Padres Rumors

Padres, Cuban Outfielder Jorge Ona Agree To $7MM Bonus

By Steve Adams | July 20, 2016 at 10:46pm CDT

The Padres and 19-year-old Cuban outfielder Jorge Ona, who was recently declared a free agent by Major League Baseball, have agreed to a $7MM signing bonus, reports MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter). The Padres have long been considered the favorites to sign Ona, who will add yet another high-profile name to San Diego’s bounty of top-tier international talent in the 2016-17 international signing class.

Ona rated as the No. 8 international prospect on this year’s class, per Sanchez’s rankings at MLB.com. Sanchez wrote in his free scouting report that scouts are impressed by Ona’s ability to hit to all fields and his emerging power, noting that his batting practice sessions are a “sight to behold.” Baseball America’s Ben Badler wrote back in February that San Diego was the favorite to sign Ona. Per Badler, the right-handed hitter has a compact swing with good bat speed, plus power and an above-average arm that makes him best suited for right field. Badler didn’t rank Ona on his Top 50 list of international free agents for the 2016-17 signing class, as Ona wasn’t a free agent when the signing period began on July 2. He did, however, praise Ona a great deal when profiling the top players that had yet to leave Cuba last April — Ona left the island later that summer — noting that Ona had “all the attributes to be a star right fielder.” While he’s a ways from the Majors, Badler’s February report suggested that Ona could join a Class-A affiliate if he signed this season.

Ona is the second high-profile Cuban talent to be declared a free agent after the July 2 market opened and quickly sign with the Padres. San Diego already added 17-year-old left-hander Adrian Morejon for a reported bonus of $11MM, and the club also shelled out more than $12MM in signings on July 2 when the signing period kicked off. All told, they appear to have spent $30MM+ on international free agents to this point, proving reports that they planned to shatter their allotted bonus pool to be accurate. They’ll pay a 100 percent luxury tax on any amount that exceeds their $3.348MM pool, meaning Ona’s signing effectively cost the club $14MM. The cumulative sum of their spending on international free agents is already near or in excess of $60MM and could continue to grow between now and the close of the 2016-17 signing period on June 15 of next year.

Padres Reportedly Trying To Trade Cashner Before Tomorrow’s Start

By Steve Adams | July 20, 2016 at 10:27pm CDT

10:27pm: FOX’s Ken Rosenthal tweets that the Padres are still expecting Cashner to make his start for the team tomorrow night. One source tells Rosenthal there’s a 99 percent chance that nothing will be completed prior to tomorrow night’s outing.

7:34pm: The Padres are widely expected to move right-hander Andrew Cashner before the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline, and according to a pair of reports from Jon Morosi of FOX Sports and MLB.com (Twitter link) and Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Cashner may have already made his final start with San Diego. Cashner is slated to pitch for the Friars tomorrow night, but both reporters indicate that there’s a possibility that the righty could be moved before that outing takes place. Morosi cites rival executives that believe San Diego GM A.J. Preller may want to move Cashner before he takes the hill.

Morosi lists the Orioles and Marlins as two teams that have spoken to the Padres about Cashner. The Rangers, too, have been linked to Cashner, and SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets that the talks between the two sides are ongoing but Texas wouldn’t be considered a favorite for him if a deal does indeed come together before tomorrow. The Royals have also been linked to Cashner this summer, though not in the past couple of weeks.

Cashner is coming off his strongest start of the season, which Lin notes may be a factor in the Padres’ urgency to deal him. The 29-year-old Cashner rattled off six innings of one-run ball and held the visiting Giants to four hits and no walks while striking out nine. That strong outing notwithstanding, Cashner is currently toting a disappointing 5.05 ERA. He’s seen his K/9 rate (7.1) and BB/9 rate (3.6) trend in the wrong direction this season and also been significantly more prone to the long ball, as his 1.5 HR/9 rate and 15.7 percent homer-to-flyball ratio are among the worst rates of his career. He’s also been limited to just 67 2/3 innings due to a hamstring strain and a neck strain.

In spite of those red flags, there’s plenty to like about Cashner. He’s a former high draft pick and top prospect that pitched to a combined 3.43 ERA in 483 innings from 2013-15 and is earning a reasonable $7.15MM this year in his final season before free agency. He’s still owed about $2.89MM of that salary through season’s end. Cashner’s velocity is down a bit in 2016, but his average fastball is still sitting at 93.6 mph, and his 47.1 percent ground-ball rate is largely unchanged from the past two seasons.

AL West Rumors: Rangers, Gallo, Bregman, Lewis, Lind

By Steve Adams | July 20, 2016 at 9:23pm CDT

Padres general manager A.J. Preller was on-hand to watch the Rangers’ Double-A affiliate earlier this week, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The Roughriders, Grant notes, were playing the Padres’ own Double-A affiliate so there’s the possibility of reading too much into the situation, but he notes that the GMs of selling clubs are more concerned with watching who they might acquire this time of year rather than evaluating their own internal talent. Per Grant, the Athletics also had one of their top minor league evaluators, Billy Owens, present at that contest. Grant notes that names like Andrew Cashner and Rich Hill have been connected to the Rangers in recent weeks, so there’s reason to believe that some homework on one of those two very available pitchers was being done. On a related note, the Padres are reportedly hoping to trade Cashner before his scheduled start tomorrow evening.

A few more notes out of the American League West…

ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets that rival evaluators and executives are trying to determine exactly how much the Rangers truly value Joey Gallo (Twitter link). Some within the industry, according to Olney, feel that the Rangers’ firm reluctance to part with Gallo is actually a smokescreen, and they’d be more willing to part with him than has otherwise been indicated. Yahoo’s Jeff Passan reported something similar earlier this week, writing that some rival executives do think the Rangers would move Gallo for the right offer. Many Rangers fans questioned why Gallo wasn’t promoted today with news of Prince Fielder’s potentially season-ending injury breaking, but as MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan writes, the likely reason for that is that the Rangers are planning to give the lion’s share of Fielder’s at-bats to another ballyhooed young player: Jurickson Profar.
Astros top prospect — and the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball, per ESPN’s Keith Law — Alex Bregman played left field for the first time with Triple-A Fresno tonight, writes Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle. As Kaplan notes, increased defensive versatility will make it easier to keep Bregman in the lineup once he joins the big league club — especially with Yulieski Gurriel not far behind him. Kaplan says that while the Astros aren’t publicly tipping their hand as to when Bregman will be promoted, it could happen as soon as Friday for the club’s weekend series against the Angels. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX and MLB.com hears similarly, tweeting that Bregman could be playing left field in the Majors by next week.
The Mariners received a devastating bit of news today, as the club’s first-round pick, Kyle Lewis, suffered a torn ACL as well as medial and lateral meniscus tears in his right knee in a collision at home plate. The former Mercer outfielder was said by some to be the top talent in the 2016 draft but slid to Seattle with the No. 11 pick. The 6’4″, 210-pound Lewis was off to a brilliant start to his pro career, slashing .299/.385/.530 with eight doubles, five triples and three homers through 135 plate appearances with Seattle’s short-season Class-A affiliate in the Northwest League. He’ll be sidelined for the remainder of the 2016 season and hope to be back to full health in time for the opening of the 2017 season.
Sticking with the Mariners, the team’s acquisition of Dan Vogelbach in today’s Mike Montgomery trade leaves Adam Lind with a virtually MLB-ready prospect waiting in the wings at Triple-A. ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports (on Twitter) that many executives believed that the Mariners would shop Lind, who has had a disappointing season, even before acquiring Vogelbach. The addition of the slugging first baseman/designated hitter makes it even likelier that the club will move on from Lind. Of course, Lind is having arguably the worst season of his career; he did slug a homer today (his 15th) but is still hitting just .231/.264/.449.

Latest On Marlins’ Rotation Targets

By Steve Adams | July 19, 2016 at 11:32am CDT

TODAY: Miami is also interested in Andrew Cashner of the Padres and Michael Pineda of the Yankees, according to MLB.com’s Jon Morosi (via Twitter). While New York is “not ready” to deal Pineda at this time, that presumably isn’t a limiting factor with regard to Cashner.

Both of these righties possess rather different profiles than does Hellickson. Cashner is also a pending free agent, but he arguably comes with a higher ceiling and a lower recent track record. Though he turned in his best start of the year recently, he is still carrying a lackluster 5.05 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 on the year. And Cashner has not only seen his fastball lose a full tick of velocity, but is running up a career-low 6.8% swinging strike rate.

Pineda has been similarly inconsistent, though perhaps there’s greater reason for optimism in his case. Despite a 5.56 earned run average, he’s carrying a robust 10.7 K/9 while issuing only 2.4 free passes per nine innings over his 100 1/3 frames on the year. That’s supported by the deeper peripherals: Pineda’s average heater is sitting at about 94 mph, and he is generating swings and misses on 13.7% of his pitches. Notably, too, Pineda comes with an added year of team control via arbitration.

YESTERDAY: The Marlins’ search for rotation help has spanned many targets over the past month, and MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro adds another name to the list today, tweeting that Miami is interested in division-rival Jeremy Hellickson of the Phillies. Marlins scouts and officials will get an up-close look at Hellickson this week, as he’s slated to pitch against Miami on Wednesday when the Fish are in Philadelphia. Notably, Frisaro adds that he does indeed expect Miami to make “a trade or two” prior to the Aug. 1 non-waiver deadline.

Hellickson, 29, is in the midst of his best season since 2012. The 2011 American League Rookie of the Year was brilliant early in his career after graduating from top prospect status, but he posted a 4.86 ERA from 2013-15 with the Rays and D-backs while battling elbow and hamstring injuries. This year, he’s taken the mound 19 times and posted a solid 4.03 ERA in 111 2/3 innings (despite a hitter-friendly home environment) while averaging 7.9 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 to go along with a 41 percent ground-ball rate. That type of work certainly doesn’t make him a front-line addition to a rotation, but the Marlins have reportedly been seeking a dependable source of innings to round out the back of their rotation as opposed to a top-tier starter to pair with ace Jose Fernandez. In that sense, Hellickson fits the bill.

The trouble for the Marlins, as we’ve noted in the past, is that their farm system is among the worst-regarded in all of baseball, and they already thinned it out by moving well-regarded right-hander — Chris Paddack — to pluck Fernando Rodney from the Padres. The organization’s top prospect entering the season, Tyler Kolek, underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this year as well, though it’s unlikely that the Marlins would’ve been particularly fond of the notion of parting with him in exchange for a two-month rental. That same reluctance would presumably apply to 2015 first-rounder Josh Naylor — the club’s new top-ranked prospect.

None of that is to say that the Marlins can’t work out a trade for Hellickson (or another starter), of course. Even a weak farm system has intriguing names throughout its ranks, and the asking price on Hellickson is unlikely to be exorbitant. He’s earning $7MM in his final season before free agency, and while he’s a candidate for a qualifying offer, the Phils may not be keen on the idea of offering $16MM+ to a player they acquired as a salary dump. Hellickson has exceeded the expectations of most pundits, and the safer play for the Phillies would likely be to cash in on him now rather than face the QO dilemma in October.

The Marlins have also been connected to the likes of Jake Odorizzi, Matt Moore, Rich Hill, Chris Archer and Ervin Santana this summer, and they reportedly expressed interest in Drew Pomeranz and Bud Norris before their respective trades to the Red Sox and Dodgers. At 49-42, they’re six games back from the division-leading Nationals and in a tie with the division-rival Mets for the second NL Wild Card spot.

NL Rumors: Puig, Altherr, Bourjos, Conforto, Wheeler, Jay, Cashner

By Jeff Todd | July 19, 2016 at 8:20am CDT

The Dodgers are open to replacing Yasiel Puig at the deadline, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. That could well mean trading him to facilitate a deal, and it seems Los Angeles is at least weighing the possibility of such a move. As Rosenthal notes, it’s hardly certain that the Dodgers will make a move in the corner outfield, let alone that they’ll part with two more years of control over the talented 25-year-old to do it. That’s likely all the more true given that Puig is finally showing signs of life at the plate.

Here’s more from the National League:

Phillies outfielder Aaron Altherr is nearing a major league return, and MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki says that an active roster spot could be cleared via trade. Peter Bourjos seems the most obvious candidate to be moved; indeed, the free agent-to-be cracked MLBTR’s most recent list of the top 25 trade candidates. Philadelphia manager Pete Mackanin says the club is eager to get a look at Altherr, who has been out all year after undergoing wrist surgery this spring.
With Yoenis Cespedes asking to move out of full-time center field duties, the Mets are considering whether Michael Conforto can handle the position, ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin reports. Manager Terry Collins said he was on board with moving Cespedes to the less-demanding, more familiar spot in left. The question is whether Conforto is up to the task given his lack of experience there. It seems, though, that he’ll receive a bit of a trial by fire at the major league level, potentially splitting time with Juan Lagares up the middle.
The Mets have received some promising news on righty Zack Wheeler, with Marc Carig of Newsday reporting that he’s been throwing bullpen sessions of late. That could set Wheeler up for a rehab assignment in relatively short order. New York won’t have much of a chance to assess his progress before the trade deadline, but can at least rest easy knowing that the talented righty is again making forward progress in his return from Tommy John surgery.
Padres outfielder Jon Jay tells Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link) that he anticipates returning to the majors within a “couple” of weeks. Of course, that almost certainly means he won’t be able to make it back in advance of the trade deadline, which was always the expectation when he went down with a fractured forearm. Jay could be moved in August, particularly if San Diego is able to get him through waivers early in the month — thus opening the possibility of getting a solid offer once he has returned to full health. Such a waiver placement could be risky, though, because the club might be forced to let him go, take a meager trade return if he is claimed, or pull him back while losing the chance to deal him later in the month. With just over $6MM in annual salary, Jay isn’t a terribly expensive piece for a team in need of outfield help, so it’s not inconceivable at all that a contender would roll the dice on a claim even before he’s at full health.
Meanwhile, the Padres are drawing stronger interest in Andrew Cashner than his spotty recent track record might suggest, Rosenthal reports in the above-linked piece. The righty did just throw a gem, and still carries a tantalizing arm, so perhaps it isn’t surprising to hear that multiple organizations are interested in a chance at harnessing the evident talent.

Trade News & Rumors: Hazen, Espinoza, Padres, Huntington, Cespedes

By Mark Polishuk | July 17, 2016 at 10:50pm CDT

Here’s the latest from around baseball as we move another day closer to the August 1 trade deadline…

Red Sox GM Mike Hazen discussed his team’s recent flurry of moves with CSNNE.com’s Sean McAdam in a video interview. Because the Sox had “a fairly clear need on our end…it allowed us to be focused on what we wanted to be aggressive on,” and thus Hazen said the team could act quickly to address those needs before the trade market began to thin out. Getting a controllable pitcher like Drew Pomeranz was in part a priority since there aren’t many quality starting arms available in free agency this winter. The full interview is well worth watching, as Hazen covers multiple topics about the Red Sox as they head into the second half.
Before the Padres finally landed pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza from the Red Sox in the Pomeranz trade, San Diego team president Mike Dee tells Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune that his club made two earlier attempts at landing Espinoza’s services. The Padres also asked about the 18-year-old righty at last year’s trade deadline, and again last offseason when the Friars and Sox were negotiating the Craig Kimbrel deal. In the same interview, Dee also discusses how the organization will be more entirely focused on improving the on-field product in the coming years.
Pirates GM Neal Huntington discusses several Bucs-related topics with Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and other reporters, including how the Pirates are exploring the trade market for pitching but finding very high prices. “You continue to look externally, but your bar’s set fairly high in terms of what your acquisition needs to be,” Huntington said. “That acquisition comes with an extreme acquisition cost. We will weigh, are we better going with our own guys, is there something that makes sense from the outside, and that will play out over the next couple of weeks.”
In another Huntington interview, he discussed the Pirates’ pitching search and other items with Jim Duquette and Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (audio link).
Yoenis Cespedes told reporters (including ESPN.com’s Adam Rubin) that he would like to play left field for the rest of the season, based on both personal preference and a desire to avoid aggravating his quad injury. Cespedes has made 61 starts in center this season (with 13 in left) to accommodate the Mets’ roster construction, though if Cespedes is better off in left, it creates a bit of a jam for New York. Michael Conforto would be forced into right field, leaving Curtis Granderson, Juan Lagares and Alejandro De Aza all in the center field mix (assuming Conforto hits well enough to retain a regular job). This is just my speculation, but I wonder if the Mets could explore moving Granderson, Lagares and/or De Aza at the deadline as part of a trade for more reliable center field help.

Rangers Interested In Rays’ Starters, Andrew Cashner, Andrew Miller

By Connor Byrne | July 17, 2016 at 12:10pm CDT

12:10pm: Texas would like the Yankees to take on a portion of Miller’s salary in the event of a trade, writes Wilson. Miller is under contract through 2018 at $9MM per year.

11:30am: The Rangers are also in talks with the Padres regarding righty Andrew Cashner, per Sullivan (Twitter link).

11:24am: In addition to Moore, the Rangers and Rays are also discussing Odorizzi and Drew Smyly, but not Chris Archer, tweets TR Sullivan of MLB.com. As for the bullpen, the Rangers are eyeing Yankees relief ace Andrew Miller, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link).

9:04am: Looking to upgrade their rotation and bullpen prior to the Aug. 1 trade deadline, the scuffling Rangers are engaged in trade talks with the Rays, reports Jon Morosi of MLB Network (Twitter links). The clubs have discussed left-handed starter Matt Moore, to whom the Rangers have been connected previously, as well as relievers. Texas was also reportedly interested in Rays right-handed starter Jake Odorizzi as recently as July 5.

While the 54-38 Rangers hold a 4 1/2-game lead in the AL West, they and the second-place Astros have been going in opposite directions lately. Texas has dropped 11 of its last 14, and its rotation is missing righty Colby Lewis and southpaw Derek Holland – both of whom are on the 60-day DL – and has gone without ace Yu Darvish for most of the season. Darvish made his second return of the year Saturday, but the Rangers can’t necessarily count on him to be at full strength.

Even if Darvish and Cole Hamels stay healthy and effective, there are questions about the rest of the Rangers’ starters. A.J. Griffin hasn’t lasted longer than five innings in a start since May 2; Martin Perez has yielded 12 earned runs in 9 2/3 frames over his previous two outings, and his ugly 1.0 K-BB percentage this year ranks second to last among qualified starters; and Kyle Lohse has only made one start in Texas, a five-inning, six-earned run showing on July 9, since signing a minor league deal in May. It’s worth noting that Lohse was woeful as a Brewer last year, logging a 5.85 ERA in 152 1/3 innings.

On paper, Moore would be an upgrade over each of Griffin, Perez and Lohse. Considering the 27-year-old is under control through 2019 via reasonably priced club options, he’d also fit into president and general manager Jon Daniels’ plan to acquire pitching capable of helping the Rangers beyond this season. Moore isn’t without his flaws, though, as the previous Tommy John recipient has recorded somewhat pedestrian numbers this year (4.33 ERA, 7.58 K/9, 2.63 BB/9, 36.9 percent ground-ball rate) through 116 1/3 innings. His velocity is at its highest point since 2013, however, and he’s throwing more strikes and going deeper in games, as FanGraphs’ Jeff Sullivan wrote earlier this month.

In addition to potentially acquiring Moore, the Rangers would also like to bolster their bullpen, which has both the second-worst ERA (5.03) and K-BB percentage (8.9) in the majors – bettering only the Reds’ dreadful group in each category. Among their innings leaders, Sam Dyson, Jake Diekman (who’s on the DL with a finger laceration), Anthony Barnette, Matt Bush and Alex Claudio have fared well this season. Shawn Tolleson and Cesar Ramos have endured miserable years, on the other hand. Rays right-handed swingman Erasmo Ramirez has come up in trade rumors throughout the season, but he hasn’t performed well and it’s unclear if Texas is interested in him.

NL Notes: Padres, Upton, Cards, D-backs, Rockies

By Connor Byrne | July 16, 2016 at 9:32pm CDT

The resurgence of Padres outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. is “opening eyes,” according to Friars general manager AJ Preller, who told Bob Nightengale of USA Today that the 31-year-old is garnering trade interest as a potential 30/30 player (Twitter link). Upton has racked up 16 home runs and 20 steals this year, so he at least has an outside shot at joining the 30/30 club. Overall, he has hit an above-average .262/.311/.454 through 353 trips to the plate this season. Dating back to last year, Upton has accounted for 3.2 fWAR while logging 581 plate appearances, thereby reviving his career after back-to-back poor seasons in Atlanta. The longtime Ray is expensive, though, with a $15.45MM salary this year and $16.45MM coming his way next season.

Padres, Wil Myers Interested In Exploring Extension

By Jeff Todd | July 15, 2016 at 10:27pm CDT

First baseman Wil Myers has been a bright spot for the struggling Padres, earning his first All-Star nod at 25 years of age. Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that both he and the team are open to discussing a long-term deal.

Notably, no discussions have occurred as of yet, and both Myers and GM A.J. Preller say that there are no intentions to hold them during the present season. But it seems clear from their comments that both have genuine interest in exploring a long-term relationship.

Myers, who says he loves playing for the Padres. He also expressed positive sentiment toward Preller and manager Andy Green. “I do really, truly believe that A.J. Preller has a plan for the future,” said Myers, “and that’s a big deal when it comes to extension talks. … As far as being here long-term, I could see myself doing it. I could see trying to build something here.”

The former Rookie of the Year will qualify for arbitration for the first of three times in the coming winter, meaning he’ll start to get expensive. With three partial and uneven seasons under his belt coming into 2016, there was quite a bit of variability in his earning power. But Myers is carrying a .286/.351/.522 slash over 379 plate appearances, with a career-high 19 homers in the bank, ensuring that he’ll get a very nice raise.

That performance not only begins to set a price point for the sides to work from, but enhances San Diego’s desire to get a deal done while it has some leverage. “You always want to hear players that want to be in your franchise, that want to be in your city, and I think that’s exciting to hear,” Preller said. “He’s a big-time talent and, I think, is excited by this franchise, this place, and wants to be here. When we made the trade, that’s what we were looking for.”

Of course, as Preller notes, he’ll need to talk the matter through with club ownership before approaching Myers’s camp with any offers. But the success of Myers is a notable element in evaluating Preller’s own tenure with the team. After all, he gave up two significant pieces (Joe Ross and Trea Turner) to acquire him, and the results had been less than promising at the start of the 2016 campaign.

Having just dealt lefty Drew Pomeranz, San Diego is clearly not angling for near-term contention. But the organization has begun accumulating some near-MLB prospects, with a large haul of younger players behind them, and could conceivably begin building toward competitiveness before long. Myers is young enough that the Pads might commit to him in hopes that he’ll help boost performance and attendance in the near-term while remaining a core piece in the team’s next window of opportunity.

Red Sox Acquire Drew Pomeranz For Anderson Espinoza

By Steve Adams | July 14, 2016 at 11:25pm CDT

The Red Sox and Padres have begun the second half of the season with some fireworks, announcing on Thursday night that Boston has acquired left-hander Drew Pomeranz in exchange for top right-handed pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza, who is widely considered to be one of the 20 best prospects in all of Major League Baseball. Infielder Josh Rutledge moves to the 60-day DL for Boston in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for its new starter.

The Padres acquired Pomeranz, 27, from the A’s this winter for the now-bargain price of Yonder Alonso and Marc Rzepczynski. After talking his way into the rotation mix in Spring Training, Pomeranz has broken out as the ace of the San Diego staff and fulfilled a good deal of the potential that pundits believed him to possess when he was selected fifth overall by the Indians back in 2010. In 102 innings this season, the first-time All-Star has posted a 2.47 ERA with 10.1 K/9, 3.6 BB/9 and a 47.8 percent ground-ball rate. He’ll immediately slot into the middle of the Boston rotation and can be controlled for another two seasons beyond the 2016 campaign via the arbitration process. Not only does he have two years of club control left, he’s earning just $1.35MM in 2016, which will help to suppress his future arbitration salaries despite this season’s breakout.

While Pomeranz has been dominant in 2016, he doesn’t come without his risks, and chief among them is the limited workload he’s had in recent seasons. Pomeranz spent his early years in Colorado after being included in the Ubaldo Jimenez trade with Cleveland, and his innings totals were suppressed as he pitched poorly much of the time at Coors Field. Oakland deployed Pomeranz in a swingman capacity and utilized him more out of the bullpen than the rotation. Since being drafted, Pomeranz has never thrown more than 146 2/3 innings in a single season between the Majors and Minors combined. That total came all the way back in 2012 and has been followed by single-season innings totals of 112 2/3 (2013), 115 1/3 (2014) and 88 (2015). The Red Sox, however, appear undeterred by the fact that Pomeranz will be approaching uncharted waters in terms of workload as the season progresses into its final months.

The Red Sox have been tied to rotation help for more than a month, as the club’s Opening Day mix of starters has largely underwhelmed. MLBTR’s Jason Martinez noted earlier today in examining the top need of each American League contender that the rotation was far and away the Red Sox’ primary deficiency. Boston starting pitchers rank 19th in Major League Baseball with a 4.72 ERA this season, and only Steven Wright and Rick Porcello have posted earned run averages south of 4.00. David Price has righted the ship after a rocky start to the season but still is sporting a 4.34 mark on the year, while Eduardo Rodriguez has been slowed by injuries and pitched poorly even upon activation from the disabled list. Joe Kelly has been relegated to the Triple-A bullpen, and spot starts from Henry Owens and Sean O’Sullivan have been sub-par, to say the least. Excluding the work of Wright, Price and Porcello, the Red Sox have received a combined 7.22 ERA from the rest of their rotation.

From the Padres’ vantage point, the decision to move Pomeranz wasn’t a clear-cut one. We at MLBTR weighed the pros and cons of dealing Pomeranz and wound up with a split camp among our staff when debating whether the Padres should trade him (a topic that I first examined at length before polling the MLBTR staff for their individual opinions). Pomeranz is both controllable and affordable but also comes with limited innings and a pair of DL stints for shoulder and biceps issues.

While it’s possible that Pomeranz’s value will be even higher come the offseason, the Padres elected to move him now, and in doing so continued down a clear path to an extensive rebuild. Not only that, but the fact that the club focused in on the 18-year-old Espinoza when dealing a pitcher that could’ve provided significant value in both 2017 and 2018 indicates that the Padres may feel that a fairly lengthy rebuild is in order. Espinoza, who rated 14th on today’s midseason top 100 prospect update from ESPN’s Keith Law (ESPN Insider required/recommended), is currently the youngest player in the Class-A South Atlantic League but has held his own in spite of that fact. He’s totaled 76 innings and delivered a 4.38 ERA with a 72-to-27 K/BB ratio and a 48.9 percent ground-ball rate against much older competition.

Law notes in his scouting report that Espinoza sits comfortably at 94-95 mph with his heater and can touch 99, and he also features a plus changeup and curveball (with the former representing the better of the two secondary offerings). Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com note that Espinoza repeats his delivery well, which allows him to locate the ball effectively. The MLB.com duo notes that his secondary offerings are much more advanced than those of a typical teenager. Baseball America, who rated him 15th in MLB on their midseason Top 100 list, wrote in the offseason that Espinoza possesses “obvious front-of-the-rotation talent, and makeup and intelligence to maximize his ability.”

The swap represents the second significant trade completed between the Red Sox and Padres over the past nine months, as Boston also acquired Craig Kimbrel from the Friars in exchange for Manuel Margot, Javier Guerra, Carlos Asuaje and Logan Allen in the offseason. While San Diego GM A.J. Preller has taken his share of flak for the Padres’ ill-fated attempt at an accelerated path back to contention in the NL West, he’s now flipped a pair of assets (Kimbrel, Pomeranz) within a year of acquiring them and received significantly more in exchange than he initially surrendered.

Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, meanwhile, has come to Boston as advertised: unafraid to utilize a deep farm system to acquire immediate impact talent at the Major League level in the name of winning now. While the losses of players like Margot and Espinoza sting, the Red Sox likely feel compelled to capitalize on the fact that young stars such as Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley are emerging (or have emerged) as front-line talents, while aging veterans (most notably David Ortiz) are still productive and able to help the club push for a return to the postseason.

Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune first reported that Pomeranz was going to the Red Sox. Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald reported (via Twitter) that Espinoza was part of the return. Lin (Twitter link) and Jon Morosi of FOX Sports/MLB.com indicated that it was a straight-up swap of those two players.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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