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Athletics Acquire Buddy Reed To Complete Jurickson Profar Trade

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The Padres announced Thursday that they’ve traded minor league outfielder Buddy Reed to the Athletics as the player to be named later in this month’s Jurickson Profar deal. Oakland traded Profar to San Diego in exchange for catcher Austin Allen and a PTBNL back on Dec. 2.

Buddy Reed

Now 24 years old, Reed starred at Florida in college and was selected by the Padres with the 48th overall pick in the 2016 draft. Scouting reports at FanGraphs and MLB.com tout him as a plus-plus runner with the potential to be a plus defender in center field, but he’s struggled with the bat at every level in the minors to this point outside of a strong half season in Class-A Advanced last year (which preceded additional struggles in Double-A).

In 2019, Reed hit .228/.310/.388 with 14 home runs, 15 doubles, two triples and 23 stolen bases with the Padres’ Double-A affiliate in Amarillo. Reed did post a career-best 9.5 percent walk rate in the Texas League this year, but he also whiffed at a 28.6 percent clip. Even if he’s unable to make substantial gains at the plate, Reed could still draw enough walks, run well enough and play strong enough defense to eventually be a fourth outfielder in Oakland. That said, he was eligible to be selected in today’s Rule 5 Draft and went unclaimed, so it’s fairly clear that other clubs are wary of his flimsy offensive profile at the moment.

Athletics fans looking to learn more about their new outfield prospect can check out MLBTR’s Q&A with Reed shortly before he was drafted back in 2016.

NL West Rumors: Padres, Marte, D-backs, MadBum, Rox, Marquez

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Continuing an active winter in the San Diego outfield, the Padres have joined the race to acquire Pirates center fielder Starling Marte, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports. The Padres have already shuffled around their outfield quite a bit this offseason, having added two players (Tommy Pham and Trent Grisham) and subtracted another (Hunter Renfroe). They could get rid of at least one more if a team takes Wil Myers off their hands. The Padres at least tried to pawn Myers off on his first professional team – the Royals – in the clubs’ talks centering on utilityman Whit Merrifield, but KC didn’t bite, according to Scott Miller of Bleacher Report.

More rumblings from the NL West…

  • The Diamondbacks “floated” a proposal to Madison Bumgarner that would have promised him something in the realm of $70MM, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. That falls in line with MLBTR’s $72MM prediction (over four years) for Bumgarner, but the highly accomplished 30-year-old has his eyes fixed on a much richer contract. The longtime Giant’s reportedly aiming for a payday in the $100MM range.
  • Teams have inquired about Rockies right-hander German Marquez, but they haven’t shown any willingness to trade him, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. It’s neither surprising that other teams covet the strikeout-heavy Marquez nor that the Rockies want to keep him. Before last season, they signed the 24-year-old to a club-friendly extension – one that will see him earn a guaranteed $40.5MM from 2020-23 (including a $2.5MM buyout in ’24).
  • Back in late September, the Padres and lights-out closer Kirby Yates were reportedly discussing an extension. No new deal has come together since, but it appears the two sides will at least make an effort to hammer something out. In regards to a potential extension, Yates told Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune: “I’m always interested. It’s not up to me. When you get to that point, you have the discussions.” Likewise, the Padres are open to it. The club will “start talking to Kirby about his situation for next year” later this offseason, general manager A.J. Preller revealed. The 32-year-old Yates has just one remaining season of arbitration control, in which he’s projected to earn a bargain salary of $6.5MM.
  • The Diamondbacks were already known to have interest free-agent center fielder Shogo Akiyama, and GM Mike Hazen revealed they met with the Japanese standout on Tuesday, per Piecoro.  The Cubs also met with Akiyama’s representatives.

KBO Notes: Kelly, Wilson, Raley

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Though it seemed for awhile like Casey Kelly was drawing enough interest to warrant a return to the states, the right-hander has instead re-upped for another season in the KBO. Kelly signed back with the LG Twins for $1.5MM, which includes $300K in incentives, per Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net. Kelly is most famous for his time as a prospect in the Red Sox system. He was eventually dealt to San Diego in a 2011 blockbuster which also featured Adrian Gonzalez and Anthony Rizzo. Kelly never broke out with the Padres, thanks in part to 2013 Tommy John surgery, which kept him off the hill for the entire season. Kelly ended up accruing a mere 40 1/3 innings with the Padres in parts of two seasons (2012 and ’15), and later combined for another 45 1/3 between the Braves (2016) and Giants (2018). The 30-year-old Kelly has done rather well for himself overseas, going 14-12 last season with a 2.55 ERA across 180 1/3 innings as a starter for the LG Twins.

  • Tyler Wilson will also return to the KBO’s Twins for another season, per Kurtz. 2020 will mark Wilson’s third season with the Twins, for whom he put together solid back-to-back seasons. Coming off a 14-7 year with a 2.92 ERA in 185 innings, Wilson has signed for $1.6MM, including $200K in incentives. The 30-year-old Virginian appeared with the Orioles for parts of three seasons from 2015 to 2017.
  • Coming the other way, southpaw Brooks Raley could be on his way back after five seasons with the Lotte Giants in Korea, tweets Jon Morosi of Fox Sports. Raley was once a Cubs farmhand who broke into the majors for five starts in 2012. He also saw limited action for Chicago the following season, though totaling just 38 1/3 innings and a 7.04 ERA across those two seasons. The Cubs made Raley a 6th round draft choice in 2009 out of Texas A&M. The Minnesota Twins claimed him off waivers, but the Angels claimed him not long after. Raley never appeared at the big league level for either squad. Morosi notes that the 31-year-old Texan is drawing interest from big league clubs now, though which teams were not specified.

David Price Drawing Trade Interest

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10:42pm: The Red Sox haven’t made any progress toward a Price trade, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. The Padres are among the teams they’ve talked to about Price, per Rosenthal.

6:21pm: Even though he’s coming off an injury-laden season and is still owed a significant amount of money, Red Sox left-hander David Price has garnered trade interest from “multiple teams,” Jeff Passan of ESPN tweets.

This isn’t the first time the 34-year-old Price has been in the news this week. His seven-year, $217MM contract, once a record for a pitcher, was toppled by the seven-year, $245MM pact Stephen Strasburg signed with the Nationals on Monday. The Price deal hasn’t fully worked out to the Red Sox’s liking thus far, though he did help the team to a World Series victory in 2018.

More recently, Price put up a decent but unspectacular 4.28 ERA during a 107 1/3-inning 2019 campaign that ended without a playoff berth for the Red Sox. Price made only two starts beyond July as he dealt with arm problems, posted a career-low 92 mph average fastball velocity (down from 92.7 the prior year), and saw his season come to an official end in late September when he underwent minor elbow surgery.

Although last season wasn’t a banner year for the former ace, Price did log an above-average 3.62 FIP with 10.73 K/9 against 2.68 BB/9. Most clubs would sign up for those numbers, albeit at a far more reasonable price than the $96MM Price is owed over the next three years. The Red Sox seem likely to move on from Price if they can get a major portion of that money off their books, as they – led by new chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom – work to get under the $208MM luxury tax in 2020. However, it’s going to be difficult, and as Passan notes, jettisoning Price could require eating some of his salary and/or adding a valuable player to the package to convince a team to take him.

FA Rumors: Ozuna, Braves, J. Castro, Stammen, Peraza, Grandy

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The Braves are interested in free-agent outfielder Marcell Ozuna, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets. This isn’t the first connection between the sides, as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported last month that the Braves were one of the clubs in on Ozuna. Now, though, it seems the Braves are willing to aggressively pursue the 29-year-old qualifying offer recipient. In the event third baseman Josh Donaldson leaves Atlanta for another team, the Braves would regard Ozuna as a viable fallback option, Morosi suggests. MLBTR predicts Ozuna will reel in a three-year, $45MM guarantee, and if he lands anywhere near that neighborhood, he should fall well short of Donaldson’s next contract. That said, replacing Donaldson’s bat with Ozuna’s would still leave a sizable hole at third base for the Braves.

Here’s the latest on several other free agents…

  • The Angels, Astros, and Rangers are among the organizations with interest in backstop Jason Castro, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). With Yasmani Grandal and Travis d’Arnaud off the market, the 32-year-old Castro could be the best catcher left on the board. The pitch-framing savant’s coming off a strong season in Minnesota, where he batted .232/.332/.435 in 275 plate appearances and earned positive grades in Baseball Prospectus’ Fielding Runs Above Average metric.
  • Several teams appear to be in the market for reliever Craig Stammen. The right-hander’s most recent team, the Padres, as well as the Astros, Diamondbacks, Reds, White Sox, Blue Jays and Cardinals have all expressed interest, per Morosi (Twitter links). Stammen, whom MLBTR projects for a two-year, $10MM guarantee, has put together a strong career divided between Washington and San Diego. The 35-year-old logged a 3.29 ERA with 8.01 K/9, 1.65 BB/9 and a 50.8 percent groundball rate in 82 innings last season as a Padre.
  • The Reds are one of the teams with interest in Japanese center fielder Shogo Akiyama, president of baseball operations Dick Williams revealed (via Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer). Clubs have until Dec. 19 to sign Akiyama, who had an impressive run with the Seibu Lions from 2011-19. It’s unclear what a potential Reds-Akiyama union would mean for Nick Senzel, their starting center fielder last season. Senzel could perhaps move to the corner outfield, which does look like a need area for the Reds.
  • The Cardinals are interested in re-signing backup catcher Matt Wieters, according to general manager Michael Girsch (via Goold). Whether it’s Wieters or someone else, the team seems intent on adding a veteran to play behind Yadier Molina. Wieters could wind up in Oakland if he doesn’t go back to St. Louis, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Athletics have shown interest in the 33-year-old to back up Sean Murphy. This is the second straight offseason in which Wieters has landed on the A’s radar.
  • The Orioles and Indians are two of the four teams that have shown interest in infielder Jose Peraza, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). The Reds non-tendered Peraza last week on the heels of an unproductive season, but he’s only a year removed from a respectable showing. The 25-year-old’s also controllable via arbitration through 2022.
  • Although he hopes to play next season, there has been little interest in outfielder Curtis Granderson, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. The soon-to-be 39-year-old Granderson is a revered clubhouse presence who has enjoyed an outstanding career, but he’s a free agent at an inopportune time. Granderson struggled to a .183/.281/.356 line with minus-1.4 fWAR in 363 plate trips with the Marlins last season.

Padres Rumors: Merrifield, Hedges, Mejia

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The Padres traded second baseman Luis Urias to the Brewers a couple weeks ago, and now they’re attempting to replace him. To that end, they’ve “been trying to” swing a deal for Royals second baseman/outfielder Whit Merrifield, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.

The soon-to-be 31-year-old Merrifield has been the subject of trade rumors for a while, but even though they haven’t been in contention, the Royals have refused to trade him thus far. Merrifield’s a favorite of Royals general manager Dayton Moore, though (per Feinsand) he admitted that the team must “be open-minded” in regards to any potential deal.

If the Royals are holding out for a haul of young talent for Merrifield, no team may be better equipped to put together a package than the farm-rich Padres. And finding a way to reel in Merrifield would be the latest sign the Padres are serious about breaking their long-running playoff drought in 2020.

On paper, Merrifield would be an enormous upgrade over the Urias-Ian Kinsler–Greg Garcia trio the Padres primarily relied on at second last season. Merrifield’s coming off an All-Star showing in which he slashed .302/.348/.463 with 16 home runs, 20 stolen bases and 2.9 fWAR in 735 plate appearances. Adding to Merrifield’s appeal, he’s only due to earn $15.25 through 2022 (including a buyout for ’23). However, that affordability could further encourage Kansas City to keep Merrifield.

Beyond second base, catcher is among the positions the Padres are focused on dealing with right now. They remain motivated to trade backstop Austin Hedges, according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Though the team continues to provide public statements of support, it’s working to find a “new regular starter” behind the dish. Francisco Mejia is also still available, per Acee, though he’s less likely to be dealt. Trouble is for the Friars, it is difficult to identify quality backstops that could realistically be acquired. Willson Contreras of the Cubs is perhaps the most intriguing possibility.

NL Central Notes: Stearns, Hader, Pirates, Reds

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Let’s take a look at the latest from around the NL Central…

  • “Frankly, at this point, we don’t think too much about that,” Brewers GM David Stearns told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter video link), MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy, and other reporters when asked what pitchers are currently penciled into the starting rotation.  As usual, the Brew Crew will be flexible as possible in deciding which pitchers start games and how many innings they’ll accumulate, with Stearns citing Brandon Woodruff, Eric Lauer, Adrian Houser, Freddy Peralta, and Corbin Burnes as hurlers with starting experience.  Peralta and Burnes will indeed still get consideration for starting jobs, Stearns said, though both struggled in the role last season.  This isn’t to say that rotation additions couldn’t still be made, and relief help could also come later in the offseason, Stearns said.  Milwaukee had interest in re-signing both free agent Jordan Lyles and the non-tendered Junior Guerra before the two pitchers respectively signed with the Rangers and Diamondbacks.
  • Eyebrows were raised earlier this week at reports that the Brewers were open to trade offers for superstar reliever Josh Hader.  While Stearns didn’t deny the report or dismiss the idea of a Hader deal, he naturally didn’t give any hint about how much desire his club actually had in moving Hader, only saying that “I think we consider him the best reliever in baseball right now.”  Obviously, it would take a major offer to land Hader, who is controlled via arbitration through the 2023 season as a Super Two player.
  • Since Jacob Stallings is the only catcher on the Pirates’ 40-man roster, it isn’t any shock that GM Ben Cherington told media members (including Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic) that the Bucs are looking to upgrade the catching corps “in some ways.”  Biertempfel notes that Cherington was “emphasizing the plural,” meaning that Pittsburgh will look to add multiple catchers for both the big league club and the farm system.
  • With so much action on the free agent market so far, “I personally feel like there’s less trade activity likely to happen at the Winter Meetings than in prior years,” Reds president of baseball operations Dick Williams told the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Bobby Nightengale and other reporters.  “I think that’s the trend and I feel like other baseball front offices…feel like it’s gotten to the point where with all the other stuff that’s going on, it’s a time to continue conversations, but it’s really hard to push things across the finish line from a trade perspective.”  The Reds have already one major free agent splash in signing Mike Moustakas and have been linked to several other big names, though while Williams “would say it’s entirely possible” Cincinnati makes another signing during the Meetings, “there is not one that I would say is likely to happen yet….I don’t have one that is closing in on a physical or something.”

Trade/FA Chatter: Padres, Myers, Angels, Rox, Zobrist, Marlins

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As expected, the Padres are hoping to trade pricey and underperforming outfielder/first baseman Wil Myers, Jayson Stark of The Athletic reports. The Padres appear highly motivated to part with Myers, according to Stark, who adds that there’s even a willingness on the team’s part to attach prospects from its loaded farm system if it would encourage someone to take the veteran off its hands. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported back in September that the Padres would “likely” be willing to eat half of the $60MM left on Myers’ contract to get rid of him. At this point, it’s unknown whether the amount’s still in that ballpark. Myers, who turns 30 on Tuesday, has another three years left on his deal.

  • The Angels’ pursuit of Gerrit Cole is garnering most of the Halos-related headlines at the moment, but he’s not the only upgrade they’re targeting. After struggling to find much production behind the plate in 2019, the club’s “heavily involved in the catcher market,” Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times writes. The Angels are focused on six to eight backstop options, per Torres, and general manager Billy Eppler revealed they’ve had “active” discussions with two teams about trading for a catcher.
  • Speaking of catchers, the Rockies had interest in Stephen Vogt before he signed a one-year, $3MM contract with the NL West rival Diamondbacks last month, Nick Groke of The Athletic relays. “It didn’t go our way,” admitted general manager Jeff Bridich, who added the Rockies remain focused on finding aid at the position.
  • Longtime utilityman Ben Zobrist is “50-50” on whether to continue his career in 2020, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. The 38-year-old free agent, who sat out a large portion of 2019 as a member of the Cubs while dealing with a divorce, is currently prioritizing his family.
  • The Marlins are looking to upgrade a bullpen that was “not good” in 2019, according to president of baseball operations Michael Hill (via Wells Dusenbury of the Sun Sentinel). Veteran right-hander Sergio Romo was one of the Marlins’ most effective options, but they dealt the then-pending free agent to the Twins in advance of the July 31 trade deadline. Hill acknowledged Monday that there’s now interest on the team’s part in reuniting with Romo, 36. “We’re exploring the entire market of eligible guys and I know he’s been connected to us as well he should be,” said Hill. “I think if you asked him — he was very public in saying that [he] enjoyed his time with us so we’ll see where things go, but [he] was a player who did well for us and did a good job in his time with us.”

West News & Rumors: Pham, Padres, Dodgers, Giants

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The Padres and Rays already announced last week’s trade, one that saw outfielders Hunter Renfroe and Tommy Pham switch homes, but some complications have arisen since then. Specifically, even though 31-year-old Pham “effectively passed a series of physicals this weekend,” per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, there are concerns over his right elbow. The joint kept Pham out of action for some of 2019, and according to Acee, the Padres’ medical staff still hasn’t cleared him. The trade’s currently “in limbo” as a result, writes Acee. However, Padres general manager A.J. Preller suggested Monday that it should still go through. “We’re still working through some final details but hope to have some clarity on that in the next 24 hours,” Preller said. “When we made the trade, we made the trade with the players involved. I don’t expect anything to change between now and the time we move forward. But we just have to finish the process up.”

  • The Dodgers have their eyes fixed on “roughly” a dozen acquisitions, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told Pedro Moura of The Athetic and other reporters Monday. What’s more, Friedman indicated the already loaded Dodgers are primarily looking at elite talent. The rotation and third base have been rumored areas of interest for the Dodgers, and both spots do feature top-tier free agents (Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rendon and Josh Donaldson, for instance). Great free-agent relievers are harder to find, but upgrading there is a focus for the Dodgers. That’s their only “omnipresent” need area, Friedman observes (via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com). As of now, though, Friedman does expect Kenley Jansen to continue as the Dodgers’ closer in 2020. Formerly automatic, Jansen had a difficult year (by his standards) last season.
  • The rotation-needy Giants expect to sign at least one starter to a major league contract, possibly before the Winter Meetings conclude, per Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group. They at least appear to still be in the mix for their No. 1 free agent, Madison Bumgarner, whom they’ll sit down with during the meetings. While pitching’s a priority for the club, they don’t seem to be focused on picking up a backup catcher to take over for Stephen Vogt (now with the Diamondbacks), Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area suggests. Vogt’s replacement could be Aramis Garcia, to whom they’d like to give a chance, Pavlovic reports. They also have standout prospect Joey Bart waiting in the wings as the potential heir apparent to Buster Posey.
  • Josh Bard will serve as the Dodgers’ bullpen coach next season, Gurnick tweets. Bard worked in that role from 2016-17 before leaving to join the Yankees’ staff as their bench coach. The Yankees and Bard parted ways after last season. The Dodgers’ previous bullpen coach was Mark Prior, who’s now their pitching coach.

Padres Not Playing At Top Of Free Agent Market

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The Padres, along with the Braves, have thus far born the brunt of the burden in stoking the hot stove fire, but San Diego doesn’t anticipate being players at the top of the free agent market, per The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Kevin Acee. Given the enormity of the task ahead of them – dethroning the Dodgers from their perch atop the NL West – it was natural to assume GM A.J. Preller might go for the hat trick and score another big ticket free agent. Plus, hometown kid and confirmed playoff ace Stephen Strasburg is taking meetings, and the Padres could use a slide-stopping ace to stabilize their young rotation. But alas, the Padres don’t plan on meeting Scott Boras about either Gerrit Cole or Strasburg.

Two nine-figure free agents and the promotions of top prospects like Fernando Tatis Jr. and Chris Paddack could not stop the string of losing season for the Padres in 2019. They stretched their streak to nine while reaching 90 losses for the fourth consecutive year. The good news for Padres fans is that even though they don’t plan on attracting another top tier free agent – help is on the way. Per Acee’s sources, Preller doesn’t feel compelled to sign a top free agent ace is because he is confident in their ability to grow them from the ground up. Both MacKenzie Gore and Luis Patino have the potential to join Paddack atop the rotation in the next couple years.

Gore, 21 by Opening Day, made five starts in Double-A after blistering High-A with a 1.02 ERA in 79 1/3 innings. That’s not a typo. The young southpaw gave up just 36 hits, 20 walks, and 9 earned runs while playing for the Lake Elsinore Storm. He struck out 110 batters, good for 12.5 K/9. He is baseball’s 4th best prospect per Baseball America and MLB.com, #5 by Fangraphs.

Patino ranks as the 30th best prospect in the sport by MLB.com, 26th by Fangraphs, 29th by Baseball America. Though eight months younger than Gore, they’re on the same development track as of now. Patino registered a 2.69 ERA in High-A while little more than four years younger than league average.

Needless to say, the future is bright in San Diego, but there are pressing concerns for the present still on the docket. Preller is on the lookout for at least one reliever, potentially a starting catcher, while adding another rotation arm remains in the mix. Financially, it’s tight. They may look to shed some salary in the coming days. The payroll has already climbed north of $140MM. Per Cot’s Contracts, they ran a $97MM payroll on Opening Day last year and only once have they opened a season with a payroll over $100MM (2015).

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