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Chris Paddack

Roster Notes: Padres, Paddack, Rangers, Cubs, Scahill

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The Padres #5 ranked prospect per MLB.com (#34 overall) is angling to get the nod on Opening Day, per MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell. Chris Paddack threw four scoreless innings, which included a stretch in which he struck out five consecutive Oakland A’s batters in his most recent spring start. Last season, Paddack made seven starts in Double-A after cruising through High-A, where he notched an eye-popping 14.3 K/9 versus 0.7 BB/9 in 52 1/3 innings. Double-A didn’t slow him much, going 3-2 with a 1.91 ERA in 7 starts, 8.8 K/9 to 1.0 BB/9. Still, from Double-A to an Opening Day start would be quite the jump for the 23-year-old, just a year removed from missing all of 2017 to Tommy John surgery. The competition is fairly wide open, however, as the Padres, by design, brought very little in the way of established talent to camp. Since the offseason departures of veterans Clayton Richard (traded to Blue Jays) and Tyson Ross (signed with Tigers), Robbie Erlin boasts the most experience in the group, and he’s not even a lock to make the rotation. Fellow southpaws Joey Lucchesi and Eric Lauer each have a shot to get the Opening Day nod, as well. Let’s check in on the Rangers’ and Cubs’ camps as teams begin to whittle their spring rosters…

  • The Rangers culled their number of players in camp to 60. Pitchers Taylor Guerrieri, Michael Tonkin, Miguel Del Pozo and Brady Feigl were all assigned to minor league camp, per the Rangers’ executive VP of communications John Blake (via Twitter). Guerrieri, 26, joined the Rangers after making his major league debut last season with the Blue Jays. A former first round pick of the Rays, he was a starter in the minor leagues until missing most of the 2017 season due to injury. Toronto claimed him off waivers before last season, where started 7 games in Triple-A before appearing 9 times out of the Blue Jays pen, pitching to a 5.02 FIP in a small-sample 9 2/3 big league innings. Tonkin, 29, appeared in parts of five seasons for the Twins from 2013 to 2017 with a 4.57 FIP across 141 games. Del Pozo, 26, reached as far as Double-A in the Marlins system before joining the Rangers as a non-roster invitee. While Feigl, 28, is back in the Rangers system where he has pitched for the past two seasons.
  • The Cubs made a number of roster moves today, with promising righties Adbert Alzolay and Jen-Ho Tseng being optioned to Triple-A, while Justin Steele and Oscar De La Cruz were sent to Double-A, per the Athletic’s Patrick Mooney (Twitter links). Also on the move, Duncan Robinson, Ian Clarkin, Colin Rea, Ian Rice, Charcer Burks and Jacob Hannemann are being moved to minor league camp (Twitter link). Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter) adds Craig Brooks, Alberto Baldonado and Evan Marzilli to the list of players headed to minor league camp. The Cubs spring roster has now been cut to 54.
  • Rob Scahill, meanwhile, was released outright by the Cubs, per Mooney (via Twitter). Scahill has pitched at the big league level for parts of seven seasons running, topping out at 31 appearances in 2016 spread between Milwaukee and Pittsburgh. In total, the 32-year-old boasts a career 3.95 ERA (4.67 FIP) in 124 games for Rockies, Pirates, Brewers and White Sox.

Padres Designate Colin Rea, Cory Spangenberg, Allen Cordoba

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The Padres have designated righty Colin Rea for assignment along with infielders Cory Spangenberg and Allen Cordoba, the club announced. San Diego also designated Christian Villanueva, whose contract rights will be sold to a Japanese club.

Meanwhile, the Friars completed a busy day of 40-man roster maneuvering by adding a host of players. Catcher Austin Allen, infielder Ty France, outfielder Edward Olivares, and righties Pedro Avila, Anderson Espinoza, Chris Paddack, and Gerardo Reyes will all be protected from the Rule 5 draft.

It’s a rather notable group of players to be pared from the roster for the Padres. Rea was once considered a future rotation piece but will perhaps be best known in San Diego for being forcibly re-acquired after health issues arose following his trade to the Marlins.

Spangenberg, meanwhile, was taken tenth overall in the 2011 draft. He just hasn’t turned the corner in the majors. In 2018, Spangenberg slashed .235/.298/.362 with seven home runs in 329 plate appearances. He projected to earn $2.3MM in arbitration; instead, he’ll likely be a popular target for teams looking for versatility and/or hoping he still has some upside in the tank at 27 years of age.

Finally, Cordoba was one of the more hyped Rule 5 picks in recent memory. Many felt the Pads had made quite the crafty move in snatching him from the Cardinals. The San Diego organization carried him for all of 2017 to secure his rights, even as the unpolished youngster struggled. After an injury-plagued 2018 season in which he hit even worse at the High-A level than he had in the majors, Cordoba was punted from the roster.

Marlins Place Colin Rea On DL With Elbow Sprain

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Right-hander Colin Rea, acquired by the Marlins alongside Andrew Cashner in Friday’s seven-player trade with the Padres, left his Marlins debut last night in the fourth inning with soreness in his right elbow, as MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweeted at the time. The injury was ominous even last night, and it hasn’t gotten any better, as the Marlins have placed Rea on the 15-day DL, and MLB.com’s Jon Morosi has tweeted that he’ll undergo an MRI tomorrow.

[Related: Updated Miami Marlins Depth Chart]

If the injury proves to be relatively minor and requires only a minimal DL stay, the Marlins can probably patch things together in the short-term. If it’s a longer-term injury, however, the Marlins could be forced into trying to scrounge up one more starter to round out the rotation before Monday’s non-waiver deadline (or, perhaps, via trade waivers in August). That’s not great news for a Marlins club that has depleted what was already a thin farm system in trades to acquire Rea, Andrew Cashner and Fernando Rodney from the Padres. Reporters have already begun to speculate on possible alternatives for the Marlins, with USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweeting that Jon Niese would make a good low-cost (in terms of prospects) rental, and FanRag’s Jon Heyman suggesting Ivan Nova (Twitter link).

While the injury to Rea, who was in the midst of an excellent debut (3 1/3 innings, one hit, no walks, four strikeouts), is an unquestionable stroke of bad luck for the Marlins, the misfortune goes both ways. Right-hander Chris Paddack, who went to San Diego from Miami in exchange for Rodney, has been diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament and is likely to require Tommy John surgery, per Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (on Twitter). Paddack has been nothing short of sensational this year and has rapidly elevated his prospect status, but he now stands to lose a full year of development. Given the late stage of the season in which he has incurred the injury, Paddack could conceivably miss nearly all of the 2017 season as he recovers from the injury.

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