The Padres announced Thursday that they’ve designated southpaw Clayton Richard for assignment, which will clear a spot on the 40-man roster for veteran second baseman Ian Kinsler, whose previously reported two-year contract with San Diego has now been formally announced.
Richard, 35, inked a similarly affordable two-year pact with the Friars prior to the completion of the 2017 season — jumping at the opportunity to guarantee himself multiple years as opposed to exploring the open market in his mid 30s. Richard received that two-year reward at the tail end of a season in which he proved a durable ground-ball machine, pitching 197 1/3 innings of 4.79 ERA ball that came with more promising peripherals. That season, Richard averaged 6.9 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 and 1.09 HR/9 to go along with a gaudy 59.2 percent ground-ball rate. Fielding-independent pitching metrics such as FIP (4.26), xFIP (3.76) and SIERA (4.06) all graded him out much more favorably than his ERA.
The 2018 version of Richard wasn’t all that different in terms of K/BB and ground-ball tendencies, and his home run rate was a mirror image of that 2017 rate. Richard, though, did take a slight step back in terms of strikeouts, control and grounders, though, and because his contact-oriented approach leaves little margin for error, his ERA jumped to 5.33 in 158 2/3 innings. Fielding-independent metrics still liked Richard better than his ugly ERA, but there’s no denying that his 2018 performance was diminished across the board.
More troubling Richard’s outlook is the fact that his season was preempted in August when he went under the knife to alleviate left knee troubles that had plagued him since early in the season. While there’s no indication that Richard is expected to miss significant time in 2019 as a result of the operation, the procedure nonetheless further casts doubt on his ability to function as a stabilizing innings eater moving forward.
San Diego will be on the hook for a $3MM salary for Richard in the coming season unless the organization is able to find a trade partner or Richard is claimed on waivers. The latter scenario seems particularly unlikely, given that $3MM commitment, as an interested team could simply opt to let Richard clear waivers, take his release, and then sign for the league minimum of $555K. If Richard does land with a new team, the Padres will be off the hook for the pro-rated portion of that $555K for any time Richard spends at the big league level.
This guy’s names are backwards
Feel like Clayton Richard is a guy the A’s would definitely take a flyer on.
Hope so
Why? He’s terrible as a starter.
My guess is no one takes him on a MLB deal and he stays put, going to the minors with SD.
Why would he go to the minors for the Padres? He’d be like nope I’m now a free agent
More then likely they will just release him
For real. What is with their love affair with Jose Pirela?
How can Preller not DFA Pirela?
Someone suggested on another thread that Pirela has incriminating photos of Preller. I’m starting to lean towards that being true.
was likely me, and until proven otherwise it’s a genuine fact supported by data formulated by scientists at NASA. f ck pirela
Right there with ya
Preller has his “favorites” and they are totally subjective, with no regard to talent, skill, and performance.
I don’t mind losing Richard, but keeping Pirela makes no sense. Neither did appointing Mitchell to the starting rotation before Spring Training, and contrary to Green’s stated plans. Neither did keeping Margot in the lineup when it was obvious he needed a wake up call.
Preller is a baseball moron. He should stick to scouting 16 year old latin players (without breaking the rules).
What else is new with the Padres? Same old thing with them. The only game in town. They should always strive to have the best to fill Petco and make the fans happy. However, clearly they don’t care. 7th largest city with a huge fan base. No excuses.
Pirela either has naked photos of AJ Preller’s wife that he has threatened to leak or he knows so dirt on AJ because how he has survived all of these moves in absolutely beyond me lol.
Je is very very bad at his job. Seems clear at this point
That basically means Lucchesi is the only viable starter they have now, working in reverse, great.
Still a questionable move IMO, but they have so many young pitchers coming up. I wouldn’t rush pitchers, plus you can stall their service time by bringing them up a few months into the season, and then designate him for assignment..
Just throw them out and then hopefully a couple of them stick. You can’t really build around a bunch of unknowns.
You considered Richard a viable starter?
Nix, Perdomo, Mitchell or Lauer are good enough for a rotation spot right now?
worst case scenario, they pitch like Clayton did last year.
Maybe Lauer but otherwise, no. But I don’t think Richard is any better.
Strahm, Erlin, Diaz
Dimelson Lamet
Clayton Richard is not a “viable Major League starter.” He hasn’t been for a while.
I’m ok with this I’d rather have a youngster trying to prove he can pitch than an innings eater. The Padres have too many guys that haven’t been given a shot yet… best of luck to you Clayton I’m sure someone will pick you up.
So they extend his contract for two years only to release him after one? I’m just gonna ask why…
And that, my friend, is why players sign extensions.
He gets paid that $3 million in 2019, no matter what.
He was pretty terrible in 2018: 5.33 ERA, -1.2bWAR. Had he followed your advice not to take extension, dude gets MiLB pact in 2019, in all likelihood millions short. It pays to take extensions’ more often than you think.
What are you talking about now?
And the whole point of extending a player is to get him signed for below market value. Giving him two years guaranteed was not “below market value.”
Sure, it pays to sign an extension if the team overpays as SD did here.
His market value after that 2018 is MiLB pact, assume DFA after that 2018 at PETCO
Yes and you were saying it was “my advice” for him not to sign an extension. I never said that.
You’re pretty pro “test FA market” which I get and lean toward as well, Im just showing you a (rare?) circumstance taking extension pays off.
In Solarte’s case, I don’t think it paid off.
Depends on the money. Most of the time extensions are team friendly. Solarte’s was obscenely team friendly. Richard’s was basically market value if not more.
We’re ready to compete, we dont need innings eaters anymore. Probably means another SP signing/trade on the horizon.
“4 games back, late august”…then Richards returns
bookmarked
screenshotted and memed
Padres fans are weird. The guy has been worth -0.8 WAR since 2011 but here they are going on about Pirela again.
Pirela had an .837 OPS and was worth 2.0 WAR in 83 games in 2017 and seems to have versatility. Why so much hate?
.645 OPS in 2018 and the fact that they put him at multiple positions doesn’t mean he has versatility. You have to actually play those positions well.
Pirela has his problems but he can hit. He goes through lulls like everybody else but the guy can hit and he hustles. For a utility guy, who is not making that much money, he’s worth keeping. IMO.
Had the seventh worst fWAR in baseball in 2018 and at 29 years old, he’s probably not going to get much better. If this were a meritocracy Pirela would have been paying the Padres to play for them last year.
Khopper10 – It is abundantly obvious that you didn’t have the “pleasure” of watching Pirela play last year.
Pirela’s 4 months in 2017 was the best he’d ever been in his life. It earned him the chance to prove himsef in 2018, and he failed. Miserably. On both sides of the ball.
And WAR is still not a stat.
he kicked my dog and didn’t call my mother back after they went on a date to souplantation. f ck pirela
His mediocrity steals major league playing time for players that have a real future on the team. Makes very little sense to have him on the roster.
I get it. He’s a below average pitcher who can no longer make it deep enough into ballgames to justify his employment, but he was under contract. Maybe they believe the 2017 Pirela will be making his gallant return.
Best to Clayton……The Pirela drama continues….Love it!
I’ll admit, it’s getting fun.
I’m ok with Pirela as a bench piece
Why?
Ew, why? What has he done? He plays god awful defense, has no speed and no pop.
Pirela is a bad baseball player.
Yeah, but he’s Preller’s bad baseball player.
Good point. At least he’s that
Bench piece? If he sticks around he will be a triple a depth piece
Richard will get a minor league deal and invite to ST by the Padres. OR, he will become the strength/conditioning coach
Luchessi and Lauer are the only locks at starter at this point. Lamet comes back in july. I expect guys like Paddack,Quantril,Allen,Nix to get a shot
There’s a lot to like there. He struggled last year after being handed a starter job. But I’d like to see a third year. He looked good in ’17 and plays hard. As a bench piece there is little risk and he’s probably above average for that role
He did not look good in 2017, or really ever…imo
Who would you rather see replace him? The guy makes a lot of sense as a bench piece since he can play just about everywhere. I’m not sure that he’s holding anyone back either. Especially with the games gms play with service time… They need a couple guys like him to keep the seats warm
“Who would you rather see replace him?”
Spangenberg or Asuaje.
“The guy makes a lot of sense as a bench piece since he can play just about everywhere.”
By your logic the Padres should sign me up.
“I’m not sure that he’s holding anyone back either.”
He should have been DFA’d before the last maybe 4 guys were.
“Especially with the games gms play with service time…”
Preller and co. don’t seem to be too concerned with doing that. I imagine Tatis will be an exception, but that is why they have Kinsler, Garcia, etc.
You think Asuaje was better last year? None of those guys you listed were any better and they only played at one or two positions. Pirela may be destined to be DFA’d but for now his versatility is saving his job
f ck it, bring headley back. would rather suffer through that than deal with pirela another at bat.
“You think Asuaje was better last year?”
Absolutely.
“None of those guys you listed were any better…”
I know you wanna think that.
“… and they only played a one or two positions.”
Spangenberg can play 2nd, 3rd and SS in a pinch. And he can do it about as well as Pirela can play any position.
“… but for now his versatility is saving his job”
Again, it’s only versatility if you can play all those positions well.
Swinging Friars –
What good is versatility if you’re terrible? A liability is still a liability.
I think Strahm and I think there will be a SP signing on the horizon
He cannot play anywhere
He is god awful with the glove.
REEEEEEEEEEEEEE.
pirela and mitchell split the bill on hiring a private investigator to dig up dirt on preller and blackmail their way to having permanent jobs for the rest of their careers in SD. change my mind. #deportpirela
Where does that “reeeee” thing come from? My cousin says it all the time when he’s “mad” lmao.
it’s basic internet slang for an obvious disapproval of something, with autism intensified
Maybe Cashman hooked them up with a PI. After all, the commonality is Preller’s favorite team, the eff-ing Yankees.
Pirela is Prellers boyfriend for sure.
Matt Strahm and Robert stock might be used as openers next season and Richard didn’t perform well in his last few starts
I’m hoping they let Strahm earn a starting role. He looks good, that’s a live arm!
Trade for Alex Cobb and give Shelby Miller a shot. Not that difficult.
“pirela” is just “preller” in a british accent. maybe that’s why they’ve bonded so
Saving Pirela for the rotation in 2019….gezzz …my Pad kool-aid is a bit strong today..
Andy Green is going to have Pirela in the 3 hole on opening day lol.
He will make up some rubbish about how he owns the opening day starter or something.
God, I want to go puke.
The pirates love their reclamation projects. Richard would suit them nicely imo
They had their chance. Instead of bringing him up from AAA, they kept toying with him. They kept saying that he wasn’t ready yet while performing in the minors. So he got disgusted, left and went to the Cubs were he did okay back in 2015. I think if the Pirates claimed him, he would announce his retirement.
Wherever Richard lands he’s headed to the bullpen where he’s better suited. Maybe long relief or a spot start, but he’s just not cut out to be a starter.
A’s Billy Beane to pick the phone and work out a trade with Padres to get Richard like right away…
Funny that people are acting like this is the last offseason move. It is not.
It might not be the last offseason move but DFAing Jose Pirela should have been the first offseason move.
With the Pirela “controversy” some of this could just be plain old ego. When the current administration trades for a player they believe in, they will often stick with that player even when the ship starts sinking. Crappy transactions do bruise the ego. I will say that if Pirela shows up looking like 2017, which was even average defensively, keeping him will look like a good move. Okay, how about decent move? Okay, how about better than the internal alternative for 2018? And then again, as others have pointed out, more moves mean more people to DFA. At some point, his inclusion on a 40-man will become really hard to justify.
“Crappy transactions do bruise the ego.”
They traded Ronald Herrera for him. Not like he’s doing anything either.
“I will say that if Pirela shows up looking like 2017, which was even average defensively…”
Pirela was always terrible defensively. All he did was have a fluke power surge in 2017.
“At some point, his inclusion on a 40-man will become really hard to justify.”
You mean like last September?
Red Rooster, cool the overly-logical approach please. It gets a little tiresome. Just make your case without the quibbling of this sentence or that. Regardless of who they traded away to get him, the current admin believed in him enough to go trade for him, otherwise why make the trade? And one could make the case that 2018 was simply a down year in average and that next year it will be back up again. I don’t know what last September has to do with anything other than the fact that we both agree that the more transactions the Padres make the more difficult it will be to justify his employment.
Just call him WCR and we’ll all know who you’re referring to
“… cool the overly-logical approach please.”
Lol. So you don’t like it when people are logical and objective in their comments? Ok!
“And one could make the case that 2018 was simply a down year in average and that next year it will be back up again.”
What in his career track record suggests that? 2017 looks like way more a fluke for him than 2018.
“I don’t know what last September has to do with anything…”
That is when Pirela should have been DFA’d.
Hillary …
You should check his stats from BEFORE Preller went out and got him.
He seems to have been a late-blooming work-in-progress with the Yanks that they knew was never going to quite bloom or progress enough for New York standards, so they trade him and he becomes the 2017 Hank Aaron Award nominee for the Padres. That says more about the Padres then it does about Pirela, but hey, it’s a feat he gets to share with Tony Gwynn and….Will Venable.
Rangers needs to sign him for sure
You didn’t need ” peripherals ” to tell you this guy stinks and is only in MLB due to the severe lack of major league talent as a result of over expansion.
Why no dfa mitchel or pirela? Both are garbage
Mitchell’s contract is not guaranteed if he doesn’t make it past spring training. I think that makes him have more upside value.
Agree on Pirela.
Mitchell is terrible
I don’t know why everyone hates Pirela, but he is pretty unloved by Padres fans. No matter what horrific act he’s done, I forgive him.
-0.8 WAR in 2018. If this were a meritocracy he would have been paying the Padres to play for them.
Because Pirela is the human mental error!!
Out with the old; in with the older??!!
Pirela is still on the roster because he is an infielder.
That is all and will change once another move is made to bring in another better option.
Sure thing. Just like Wil Myers is a third baseman.
We signed Garret Richard’s who is recovering from an injury and wont pitch in 2019. Now we DFAd Clayton Richard who also wont pitch for us in 2019. Yeah Clayton is a #4,5,6 starter, we used him like a #2 or #3 starter. The Padres have who as their #1-5 starters?
Lucchesi, Lauer, and after that it’s probably up for grabs between Matt Strahm, Jacob Nix, Robbie Erwin, Luis Perdomo, Bryan Mitchell, and Brett Kennedy. And Lamet should return by July/August.
I do think they should add another arm, but I think Strahm might surprise some people this season.
We need a no.1,2,3 SP its simple just get one FA and trade for another or that 66 W season will be looking better than 2019 season.
Jose Pirela still on the Padres 40-man roster? Surprising.
What’s not surprising is that Geico can save you money on car insurance
Pirela may be part of a trade before Feb. let’s see what comes forth. Maybe the Royals can use him, Time will tell,
Part of a trade for what? You can get guys like him on minor league deals with ST invites.
The only way he gets traded is if we take on a large contract from some other team. He has no value
That’s not true. Pirela is making the league minimum and even that isn’t guaranteed. Obviously no one is going to give up anything good for him but the Padres would just DFA him before taking on a big contract to get rid of him.
The whole point is that he has no value, and that the only way he would be included as trade is in a very minuscule circumstance, like opening a roster spot and *possibly* getting out of $555k.
You misunderstood me Ryan
Stop talking to yourself.
Too many question Mark’s going into 2019
I think this was a respect move. Pirela and Richard are not in the plans for 2019. They had to release someone and Richard is a true vet with some positive padre lineage. Releasing him early gives him a better chance to stick on with another club. It was respect. Pirela will be gone soon as well, just think this was done for Richard to have a shot somewhere else.
Hello Pittsburgh!
Geez he was hot topic for trade discussion not that long ago. Watch the braves come a knocking…. they better not