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Padres’ Chairman Ron Fowler On Weaver, Preller, Szczur

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Padres executive chairman Ron Fowler made an appearance on Mighty 1090 AM radio yesterday and spoke with host Dan Sileo about a number of topics, including Jered Weaver’s struggles, last year’s investigation into the team’s medical processes, the trade for outfielder Matt Szczur, and the strong performances of Wil Myers and Yangervis Solarte (audio link to the interview). You’ll want to give it a full listen, but here are some of the highlights.

Most notably, Fowler was unusually candid about his disappointment in Weaver’s struggles and suggested that the veteran right-hander wouldn’t be given much longer to turn things around.

“We’ve had several performances from Jered that have been not very good, and Jered owns them,” said Fowler. “… I think it’s a short leash, and we’ve got to make some decisions. … We’re hoping there’s something left, but the last several performances don’t give us much cause to be positive.”

Fowler offered praise for Weaver’s accountability on multiple occasions, and the right-hander indeed has been frank with the media about his poor performance. But that doesn’t seem likely to change the analysis from the team’s perspective, with Fowler saying he expects “decisions ill get made in the not-too-distant future.”

As for the thought process that went into signing the light-tossing veteran, Fowler forthrightly acknowledged it was a roll of the dice that has not really panned out.

“We did take a chance on him,” he said. “We were hoping we’d get some more, that there was more left in the tank, and at this point in time, it doesn’t appear that we were right. We’re not going to let it continue for a long period of time. We like the way he’s owning it at least and not trying to walk from it.”

Those surprisingly frank words likely won’t offer much comfort to Weaver, who has indeed been hit hard thus far. Through seven outings, he carries a 6.81 ERA and has been touched for 14 long balls.

San Diego is obviously looking to find value where it can, and that has continued into the season. The team’s recent acquisition of Szczur out of DFA limbo, though, was also driven by need.

“He’s an outfielder that we think is very strong from a defense standpoint,” said Fowler. “He hasn’t performed offensively as well as the Cubs would’ve liked, but he’s a high character guy. … Right now we’re down two guys in the outfield, and we need to probably give [Hunter] Renfroe some time off. [Manuel] Margot is playing literally every game. We just need someone out there.”

That said, it seems that Szczur has been on the club’s radar for some time. Fowler says that the Pads tried to pry him loose from the Cubs in the spring but were rebuffed.

Also of note were Fowler’s comments on the fallout of the suspension of GM A.J. Preller for mismanaging the sharing of medical information at last year’s trade deadline. He acknowledged that there is some ongoing impact, though he suggested it likely won’t prove a significant barrier.

 

“I’m not saying there’s nothing lingering,” Fowler explained. “I think there’s some teams out there that might still have some issues. But it comes down to, if we have players they want, I think they’re going to deal with us.” He also made clear (as the organization has stated many times before) that the problems with the team’s medical information systems have been corrected. “We own it, but I don’t think there’s any lingering problems in how we’re managing those areas.”

Cafardo’s Latest: Ortiz, Buchholz, Pomeranz, Papelbon, Haren, Preller

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Here’s the latest from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe:

  • The Red Sox are in reasonable position to welcome David Ortiz back to the fold if he chooses to delay retirement. Cafardo points out that there could be many factors getting in the way of an Ortiz return, like the fact that Ortiz retired in the first place, or that his return would have luxury tax ramifications for the club. But the team has avoided substantial commitments to players who might get in his way, and even Mitch Moreland, recently added on a one-year deal, might be more of a replacement for Travis Shaw’s work at first base than Ortiz’s at DH. And Ortiz, of course, recently penned a provocative Instgram post expressing excitement at the Red Sox’ acquisition of Chris Sale.
  • The Red Sox would prefer to trade Clay Buchholz, but they would generate more interest from other teams if they were to make Drew Pomeranz available instead, Cafardo writes. Buchholz is set to make $13.5MM next year, while Pomeranz will make about $4.7MM, as MLBTR projected. (I’d add that Pomeranz is also controllable through 2018, while Buchholz is not.) The medicals on both pitchers “probably aren’t that great,” a rival executive says. Buchholz missed time in 2015 with an elbow injury, and Pomeranz had a forearm issue last year.
  • It doesn’t sound like Jonathan Papelbon will pick a new team anytime soon. According to his agent, Seth Levinson, Papelbon is dealing with a family matter, and wants to be dedicated to that issue until it’s resolved. “We hope that people can respect his privacy during this time,” Levinson says.
  • The Diamondbacks recently added retired righty Dan Haren as a “pitching strategist,” but D’backs manager Torey Lovullo says not to expect Haren to be in the public eye. “I think he’s going to be somebody behind the scenes, and that’s by his choice,” Lovullo says. “He wants to just remain behind the scenes and help our pitchers be successful. I think he has an attachment to Arizona. … So I think there’s a good starting point for him to come in and come up with a game plan as to how to reach some of these guys and how to help them as quickly as possible.”
  • Rival front offices have been careful in making trades with Padres GM A.J. Preller, who recently served a 30-day suspension over a failure to disclose medical information. “I think it’s just human nature to keep your eyes open when dealing with him at least for a while,” says one executive.

Padres Notes: Feliz, Aybar, Solarte, Richard

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Here’s the latest from sunny San Diego…

  • The Padres and Blue Jays are two of the teams who have shown interest in righty reliever Neftali Feliz, FOX Sports’ Jon Paul Morosi reports (via Twitter).  Feliz was bothered by some arm problems late in the season, though he posted a solid 3.52 ERA, 10.2 K/9 and 2.9 K/BB rate over 53 2/3 innings out of the Pirates bullpen.  The addition of Feliz would further bolster what is already looking like a strong Padres relief corps, though the Friars may not have the payroll resources of the Jays or the Nationals (another known Feliz suitor).
  • The Padres have some talks with Erick Aybar as they look to once again add a shortstop, MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell reports, though GM A.J. Preller said that the team is primarily looking to the trade market for help at short.  Luis Sardinas is the incumbent at the position in San Diego, though Preller himself mused that the situation is “pretty fluid,” as the Padres weigh finding competition for Sardinas, making a short-term signing or perhaps a larger transaction.
  • Preller denied reports that the team was “aggressively shopping” third baseman Yangervis Solarte and said he would be fine with keeping Solarte in a Padres uniform.  “He’s a guy that we definitely get hit on from other clubs,” Preller said. “I think from our standpoint, we’ll listen, but we’re not actively out there trying to drum up a market or anything like that.”
  • The Padres have reached out to some of the six players they non-tendered earlier this week about returning on minor league deals, Cassavell reports.  It would seem like Hector Sanchez is one of those contacted, as he is a candidate to return and Preller said the team is looking to add catching depth.
  • In a tweet from Cassavell, the Padres will be meeting with Clayton Richard’s agent this week and remain interested in a reunion.  Negotiations between the two sides are “still in early stages.”  After being released by the Cubs in August, Richard signed on with San Diego and pitched well in 11 outings (nine starts), posting a 2.52 ERA over 53 2/3 innings, though his peripherals weren’t too impressive.

Padres Notes: Preller, Trade Talks, Coaching Staff, Rea

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Earlier today, we checked in on the Padres’ interesting experimentation with catcher Christian Bethancourt, who not only spent time in the outfield last year but is preparing to work as a reliever in winter ball action. And last night, we learned about some roster-trimming moves. Here are a few more notes out of San Diego:

  • Padres GM A.J. Preller says that he doesn’t expect his recent suspension over medical disclosures in trade talks to have any carryover effects this winter, as AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports. Reiterating his position that there was never any intent on the team’s part to deceive other clubs, he said that the Padres are “going to be very committed to correcting” their medical record-keeping and will “be best in class … from an admin[istrative] standpoint, a reporting standpoint, [in] following guidelines.”
  • Preller further explained that the Padres are anticipating a busy winter. The GM noted that ten rival organizations have already “check[ed] in with us” on trade possibilities since he was reinstated. The trade market figures to be “fairly active,” he said, given the weak free agent class.
  • The Padres parted ways with two coaches — Tarrik Brock and Eddie Rodriguez — but otherwise intend to keep their field staff in place, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. First-year skipper Andy Green will remain at the helm, with bench coach Mark McGwire, pitching coach Darren Balsley, hitting coach Alan Zinter, third base coach Glenn Hoffman, and bullpen coach Doug Bochtler all set to reprise their roles as well.
  • Colin Rea, whose injury in his first start with the Marlins after a summer trade played a major role in Preller’s suspension, is still working toward avoiding Tommy John surgery. He recently completed a 40-pitch bullpen session, Lin notes in the above-linked post. The hope is that he’ll at least be able to partake in live BP sessions before being shut down for the winter, with some possibility he’ll even appear in AFL or winter league action. If all goes well, Rea will hold off on a TJ procedure in hopes of enjoying a full 2017 season.

NL West Notes: Preller, Giants, Rockies, D’Backs

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Padres GM A.J. Preller is back on the job now that his 30-day suspension has ended, though both Preller and the organization may need more time to repair their reputations around baseball.  ESPN’s Buster Olney (subscription required) reports that several teams will adjust how they negotiate with San Diego from now on, while one team has simply refused to consider any trades with Preller and the Padres.  There is also still “a river of industry speculation” that the Padres could face lawsuits about their handling of player medical information.  Here’s some more from around the NL West…

  • In a reader mailbag piece about several Giants-related topics, MLB.com’s Chris Haft doesn’t see San Francisco re-signing free agents Sergio Romo, Javier Lopez, Angel Pagan or Jake Peavy, though there’s a chance Gregor Blanco could return.  The probable departures of Romo and Lopez could be part of a wider bullpen shakeup for the Giants, as GM Bobby Evans has said that finding a closer is a top offseason priority.
  • The Rockies’ managerial search is discussed by Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post as part of his own reader maibag.  Saunders feels the team’s new skipper should come from outside the organization in order to bring a fresh perspective.  It seems like Colorado is more apt to hire a manager who leans more towards the front office’s analytical mindset.  Former manager Walt Weiss “embraced the statistics and analytics to a large degree,” though ultimately preferred to rely on gut-level calls and felt he was being interfered with by the front office.  The well-documented discord between Weiss and GM Jeff Bridich also  didn’t help things, as you might expect.
  • The Diamondbacks lost three members of the scouting department in part due to the front office uncertainty prior to hiring of new GM Mike Hazen, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes.  Assistant director of scouting Brendan Domaracki and longtime scout Howard McCullough (who had been with the D’Backs since the franchise began operations) both left for positions with the Mariners, while amateur scout Frankie Thon Jr. will join the Angels as their new international crosschecker and assistant director of international scouting.

A.J. Preller Returns From Suspension

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Padres general manager A.J. Preller returned from his unpaid 30-day suspension for failing to disclose medical information to the Red Sox in the Drew Pomeranz trade, writes Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (links to Twitter) that following the dismissal of Padres CEO Mike Dee, Preller will now report directly to ownership (which Lin specifies further, listing Ron Fowler and Peter Seidler). According to Rosenthal, that arrangement will remain in place even after the Padres hire a replacement for Dee, as the team’s next president will only oversee the business side of operations. Furthermore, Rosenthal adds that the Padres plan to make at least one hire, if not two, that will ensure compliance with medical regulations.

Preller offered a short comment to Lin upon his return: “It’s obviously been a busy day catching up on phone calls, getting started, looking toward the off-season with the front-office group, getting back and talking to (Padres manager Andy Green). Obviously, we’ve got a lot of work in front of us, today has been busy catching up on everything, and looking forward to getting back on the job.”

Lin adds that despite recent speculation on the matter, Major League Baseball’s investigation into the scandal is complete. As commissioner Rob Manfred said earlier this month (link via the Boston Herald’s Evan Drellich), the Red Sox were asked whether they wanted to rescind the Pomeranz-for-Anderson Espinoza swap when it came to light that the Padres had withheld information, but the team elected to hang onto Pomeranz because the trade deadline had already come and gone (the implication being that they wouldn’t be able to acquire further rotation help). The team will not hire a president of baseball operations to oversee Preller, Lin continues, nor will Preller’s decision-making power diminish in the wake of the scandal.

Rob Manfred On A.J. Preller’s Suspension: “I Know Where A.J. Is”

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Major League Baseball has had to deal with a number of situations recently in which it’s had to punish teams or front offices, rather than players. Those include the Padres’ failure to disclose some medical information in trades, which led to the suspension of GM A.J. Preller; the Red Sox’ manipulation of international signing practices; and hacking of the Astros’ database by a Cardinals front office employee. Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald explores those issues an excellent article that includes new tidbits from commissioner Rob Manfred. (We also highlighted some of Manfred’s other thoughts on the Preller matter yesterday.)

Some throughout the game have wondered whether Preller’s 30-day suspension is enforceable. He would, surely, only need his phone and computer to continue to influence over the Padres’ decision-making. Manfred, though, says that the league has mechanisms in place to ensure Preller stays away.

“I know where A.J. is,” Manfred says. “We’ve also told the Padres that we will be making investigatory undertakings to verify that there has been no contact. They’re very, very explicit rules about what he can and can’t do. I think given the circumstances, I am comfortable we can enforce the penalty.”

The Red Sox, of course, were victims of Preller’s handling of medical information, having been deprived of relevant records in the Drew Pomeranz / Anderson Espinoza swap. The Sox could have rescinded the deal in either July or August, Drellich reports. When the Red Sox learned that the Padres had withheld information, they informed the league, but took the position that they wanted to keep Pomeranz, even after receiving the results of an MRI that increased their frustration with the situation. (The exact results of the MRI are not publicly known, although Pomeranz is currently struggling with left forearm soreness.)

“For a very, very long time, there has been a rule in baseball that if something happens in terms of lack of complete information or disclosure with respect to the trade that the remedy is to rescind the trade, and you saw that baseball rule operate,” Manfred says, referring to the partially-rescinded trade between the Padres and Marlins involving now-injured Colin Rea. (Rea originally headed from the Padres to the Marlins with Andrew Cashner and Tayron Guerrero for Carter Capps, Jarred Cosart, Josh Naylor and Luis Castillo, then headed back to the Padres for Castillo alone.) “Once that happens the rule in baseball has always been that we do not reconfigure trades. Figuring out exactly what happened when is extraordinarily difficult if not impossible. And even if we can figure that out, we are not institutionally capable of deciding who would have traded what for what.”

Manfred On CBA, Red Sox-Padres Trade, Preller, Ortiz

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Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement is set to expire in December, but commissioner Rob Manfred said Sunday that he expects a new CBA in place by the end of the postseason, according to Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal (Twitter link). “Both parties still have significant issues on the table,” added Manfred, but he doesn’t believe those concerns are enough for either side to rip up the agreement and start negotiations from scratch (via Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, on Twitter).

Manfred, who’s in Boston on Sunday for Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz’s final regular-season game, also addressed several other important topics:

  • After acquiring left-hander Drew Pomeranz from the Padres for top pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza in July, questions arose in August over whether San Diego was completely honest about Pomeranz’s medical information. It turned out the Padres didn’t reveal that Pomeranz was taking anti-inflammatory medication for his elbow at the time of the deal. Then, when MLB handed Padres general manager A.J. Preller a 30-day suspension in September, Red Sox chairman Tom Werner expressed displeasure with the commissioner’s office, saying, “We felt that some wrong was committed and that it’s important to have a level playing field. The Padres didn’t play on it.” Interestingly, the league gave the Red Sox the opportunity to undo the trade in early August, Manfred revealed, but the non-waiver deadline had already passed by then. Moreover, there was no way for the league to compensate the Red Sox, the commissioner stated. As a result, Boston turned down the offer and kept Pomeranz (Twitter links via MacPherson and Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe). The 27-year-old has scuffled since the trade and is currently dealing with left forearm soreness.
  • Whether the Padres fire Preller for his questionable practices is up to them, not the league, according to Manfred (via Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune). “I felt that that Mr. Preller behaved inappropriately in the situation. He behaved inappropriately to the detriment of two clubs,” said Manfred. “And I thought that a publicly announced suspension of 30 days, which is the longest suspension of a front-office person in 70 years, was a firm statement of our view on how he had behaved or, in this case, misbehaved.” As of Sept. 17, the Padres’ front office was reportedly split on Preller, who, in addition to crossing the Red Sox, didn’t disclose all available medical information in a July trade with the Marlins. As a result, the Preller-led Padres reversed part of what was a large transaction that centered on Andrew Cashner. Ultimately, the Padres re-acquired right-hander Colin Rea from Miami and sent pitching prospect Luis Castillo back to the Marlins. That came after Rea left his sole Marlins start with an elbow injury. Rea is now attempting to stave off Tommy John surgery.
  • Ortiz was among 104 major leaguers who tested positive for performance-enhancing substances in 2003, but Manfred downplayed that. The list didn’t distinguish therapeutic use exemptions from PEDs, per Manfred, who called it “unfair” and “wrong” that the positive test might negatively affect Ortiz’s legacy (Twitter links via MacPherson and Alex Speier of the Boston Globe).

Rosenthal’s Latest: Trumbo, Yankees, Preller

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Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal, via a video at FOX Sports:

  • Orioles slugger Mark Trumbo will be an interesting free agent to watch, Rosenthal writes. He’s something like the opposite of Jason Heyward, who got $180MM last year — unlike Heyward, whose calling card was his defense, Trumbo is a clear liability in the outfield but has spent the 2016 season hitting home runs by the bushel. It will, indeed, be interesting to see how teams value a player who already has 44 home runs this season but who will be 31 in January and doesn’t have much in the way of OBP or fielding ability.
  • The Yankees will likely try to slip underneath the luxury-tax threshold in one of the next two seasons, Rosenthal says, noting that the threshold will likely increase to $200MM-plus in the next CBA. Doing so would reset their penalty rate in time for them to splurge on the 2018-2019 free agent class, which includes Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Nolan Arenado and other big names. After next season, Alex Rodriguez and CC Sabathia will no longer draw a salary, potentially allowing the Yankees to get beneath the threshold for 2018.
  • The Padres continue to support GM A.J. Preller, who’s currently suspended due to disputes over medical information the team withheld from other teams in trade negotiations. The team’s ownership expects, however, that when Preller returns he will improve the medical and training practices that got him into hot water. An even bigger issue for Preller might be earning the trust of executives from other teams, who he’ll have to continue to trade with despite a series of disputes.

Padres Front Office Split On A.J. Preller

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Major League Baseball’s 30-day suspension of Padres general manager A.J. Preller for a failure to disclose medical information in the Drew Pomeranz/Anderson Espinoza trade has led to controversy both around the league and in San Diego’s front office.  According to ESPN’s Buster Olney (subscription required), “there is a split of opinion” within Padres upper management about Preller.  Owner Peter Seidler and team president/CEO Mike Dee both strongly support Preller, while executive chairman Ron Fowler supports Preller publicly but is “asking hard questions about him behind the scenes.”

Questions arose about Preller’s job security in the wake of the suspension, though a club official told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale that Preller wouldn’t face any further punishment from the Padres, nor was he in danger of being fired.  Nonetheless, it isn’t surprising that the Padres are taking some degree of self-analysis of their baseball operations department, given how (as Olney puts it), “this situation has caused enormous tension and concern” within the club.

Fowler made headlines earlier this summer when he described the Padres’ play as “very embarrassing” during a radio interview.  Fowler took responsibility on behalf of management for the Padres’ struggles in recent years, assigning a share of the blame to Preller while also praising him at the same time.  “I don’t think there’s a brighter GM out there. I don’t think anyone works harder, but the results are not there, and I think A.J. would be the first one to tell you that,” Fowler said.

It would be unusual for a team to fire a GM after slightly more than two years on the job, though it could be argued that little has been normal about Preller’s entire tenure in San Diego, ranging from the payroll splurge in the 2014-15 offseason, to the lack of movement at the 2015 trade deadline to his current suspension.  As Fowler noted during his interview, however, Preller was hired in part because of his ability to acquire young talent — the Padres had a wide array of picks in last June’s amateur draft and they have already far exceeded their international spending limits to land several highly-touted names from this year’s international class.

Of course, it was the acquisition of Espinoza (one of the game’s top pitching prospects) that eventually led to Preller’s suspension.  Several executives and evaluators from around baseball, however, tell Olney that the punishment was insufficient.  One evaluator said that despite the controversy, Preller still “won” because at the end of the day, Espinoza is still a Padre.  As both Olney and Fangraphs’ Dave Cameron observed, there appears to be little explanation for the Padres’ system of internal medical records for their own use and separate records to be shared with other teams unless there was some intentional gamesmanship at play.  “The Padres basically got told to stop reaching into the cookie jar while being allowed to continue eating the cookie they were already holding,” Cameron writes.

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