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Padres Fire GM Josh Byrnes

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The Padres have fired Executive Vice President/General Manager Josh Byrnes, tweets Scott Miller of Bleacher Report/Turner Sports. The team has confirmed Byrnes has been relieved of his duties.

“This ownership group is committed to fielding a team that consistently competes for postseason play,” said Padres President and CEO Mike Dee in a statement. “Thus far this season, the results on the field have been mixed at best and clearly have not lived up to expectations. After a lengthy evaluation of every facet of our baseball operations, we have decided to make this change today. The search for a new General Manager begins immediately. We are looking for someone who can define, direct and lead this franchise’s baseball philosophy for years to come.“

The firing comes just two days after a report surfaced that Byrnes’ relationship with ownership had deteriorated. The Padres hope to have someone in place by later this season, sources tell Miller (on Twitter). Red Sox Assistant GM Mike Hazen has already been discussed as a possible replacement for Byrnes, tweets ESPNBoston.com’s Gordon Edes. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets the Padres have also discussed a reunion with Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers. In a separate tweet, Nightengale notes Towers (Padres GM from 1995 to 2009) is under contract in Arizona through 2016 but his job security has come into question with the hiring of Tony LaRussa. Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune (subscription required) lists five potential candidates: Towers, Larry Beinfest (ex-Marlins GM), Farhan Zaidi (A’s assistant GM/director of baseball operations), David Forst (A’s assistant GM), and Jason McLeod (a former Padre executive and currently the Cubs’ senior vice president of player development and amateur scouting).  

In the interim, Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations Omar Minaya and Assistant GMs A.J. Hinch and Fred Uhlman Jr. will assume Byrnes’ responsibilities in what the Padres call the “office of the general manager.” Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets Minaya will be the point person for any trade talk. Miller reports manager Bud Black and his coaching staff are safe and is expected to remain so until a new general manager is hired (Twitter links).

The Padres have posted a 184-215 record since Byrnes was named general manager in October 2011 replacing Jed Hoyer. Per MLBTR’s Transaction Tracker, Byrnes’ two highest-profile transactions were acquiring Andrew Cashner from the Cubs for Anthony Rizzo and dealing Mat Latos to the Reds for a package of Yonder Alonso, Yasmani Grandal, Brad Boxberger, and Edinson Volquez. Byrnes has also handed out five contract extensions of three years or more during his tenure (Cameron Maybin, Nick Hundley – since traded to Baltimore – Cory Luebke, Carlos Quentin, and Jedd Gyorko), but was unable to hammer one out with third baseman Chase Headley. 

 

Padres GM Josh Byrnes Could Be On Hot Seat

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GM Josh Byrnes’ relationship with the Padres’ ownership has “deteriorated,” FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal writes, and one scenario is that the team could fire Byrnes and replace him with fellow Padres exec A.J. Hinch on an interim basis. Tony Gwynn’s recent passing could prevent the Padres from making such a move immediately, but Rosenthal suggests that they’ll need to make a decision soon, with the trade deadline on the horizon. Chase Headley, Carlos Quentin (who could waive his no-trade clause), Ian Kennedy and Huston Street could all wind up on the trade market, and the team could also get plenty of talent if it traded Andrew Cashner.

Reports last week indicated that there could soon be a shakeup within the Padres organization, with hitting coach Phil Plantier and manager Bud Black possibly among the most vulnerable, though Rosenthal reports that it’s Byrnes whose situation is most uncertain. At 32-42, the Padres are in the midst of what could be their fourth straight losing season, despite a payroll increase last winter.

Padres Notes: Quentin, Byrnes, Maybin, Roster

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The brawl between the Padres and Dodgers last night left Zack Greinke sidelined for several weeks with a broken collarbone and put Carlos Quentin squarely in the media spotlight for charging the mound.  CBS Sports' Jon Heyman and FOX Sports' Jon Paul Morosi both feel Major League Baseball should hand Quentin a significant penalty — Heyman suggests a 15-game suspension while Morosi opines that Quentin should be out for at least a month for seeking "vigilante justice" against Greinke.  It may be a while before Quentin misses any action given that the outfielder is likely to appeal any suspension leveled against him by the league.

As the Padres kick off a series against the Rockies at Petco Park tonight, here are some more items out of sunny San Diego… 

  • Padres GM Josh Byrnes seems to have won the favor of the club's new ownership group, Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.  New owners are often apt to bring in their own general managers though in the Padres' case, firing Byrnes would be costly given that he is under contract through the 2017 season.
  • In his weekly chat with fans, Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune notes that Byrnes will likely "blow up the roster" (in the words of one fan) should the Padres fail to match last year's 76-86 record.
  • Also from Center, Cameron Maybin has "no trade value" given his struggles at the plate and the roughly $22.8MM owed to him through the 2016 season.  Maybin signed the five-year, $25MM extension prior to the 2012 campaign but hit just .243/.306/.349 last season and has just two hits in 27 AB to begin this season.
  • From earlier today on MLBTR, the Padres signed first baseman Brandon Allen to a minor league contract.

MLBTR's Steve Adams also contributed to this post

West Notes: Dodgers, Giants, Angels, Padres

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Here's a look at some news out of the AL and NL West..

Edward Creech contributed to this post.

Byrnes On Free Agency, Padres

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At this point in the offseason, when the free agent market features impact players capable of improving any club, it’s easy to forget that some teams can’t rely on free agency — especially not in early November, when asking prices are high and bargains have yet to emerge. Padres general manager Josh Byrnes is considering free agents, but at this point he ranks free agency third in importance behind trades and developing internally.

“Is it going to happen through trade or free agency or patience? Probably a little bit of all, but probably not as much in free agency as some people think,” Byrnes told MLBTR at the GM Meetings in Indian Wells. 

Six of the Padres’ starting pitchers — Cory Luebke, Andrew Cashner, Anthony Bass, Casey Kelly, Joe Wieland and Robbie Erlin — recently dealt with injuries, which makes it difficult to project the 2013 rotation (Wieland and Luebke are recovering from Tommy John surgery). The Padres could look to obtain some certainty by supplementing their rotation with free agents. If they do pursue players on the open market, they might choose to do so relatively late in the offseason. Often team-friendly deals emerge in January or even February.

“That’s certainly recent history,” Byrnes said. “When I was in Arizona we signed guys like [Adam] LaRoche or [Jon] Garland late in the offseason. The early offseason is usually the heavyweights financially but we have to stay active and know what’s out there and, as I said, be patient and disciplined.”

Byrnes said the Padres will remain flexible in case the unexpected occurs and it becomes advantageous to change plans. For now it doesn’t sound as though those plans are oriented around the free agent market.

Quick Hits: Byrnes, Hoyer, Cain, Mets, Chamberlain

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Ten years and one day ago today, the Marlins traded Matt Clement and Antonio Alfonseca to the Cubs for Julian Tavarez, Ryan Jorgensen, Jose Cueto, and Dontrelle Willis. Willis alone made the deal worthwhile for the Fish. Here's the latest from around the league…

  • When Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein first called former Padres CEO Jeff Moorad for permission to speak to a member of his front office, he asked about assistant GM Josh Byrnes according to Dan Hayes of The North County Times. Epstein was instead allowed to speak to GM Jed Hoyer because "he was the GM of a last-place team," said Moorad.
  • There has been some recent "back and forth" between the Giants and Matt Cain about a contract extension, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Cain did say that his upcoming free agency is "an exciting part of your career."
  • Outfielder Mike Baxter, catcher Mike Nickeas, and lefty Danny Herrera are front-runners for roster spots with the Mets, writes ESPN New York's Adam Rubin. Baxter and Herrera are not on the team's 40-man roster.
  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman declined to comment when asked about Joba Chamberlain's contract situation according to Marc Carig of The Star-Ledger (on Twitter). The right-hander suffered an open dislocation of his right ankle playing with his son last week and could miss the season.
  • When the Blue Jays and Athletics discussed Gio Gonzalez this offseason, Oakland asked for 19-year-old right-hander Noah Syndergaard according to Jeff Blair of The Globe and Mail. Baseball America ranked Snydergaard as Toronto's seventh best prospect in December.

NL West Notes: Byrnes, Moorad, Ethier

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Every NL West team enters Spring Training with three or more out of options players, as MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes showed earlier today. Here are the latest links from the division…

  • Padres CEO Jeff Moorad told Tom Krasovic of Inside the Padres that Josh Byrnes' deal as GM is for five years plus an option. Moorad said he and Byrnes tore up the eight-year deal they signed when they were with the Diamondbacks. Byrnes obtained a raise and an extra year of guaranteed salary under his new deal, Krasovic writes.
  • The Padres are on the verge of signing a 20-year, $1 billion TV deal with FOX, according to Barry Bloom of MLB.com. The club would earn $30MM in 2012 and $70MM by the time the contract expires unless something changes before it's finalized, Bloom explains.
  • Bloom also reports that the ownership transfer from John Moores to Moorad isn’t about to go through and could take a couple of years to become official.
  • Steve Dilbeck of the LA Times says the Dodgers should sign Andre Ethier to a three-year contract in the upper-$30MM range if possible. Ethier will earn $10.95MM in 2012 before hitting free agency, and I doubt he'd agree to the terms Dilbeck suggests.

Padres Notes: TV Deal, Cashner, Byrnes

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It was on this day in 1982 that the Padres made a trade with the Cardinals that brought shortstop Garry Templeton to town.  Though Templeton spent the next 10 seasons in San Diego, it's still a trade that Padres fans shake their heads over.  The centerpiece of the package that went to the Cards was another shortstop — future Hall-of-Famer Ozzie Smith.

Here are some notes from the modern-day Padres….

  • The Padres will have about a 20% ownership stake in the new FOX regional TV network that will air their games, reports Tom Krasovic of Inside The Padres.  The ownership stake is part of the pending 20-year broadcasting contract between the club and the new cable outlet.  The Padres would get $30MM in the first year and that total would gradually increase to $65-70MM by the final year of the contract. 
  • Based on these ownership shares, Krasovic reports the Padres could receive around $1.5 billion from the contract, close to the $75MM annual payout that USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported on Thursday.  Krasovic notes the $1.5 billion figure is "a best-case scenario" for the team, which may explain why club president Tom Garfinkel said yesterday that Nightengale's reported terms were too high.
  • Andrew Cashner tells MLB.com's Corey Brock (via Twitter) that the Padres have promised him a chance to start again after this season.  Cashner made his first Major League start in 2011 but pitched in just seven games due to a strained right rotator cuff.
  • Josh Byrnes seems to have more room to operate than did former GM Jed Hoyer, writes Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune as part of his weekly fan chat.  Byrnes has already convinced owner Jeff Moorad to spend an extra $7MM on payroll this winter and Center doesn't "think Hoyer would have had the freedom to pull the trigger on the Carlos Quentin trade."

Padres Notes: Byrnes, Bell, Hoyer, McLeod

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The Padres officially named Josh Byrnes their general manager today, so the two-year-long Jed Hoyer era is over in San Diego. Here's the latest on the Padres as they prepare for their first offseason under Byrnes…

  • Byrnes says San Diego will likely offer Heath Bell arbitration, according to Dan Hayes of the North County Times (on Twitter). Bell is a Type A free agent, as MLBTR learned earlier today. If he declines arbitration to sign elsewhere, the Padres will obtain two draft picks in 2012. However, Bell has indicated that he will accept.
  • Padres CEO Jeff Moorad explained in a statement that he holds Byrnes' predecessor in high esteem. “Thanks to Jed Hoyer’s leadership, we are in a far better position to win consistently in the future than we were two years ago." The Padres played to a 161-163 record in two seasons under Hoyer, though that's just one imperfect measurement of his contribution to the team.
  • Jason McLeod, who left the Padres for the Cubs along with Hoyer, told Tom Krasovic of Inside the Padres that leaving San Diego is bittersweet in a Q&A about his time with the team.
  • The Cubs offered Hoyer a five-year contract, which the Padres declined to match, according to Krasovic.

Padres Notes: Byrnes, Aristy, Roster Moves

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Happy 48th birthday to Bip Roberts, who joined the Padres via the Rule 5 draft and went on to play seven seasons in San Diego.  Some news from the modern-day Friars…

  • Josh Byrnes' rise from low-paid Indians intern to the Padres' new general manager is profiled by MLB.com's Corey Brock.
  • Prospect Alvaro Aristy, who signed with the Padres in July 2008 for a $1MM bonus, has been discovered to have lied about his age and name, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America.  Aristy's real name is Jorge Leandro Guzman and he is about two and a half years older than his claimed age (16) when he signed with the Padres.  Guzman is now 22 and still a prospect in the club's system.  The Padres were able to recoup about $900K of their bonus from an insurance claim.
  • Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune discusses such topics as the Padres' front office shakeup, how Byrnes has learned from his previous stint as a GM in Arizona and who the Padres might retain on their 40-man roster during his weekly live chat with fans.

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