When Dave Stewart transitioned from being a successful agent to becoming the GM of the Diamondbacks, he left his agency behind. However, the firm – Sports Management Partners – stayed in the family, as Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic writes. Initially, the plan was for former big-leaguer Dave Henderson to take over SMP, but the firm was left in limbo after his untimely passing, which led to Lonnie Murray taking on Stewart’s roster of clients.
Of course, there are obvious conflict of interest concerns, particularly with SMP clients Chris Herrmann and Enrique Burgos competing for roster spots in Arizona. While the MLBPA has been aware of Murray managing SMP, the commissioner’s office apparently did not know Stewart’s wife was representing players until very recently. For the full story, we highly recommend reading Piecoro’s article.
Here’s more from the West divisions:
- The Padres reportedly sent a scout to watch Pablo Sandoval, but San Diego GM A.J. Preller downplayed the possibility of anything brewing with the Red Sox. “Our pro scouts work really hard to look at all 30 clubs. … That’s the nature of what goes on,” Preller said (Twitter link via Dennis Lin of U-T San Diego). In a twist that surprised many this month, Sandoval is currently competing with Travis Shaw for Boston’s third base job.
- Yasmany Tomas got a $68.5MM deal when he signed with the Diamondbacks, but making the jump was still tough decision for the outfielder as he had to leave one of his children behind, USA Today’s Jorge L. Ortiz writes. “Here you have everything, but in some ways you don’t have anything,’’ Tomas said. “There are times we may be at home and we’re down because we don’t have relatives or neighbors we can talk to and say, ‘Hey, let’s do this.’ In Cuba you always find people out, during the day or night. Money is not everything. You can have all the money in the world and not be happy.’’
- The Rangers traded for Bryan Holaday on Tuesday night in a deal that should strengthen their catching situation behind Robinson Chirinos. The Tigers got right-hander Myles Jaye and catcher Bobby Wilson in the deal.
- On Tuesday night, the Angels acquired right-hander Chris Jones from the Orioles in exchange for minor league outfielder Natanael Delgado and infielder Erick Salcedo.
Just say no to Pablo. I’d rather roll the dice with solarte. Padres can’t afford to keep taking on more bad contracts…
My bet is its Matt Kemp going to the sox. Kemp has a bad contract just like Pablo so it will be a exchange of bad contracts.
I hadn’t thought of Matt Kemp heading to the Sox. If Ramirez can transition to 1st Kemp would make an ideal DH when Ortiz retires after this year. Kemp still holds some value though and isn’t a complete black hole like Sandoval. If indeed it is Kemp heading to the Sox the entire framework of the trade should be pretty interesting. I wonder if it could be a multiple bad contract swap. Something like Upton and Kemp for Castillo and Sandoval, with prospects going both ways as well. Possibly, one of the Padres solid relievers or Cashner sweetening the pot for Boston. Cashner is a free agent after this year and with the Padres chances at contending at a minimum, he is a good trade chip. It would be ironic if Sandoval ended up in San Diego after spurning them last year when Preller was reportedly chasing him before he signed in Boston and the Padres moved on to the Kemp deal. More than likely nothing at all will come of it though and Sandoval will spend the year with Bigpapi4ever having to cringe when he signs his paycheck every week.
To just move Sandoval for nothing and take on the remaining part of Kemp’s contract doesn’t do Boston any good. “hoping” Ramirez bounces back for a year works and it blocks Sam Travis for the future, not to mention Rafael Devers, who could possibly end up there down the road long term.
Then the smart move might be to do nothing. Panda is just dead money right now, and Boston has plenty of money. You can’t expect much of anything of value for him. Maybe he improves a bit, and an opening appears to make a better trade. Panda is like the CC contract with the Yankees. You just have to hope for better.
Its pretty remarkable how many people are assuming one bad year means the guy’s career is basically over. Hes 29.
ONE bad year? When did he last have a good year? Pablo had a very nice first season (25-90 .330) eight years ago but hasn’t come close since then He hasn’t hit more than 16HR the last four years. He hasn’t hit over 280 the last three years. Sandoval doesn’t hit for average…or power….he hasn’t stolen a base in four years. He’s not winning GG’s. The reality is this: Boston dramatically overpaid for this fat kid and now BoSox fans want to unload him cause they see what a bust he is! WHY WOULD SAN DIEGO OR ANYONE WANT HIM?
the point is, that you don’t know what you have in Panda anymore. He might recover, or he might continue down the Carlos Baerga path–by the end of his age 26 season, Baerga had amassed 20.8 bWAR. For the rest of his career, over 2400 PA, he had a cumulative negative WAR.
I had this long reply written out that then the website refreshed and dont feel like finding all the stats I used again. But his last two seasons in San Francisco he hit about .278/.330/.415 and was worth more than 2 WAR/year. Last year he sucked. But baseball prospectus predicts a return to form: .280/.333/.447 albeit w diminished defense. I would call that promising, unless you think your guess is better than BP’s.
does BP factor in his weight and desire? He was hardly anything special his last few years in SF. He never came close to matching his first full season with the Giants. There’s a very good reason SF decided to say adios to Pablo! They knew his work ethic and his dedication to the game and saw his waistline continue to expand. Why the BoSox gave him that contract is one of the major puzzles in the world today. But I suspect they wish they had a do-over on that one.
That’s actually a pretty interesting proposal.
From a padres perspective so far this season it appears there would need to be prospects in discussions or a large reduction in payroll. While Shields, Kemp, and Upton are over paid they do provide some value. Shields is still a workhorse that provides innings every year, Kemp is a useful hitter that provides a little more value if you minus his defense on an AL team, and Upton still is solid defensively. Sandoval has zero value right now, offensively and defensively. Swapping contracts wouldn’t do either team any good in my opinion unless Boston and San Diego were willing to add a top 10 prospect or Boston pays most of Sandoval’s salary which I doubt in either case.
Pablo was worth 3.4 wins just two seasons ago – and he was a fat third baseman then; he’s not so old that a rebound season can’t be ruled out, especially back in the easier league. I’d roll the dice if I was Preller, exchanging a bad contract (Shields or Kemp, especially) for another one, especially if Boston were o throw in a mid-level prospect.
I can see some sort of James Shields for Pablo, prospect, and money to offset salaries type of deal happening.
Those are the rumors I’ve heard buzzing. All speculation obviously. Padres do seem to like to mix it up at the last hour though.
Nice to see Stewart is married now.
As a Padres fan I’d prefer if the team avoided Sandoval unless a prospect came with him, but if dealing Kemp would make it happen I’d be all for it. Kemp just has so little value at this point; the last time Sandoval played in the NL he was a moderately useful player, and San Diego has no depth at all behind Solarte at third base. Considering Shields will almost surely opt out of his deal after this season I’d bet Boston would be unwilling to part with a prospect to obtain him, but they may be willing to in a Sandoval deal.
I think the Red Sox just need to eat that contract in a trade so they can get something in return other than another bad contract…
LOL….I keep seeing these Sandoval to San Diego rumors in this forum and it never ceases to amaze me! I guess it’s from Red Sox fans who are desperate to unload that terrible Panda contract. Kemp may be a bad contract but he was productive for the Padres last year and the Dodgers are paying for some of his contract. James Shields produced exactly what San Diego could have expected.. He’s a quality starting pitcher! Pablo was a bust. He’s a fat boy with a questionable work ethic. WHY WOULD SAN DIEGO WANT HIM??? :)
+1
Might also add that Kemp – and especially Shields – are great teammates, while Sandoval is……
Shields for Panda is a crazy trade–for San Diego. Shield was still a 2 WAR pitcher last year and remains a workhorse. You could do a lot worse than having him as a 4/5, and at his best he’s a 2. He’s owed a maximum guarantee of $65M. Panda is guaranteed $77M, was a negative WAR player last year. I think it’s reasonable to assume that Panda is better than he played in 2015–but, how much better? Matt Kemp is a legitimate hitter–it’s his fielding that’s the problem, and Boston is going to have a DH spot. Kemp’s price is net $63M.
Why is it reasonable to assume Sandoval will be any better? He gets a huge contract from Boston and shows up fatter than ever and is lousy! He hasn’t hit more than 16 HR’s in four years. His average continues to drop. WHY WOULD ANY OTHER TEAM WANT PANDA?
I thought I said Shields for Panda was a crazy trade for SD?
but you also said: “I think it’s reasonable to assume that Panda is better than he played in 2015–but, how much better?” I don’t assume that at all. When he was a young man, he was one of those big bodies who could still be productive in sports. But as these guys age, that extra weight drags them down. It’s hard on the body and unless Pablo has an epiphany and drops around 60 pounds …it’s very reasonable to expect his numbers will continue to fall to the point at the end of this year, maybe next, Boston will simply cut their losses and pay him off and use that roster spot on someone else.
I said that because he was awful last year, and I expect some regression to the norm. I’m a Yankee’s fan, not a Red Sox fan–just trying to be realistic. I just think he will be quite as bad–even though he may not be good.
“Why is it reasonable to assume Sandoval will be any better?”
Because he almost can’t get any worse, and it’s statistically unlikely he’ll be exactly the same. Beyond that, there’s regression to the mean, the fact that many players have a tough first season after switching leagues, and that he’s still under 30 years old. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not expecting much from Sandoval. But I am expecting him not to suck quite so tremendously as he did last year.
La situación está un poco difícil (y extraña) pata Sandoval, ya que su contrato es malo además que tiene que competir con Travis Shaw que a mi juicio es muy buen bateador.
I am curious for SD fan input. Is Kemp’s contract really that awful? The guy hit .265 with 23 bombs last year. If that is his floor than I’m interested to see if he bounces back. He’s only a year away from .287/.346/.506 which is middle of the order type production, or close to it. I think Panda is assuredly a bad contract and selling Shields low is a bit scary too. He’s a sure bet for 200 IP and sub 4 era right? Let them play another year in San Diego, sell them low at the deadline if you’re not competing.
its not like kemp is completely dead money, its just that his defense is getting more and more problematic as time goes on. he can still hit (for power) and he’s a great teammate who isn’t afraid of the spotlight. Kemp is useful, if a bit overpaid, its just that he doesn’t necessarily work with the club’s long-term plans if his defense keeps declining at this rate.
i think that they are looking at Panda in an effort to take on a bad contract in order to get additional talent in return. Getting Melvin Upton in the Kimbrel trade set the framework for this.
del4rel, I agree with this assessment, Kemp is not useless. He actually provides a little more value for an AL club because of the DH. I agree that if the Pads traded for Sandoval it would be for the purpose of getting minor league talent too. Swapping contracts does neither club much good but actually benefits Boston more with their ability to put Kemp at DH.
Kemp was ANYTHING but “dead money” last year. He drove in 100 runs for a team that ranked dead last in the NL in BA and OBP….it means Kemp didn’t have all that many chances for a bad offensive team. He hit .322 with runners on base! With the exception of one year when he had superstar stats (39-126.324 in 2011) he’s been a guy usually in the 20’s when it comes to HR’s…and that’s what he delivered for San Diego. The BA wasn’t where it usually is but remember, Kemp didn’t have a lot of support around him in the lineup. No, he’s not worth the money he’s getting but there’s a bunch of players in MLB who fall into that category. The Padres got far more bang for the buck with Kemp than Boston did with Sandoval.
I know I am not as passionate as you guys about Panda. But please allow me to comment on this subject. If somehow Panda survives this year in Boston, could he not simply move over to DH when Papi retires? I mean I see his production in the box is not threatening anybody in the last 4 years for more AB’s. But, if he has less of a burden to stay fit and play defense, couldn’t he strictly concentrate on hitting and eventually get back to where he was as a rookie or how he hit in the playoffs? Seems like the money will be well worth it if he can rediscover his hit tool. I mean, that way you don’t have to go taking on any bad contract for another hitter to replace Papi, you can potentially move one of the kids to first base or leave Shaw at 3rd and decide the fate Hanley based on what he does this season at 1st. Just a thought from a guy who loves baseball.
They’ve been saving DH for Hanley Ramirez, and I think they committed that position before recognizing that he would be transitioning to First…. I guess there’s a chance, if Hanley stuns the world with stellar defensive play there, that he could stick and they’d need a DH, but we are used to much more power from the DH spot than Pablo is likely to provide.
Makes sense to me. If Hanley is productive at 1st this year, keep him there and add 1 kid to the roster. If Hanley moves to DH.. you still have 1 position and 2 kids available to pick up the slack.
Sounds like a win win if Panda survives this year. No unexpected contracts and working with a product you know better than anyone else at this point in panda, Hanley, and the other 2 kids forcing their way into AB’s…..
Sox don’t play Pads until September. Would they really commit scouting resources so far in advance? What could they possibly learn now, in ST, that would still be valid 5 months from now? Pitchers aren’t likely to be throwing all their stuff/stuff in game strategy, too many ABs taken by guys who won’t be on. The ML roster, and hitters will have adjusted to the adjustments by Sept. Smokescreen? Why not just admit it?
Re: Pablo — I always felt he was a guy we got specifically for the playoffs. Like, he could be a run of the mill player during the regular season, but he had magic in the post season. The sox just never imagined the scenario in which they would suck so badly that they didn’t make it far enough to have that play out.