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Padres Promote Luis Patino

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3:40pm: Patino’s contract has been selected to the Major League roster, per a club announcement. Righty David Bednar was optioned to the Padres’ alternate training site in a corresponding move.

12:10pm: The Padres are set to promote top pitching prospect Luis Patino. It appears the ADN Barranquilla Twitter account first posted the news, which has since been confirmed by other outlets.

Patino is just twenty years of age, but he’s widely considered one of the most electric young arms in baseball. He’s expected to work out of the bullpen to begin his tenure, MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell tweets.

Though he lacks extensive experience in the upper minors, Patino did reach Double-A last year after an impressive run at the High-A level. He’s still ironing out his full secondary arsenal, but possesses the kind of elite stuff that ought to play right out of the gates, especially in a relief role.

The 2020 season sprint creates opportunity for the Friars, who have started out with a nice 7-4 stretch. The up-and-coming club is hoping to hit on a variety of talented but fairly inexperienced players. Patino now joins that mix.

The timing of the promotion is such that Patino cannot accrue enough service time to reach a full year. Accordingly, the San Diego club can control his rights through at least 2026. He will, however, likely qualify for arbitration after the 2022 campaign as a Super Two player — if he can grasp ahold of a permanent roster spot from this point forward.

Rockies V. Padres: Who’s More Likely To Make Playoffs?

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Neither Colorado nor San Diego entered the season as teams expected to contend for playoff berths, but both the Rockies and Padres have been among the National League’s best teams a week-plus into what will go down as a strange 2020 campaign. The NL West rivals met over the weekend, and the Rockies took two of three to vault them into first place in the division – yes, even ahead of the mighty Dodgers – with a 6-2 record. The Padres, who are trying to snap a 13-year playoff drought, are now a game back at 6-4.

When the dust settles at year’s end (if a full season actually happens), there’s little doubt that the Dodgers will be the top team standing in the NL West. Frankly, they’re too loaded to expect otherwise. But it would still be a major accomplishment for the Rockies or Padres to earn wild-card berths. Colorado’s not far removed from back-to-back playoff spots, having played meaningful October ball in 2017-18, though the team fell on hard times during a 71-win effort last season and did little to nothing to improve during the offseason. San Diego was pretty aggressive, meanwhile, though it entered the winter as a 70-win team with a similarly high hill to climb.

The fact that the league added three extra playoff teams in each league for 2020 obviously helps the causes of every club, especially those that have started well this year. The Rockies have charged to first in their division on the strength of some of the usual suspects (Trevor Story, Charlie Blackmon, German Marquez and Jon Gray), and they’ve done so despite struggles from team MVP Nolan Arenado. Surprisingly, though, veterans Daniel Murphy, Matt Kemp and Daniel Bard – whose best days seemed long gone when the season started – have picked up some of the slack.

The Padres are playing .600 ball in the early going thanks in no small part to continued marvelous performances from second-year stars Fernando Tatis Jr. and Chris Paddack, but they’ve also gotten excellent production from other sources. Outfielder and offseason acquisition Trent Grisham has been fantastic; so have currently injured first baseman Eric Hosmer and outfielder Wil Myers, both disappointments in recent years, as well as righty Dinelson Lamet. To the surprise of no one who has paid attention to his career, newcomer and outfielder Tommy Pham has also thrived. The Padres also sport an impressive bullpen on paper, though the unit’s off to a surprisingly poor start. Regardless, in order to upgrade their cast of pitchers, the Padres could pick from a deep well of prospects (MacKenzie Gore? Luis Patino?) if they need to bolster their roster in the next couple months.

It’s going to be interesting to see if either of these rival clubs will emerge as playoff teams in 2020. They’ve certainly begun well, but which one is more likely to keep up its current pace? (Poll link for app users)

Who's more likely to make 2020 playoffs?
Padres 76.23% (3,108 votes)
Rockies 23.77% (969 votes)
Total Votes: 4,077

Padres Add Three To Player Pool

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The Padres announced that they’ve added left-hander Travis Radke and infielders Seth Mejias-Brean and Jason Vosler to their 60-man player pool. All three will head to the club’s alternate training site. The additions bring San Diego’s pool up to a total of 57 players.

Radke, 27, pitched well across three minor league levels in 2019, working to a combined 2.64 ERA with 9.5 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 71 2/3 innings of relief work. He allowed only two home runs in that time and posted a ground-ball rate north of 60 percent as well. A 25th-round pick back in 2014, Radke underwent Tommy John surgery that cost him the entire 2016 season and much of the 2017 season. Radke has never been considered a high-end prospect within the organization, but he carries a cumulative 2.22 ERA since returning from surgery and also threw well in a 2018 Fall League stint.

Mejias-Brean made his MLB debut with the Friars last season and clubbed a pair of home runs in a brief look that included 33 plate appearances. The 29-year-old can play all over the infield and is a career .269/.334/.382 hitter in just shy of 1500 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.

San Diego acquired Vosler, now 26, in the 2018 trade that sent right-hander Rowan Wick to the Cubs. He split his time evenly between first base and third base with the Padres’ Triple-A club last year, posting a quality .291/.367/.523 slash with 20 long balls, 19 doubles and four triples in 425 trips to the plate. Between the right-handed-hitting Mejias-Brean and the lefty-swinging Vosler, the Padres look to have added some largely MLB-ready infield depth that can cover multiple positions and platoon scenarios.

Padres Place Eric Hosmer On 10-Day Injured List; Select Jerad Eickhoff’s Contract

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The Padres placed first baseman Eric Hosmer on the 10-day injured list Saturday due to gastritis.  Right-hander Jerad Eickhoff will take Hosmer’s spot on the active roster, as the club announced today that Eickhoff’s contract had been selected.

Hosmer has only played in three games this season, though the good news is that team doctors have said that his stomach issues aren’t related to COVID-19.  Such stomach problems are hard to gauge in terms of a timeline, so the Padres clearly felt an IL placement was necessary to give Hosmer proper time to fully recover.

Eickhoff signed a minor league contract with San Diego in January, and he is now in line for his first MLB appearance in anything besides a Phillies uniform.  Eickhoff posted a 4.15 ERA over 440 innings with Philadelphia from 2015-19, though the bulk of that good production came during a 2016 season that saw him deliver a 3.65 ERA over 197 1/3 innings.

Multiple injuries curtailed his performance over the past three years, however, and the Phils outrighted Eickhoff from their 40-man roster last November.  He’ll now get a crack at reviving his career in a relief role for San Diego.

Predict The NL West Division Winner

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With final roster decisions in the books and the 2020 season underway, it’s time to make some predictions. We’re polling the MLBTR readership on each of the game’s six divisions — though plenty more teams will crack the postseason under the rather inclusive new playoff qualification system. We’ve already surveyed the AL East, AL Central, AL West, NL Central, and NL East landscapes, so it’s time to wrap things up with the National League West.

The Dodgers have owned this division for some time now and are perhaps more laden with star-level talent than ever with Mookie Betts on board. Then again, they may be more vulnerable than ever in a short-season format. There’s a nice assembly of talent on the Diamondbacks roster, which includes an elite young player in Ketel Marte and a sturdy slate of veterans now highlighted by intra-division transferee Madison Bumgarner. Then again, you could argue that the Padres have the greatest capacity to surprise with their own budding legend in Fernando Tatis Jr., still-youthful star Manny Machado, and a potential-laden rotation. The Rockies have an excellent core unit in their own right and perhaps have more upside than is generally recognized. And while the Giants don’t really appear primed to compete, they managed to do so last year and still have a lot of players with lofty established performance ceilings at the game’s highest level — even if it has been a few years.

Which team do you think is going to take the division title? (Poll link for app users.)

Predict The 2020 NL West Winner
Dodgers 62.36% (5,001 votes)
Padres 22.18% (1,779 votes)
Giants 7.47% (599 votes)
Rockies 5.14% (412 votes)
D-Backs 2.84% (228 votes)
Total Votes: 8,019

Latest On Padres’ Jorge Mateo

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Padres infielder/outfielder Jorge Mateo, who tested positive for the coronavirus July 8, has been cleared to return, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets. Mateo worked out Friday, per Acee, though he’ll begin the season on the COVID-19 injured list. It’s unknown when he’ll be ready to make his 2020 debut.

Mateo was formerly a top 100 prospect with both the Yankees and Athletics, but after back-to-back underwhelming showings in Triple-A over the previous two seasons, the A’s shipped the 25-year-old to the Padres in June for a player to be named later. Mateo has amassed 1,076 plate appearances at the minors’ highest level and slashed a below-average .261/.306/.433 with 22 home runs and 49 stolen bases.

San Diego acquired the out-of-options Mateo knowing he’d either have to make its season-opening roster or be designated for assignment. If healthy, Mateo may have been a candidate for significant reps at second base, and that could still be the case when he’s able to take the field. In the meantime, the Padres will primarily go with Jurickson Profar at the keystone, while Ty France, Greg Garcia and Jake Cronenworth could serve as fallback options.

Padres Add 3 To Player Pool

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The Padres announced today that they have added left-handed pitcher Daniel Camarena, right-hander Jimmy Yacabonis, and outfielder Abraham Almonte to the 60-man player pool. In addition, lefty Tim Hill, acquired from the Royals on Thursday, has reported to Padres camp. After the roster moves, there are 55 players in the Padres’ pool.

Yacabonis broke into the Majors in 2017 with the Orioles, and has appeared in parts of three seasons with Baltimore. He’s gotten playing time as both a starter and reliever, though he hasn’t found great success in either role. In 41 innings last year, he struck out 33 batters but walked 24, also struggling to prevent home runs. His career ERA is 5.75. He figures to settle into a relief role with the Padres, though he’s a longshot to crack the Opening Day roster.

Almonte, a switch-hitting 31-year-old outfielder, was brought aboard on a minor league contract last December, getting a bid in Padres camp as a non-roster invitee. It’s his second stint in San Diego, as he spent parts of 2014 and 2015 with the team. Last year, he played in 17 games for the Diamondbacks. For his career, he owns a .239/.298/.373 batting line, also making stops with the Mariners, Indians, and Royals.

Camarena, 27, has yet to debut in the Majors since the Yankees made him a 20th-round draft choice in 2011. He’s also made stints with the Twins and Giants before the Yankees re-signed in 2019. He’s reached Triple-A in each of the last four years, but has failed to find sustained success at the level. Last year, he played in 18 games at Triple-A, notching a 6.27 ERA. He threw 103 1/3 innings and posted 94 strikeouts.

Padres’ Trey Wingenter Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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Padres reliever Trey Wingenter underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow on Friday, according to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. The procedure will force Wingenter to miss all of the 2020 season and likely the majority of 2021.

Wingenter’s surgery represents a blow to the depth of the San Diego bullpen, which will already be without lefty Jose Castillo for the next six or so weeks. Flamethrower Andres Munoz also fell victim to Tommy John surgery in March.

That said, the Friars’ bullpen should still be a strong unit, with the acquisitions of Drew Pomeranz, Emilio Pagan, and Pierce Johnson strengthening the supporting cast behind Kirby Yates. The trade for Tim Hill is looking like a timely move, and Gerardo Reyes, Javy Guerra, and Cal Quantrill are on board as depth options.

Wingenter, 26, was a core piece in the Padres’ bullpen last year, appearing in 51 games. He’s a strikeout specialist, averaging 12.7 K/9 in his first 70 career innings. Despite that, he ran a high 5.65 ERA last year, in part due to high walk numbers, and perhaps due to some bad luck: although the ERA is inarguably unimpressive, he managed a solid 3.61 FIP last year, indicating that Wingenter’s talent is deserving of a better mark.

Unfortunately, further development to the righty’s game will have to wait until late next season, at best. Without a doubt, it’s an untimely procedure for a young pitcher who looks to be coming into his own at the Major League level.

 

Cubs Select Jason Kipnis, Return & Re-Acquire Trevor Megill

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The Cubs have announced a pair of 40-man roster moves, with Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic among those to cover things on Twitter. The club selected the contract of veteran infielder Jason Kipnis, ensuring he’ll be on the Opening Day roster when the season gets underway.

To create 40-man roster space, the club made a two-part move with respect to recent Rule 5 pick Trevor Megill. After he cleared waivers — any other team could’ve stepped into the R5 rights by committing a 40-man spot — the Cubs sent cash to the Padres to secure Megill’s permanent rights. He’ll remain in the team’s 60-man player pool.

Kipnis has long seemed likely to crack the Cubbies’ roster and that’s now in the books. The 33-year-old struggled in spring action but offers ample versatility and veteran guile while also carrying a hint of upside. Kipnis has hit at a below-average rate for each of the past three seasons, but was a star-level performer before that. He has long carried heavy platoon splits, so the Cubs may see value in limiting him to deployment against right-handed pitching.

As for Megill, 26, the Cubs obviously saw merit in not only drafting him but pursuing his long-term rights. He did carry 12.7 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 last year in 50 1/3 Triple-A frames, though he managed only a 4.47 ERA. The club was clearly also concerned with being required to carry Megill on the active roster this year. This way, it can allow him to continue developing and call upon him only if it seems prudent. If he doesn’t earn his way to the majors in 2020, Megill will be eligible again for the Rule 5 draft this winter.

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