started last year hitting clean up); and lots of people think he sucks because he was terrible last year; but he had a messed up elbow which caused him to have Tommy John early in the year; and no matter how bad he looked in the box I’ve seen enough of him to know he’s a Great hitter. The only other padre hitter I would take over him moving forward is Agon. Really he’s that good to me, better than Ludwick. The pads also have Durango who can’t get a ball out of the infield; but if the team decides ever play him everyday in CF he’ll have at least 40 sbs with blazing speed (probably fastest player in the mlb). I’m just saying, the pads have lots of major league ready options in the OF. In 2011 the OF will be Venable, Maybin, Ludwick to start; but Denorfia, Blanks, Cunningham, and Durango are all better options than TGJ.
I like bringing back Denorfia. He is not a liability on defense and he has pop and decent speed.