Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Padres Rumors

Pitching Market Rumors: Braves, Happ, White Sox, Kelley, Padres, Cardinals

By | at

The Braves are interested in adding a closer this offseason, general manager Alex Anthopoulos confirmed to MLB.com’s Jon Morosi at the GM Meetings (Twitter link). That’s a fairly broad term, especially in 2018-19, so there’ll be no shortage of options for the Atlanta organization to pursue. Former Braves star Craig Kimbrel, of course, headlines the free-agent class of relievers, while Zach Britton, Andrew Miller and David Robertson are among the most recognizable names on the next tier of a fairly deep class of a relievers. Trade targets are harder to pin down, though several names have been generally kicked around the rumor mill recently, including Baltimore’s Mychal Givens, San Diego’s Kirby Yates and Seattle’s Alex Colome. Several other names will become available as the season wears on, and the Braves figure to be connected to a wide swath of ’pen options as they look to add a high-leverage reliever to the mix.

Some more bullpen and rotation rumblings from the early stages of the offseason…

  • The Blue Jays met with J.A. Happ’s representatives today, tweets Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi. General manager Ross Atkins tells Davidi that Happ is “one of my favorite people in baseball” before also acknowledging that there’ll be ample competition for his services this offseason. Happ just turned 36, but despite the fact that he’s entering the later stages of his career, he remained as effective as ever in 2018. The veteran southpaw turned in 177 2/3 innings of 3.65 ERA ball with a career-best 9.8 K/9 mark against 2.6 BB/9 and 1.37 HR/9 with a 40.1 percent grounder rate. Happ’s 10.4 percent swinging-strike rate was also the highest of his career, while his 31.7 percent chase rate was his second-best mark as a big leaguer. Fellow lefty Rich Hill received a three-year guarantee that stretched into his age-39 season a couple of years ago, so it’s conceivable that Happ could also find three-year offers (which would run into his age-38 campaign).
  • Morosi tweets that Happ and Patrick Corbin are among the names the White Sox have considered early in free agency, noting that the ChiSox only have one starter (Reynaldo Lopez) who threw more than 50 innings with a sub-4.00 ERA this past season. Rotation help is a clear area of need for the Sox, though competition for the likes of Corbin and Happ will be fierce. Both starters should draw interest from upwards of two thirds of the team in the league, with Corbin’s market being particularly robust given his status as the best arm on the 2018-19 free agent market.
  • Although veteran reliever Shawn Kelley suggested earlier this year that he could retire after the 2018 season, agent Mike McCann tells ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick that Kelley has decided to suit up for another season (Twitter links). Dr. James Andrews recently performed X-rays and an MRI on Kelley and gave him a clean bill of health, Crasnick adds. Set to turn 35 in April, Kelley pitched to a strong 2.94 ERA with 9.2 K/9, 2.0 BB/9 and 1.29 HR/9 in 49 innings this season. Kelley doesn’t throw hard (average 91.2 mph fastball in ’18) but has a lengthy track record of missing bats and has notched a sub-3.00 ERA in three of the past four seasons. The lone exception was a 2017 campaign in which he was limited to 26 innings due to a pair of back issues that landed him on the disabled list.
  • The Padres are in the market for starting pitching help this winter, reports Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, but they’ll focus on younger rotation options. San Diego’s goal, per Acee, would be to add someone to pitch at the front of the 2019 rotation and still contribute when the Friars are more concrete contenders. Unsurprisingly, he lists right-hander Nathan Eovaldi as a Padres target. Eovaldi has yet to turn 29, and his strong season split between the Rays and Red Sox — brought into a more mainstream focus with a big postseason showing — will place him on the radar for virtually every team seeking starting rotation help. San Diego did issue a club-record $144MM contract to Eric Hosmer last offseason and an $83MM extension to Wil Myers a year prior, indicating that new ownership isn’t afraid to spend money (though Eovaldi’s market almost certainly won’t push to those levels).
  • Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said today that the organization has confidence that flamethrowing right-hander Jordan Hicks could succeed as the team’s closer next season, but that confidence doesn’t necessarily mean he will be in that role (Twitter link via Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). Goold notes that the Cards could add a left-handed and right-handed reliever this winter. The Cards overhauled their ’pen in significant fashion over the summer when they released Greg Holland, outrighted Tyler Lyons and traded Sam Tuivailala to the Mariners. Since that time, Bud Norris has hit the open market and Matthew Bowman has gone to the Reds via waivers, thus further adding to the potential for turnover.

Padres Outright Alex Dickerson, Designate Kazuhisa Makita

By | at

The Padres announced today that they have dropped two players form their 40-man roster. Outfielder Alex Dickerson was outrighted after clearing waivers, while reliever Kazuhisa Makita was designated for assignment.

It’s no surprise to see Dickerson bumped from the 40-man after being activated from the 60-day DL. Unfortunately, the former third-round pick has been sidelined by injuries (to his back and elbow) in each of the past two seasons. He showed plenty of promise in 2016, but will now have to battle for his next shot at the majors.

As for Makita, who’ll soon turn 34, his two-year deal has thus far been a dud for the Friars, who owe him another $1.9MM for the coming season. The submariner managed only a 5.40 ERA in his 35 frames in 2018, allowing seven long balls but also showing a solid 37:12 K/BB ratio.

Makita was able to generate a strong 12.2% swinging-strike rate and lofty 23.7% infield fly percentage, so he has shown some interesting skill. Unfortunately, he also gave up a lot of line drives (a whopping 39.4%, per Fangraphs) long balls (18.4% HR/FB), so he’ll obviously need to make some corrections to succeed.

Padres Claim Greg Garcia

By | at

The Padres announced today that they have claimed infielder Greg Garcia off waivers from the Cardinals. He’ll head out west after spending his entire professional career in the St. Louis organization.

Garcia, a native of the San Diego area, has received significant MLB playing time in the past three campaigns. All told, he’s a .248/.356/.339 hitter in the big leagues. With just ten career home runs, there isn’t much pop, though Garcia has managed a 12.3% walk rate in the bigs.

Unfortunately, the 29-year-old oversaw a downturn at the plate last year, with his walk rate sinking into the single digits and his overall output falling along with it. Garcia managed only a 72 wRC+ on the year.

With experience playing all over the infield, Garcia could represent a utility option for the Pads. At the moment, the San Diego organization is largely unsettled on the left side of the dirt.

Braves Acquire Raffy Lopez

By | at

The Braves have acquired catcher Raffy Lopez from the Padres for a player to be named later or cash considerations, the Padres announced today.

The 31-year-old backstop figures to serve as catching depth for the Braves in 2019. A key part of this equation for the Braves is that Lopez still has minor-league options remaining, per the Athletic’s David O’Brien (via Twitter).

Tyler Flowers will make up one part of Atlanta’s catching team for next year, but his partner from 2018, Kurt Suzuki, is currently a free agent.  The Braves also had 28-year-old Carlos Perez, 36-year-old Chris Stewart, and 35-year-old Rene Rivera see limited time at the position last season. Rivera and Stewart are also free agents whom you can track with our 2018-19 free agent tracker.

Lopez came up in the  Cubs’ system after they selected him in the 16th round of the 2011 draft. For his career, Lopez has hit .184/.270/.322 across 76 games in the big leagues. He has spent time with the Cubs, Angels, Reds, Tigers, Blue Jays and Padres organizations, getting some major-league roster time in each of the last three seasons with the Reds, Blue Jays, and Padres, respectively.

For the Padres, this move is likely motivated by a desire to clear a roster spot. They are facing a roster crunch ahead of December’s Rule 5 draft, so moving Lopez is the first of what could be many moves to shake up their 40-man roster.

Padres Add Rod Barajas, Damion Easley To Coaching Staff

By | at

The Padres have seen bench coach Mark McGwire step down from his post and dismissed hitting coach Matt Stairs and infield coach Josh Johnson in recent weeks. They’re filling the gaps on the coaching staff from within, per a team announcement. Former big league catcher Rod Barajas, who has been serving as the Padres’ Triple-A manager for the past three seasons, will be the Friars’ new bench coach in 2019. San Diego is promoting assistant hitting coach Johnny Washington to hitting coach. Meanwhile, another former big leaguer, Damion Easley, is moving up from the team’s minor league ranks to serve as assistant hitting coach and infield coach.

Barajas, 43, spent parts of 14 seasons as a catcher in the big leagues, seeing action with the D-backs, Rangers, Dodgers, Blue Jays, Mets, Pirates and Phillies. A career .235/.284/.407 hitter in 3784 plate appearances, he’s managed at three levels in the minors and also served as a hitting coach. He’s been connected to Major League managerial openings in the past, most recently seeing his name floated as a potential candidate in the Rangers’ ongoing search. I’s not clear if he ever received an interview, but presumably, his appointment as the bench coach in San Diego indicates that he is not under serious consideration in Arlington either way.

The 34-year-old Washington is among the league’s youngest coaches and has somewhat remarkably already spent two seasons on the Padres’ big league staff. He won’t turn 35 until next May, but Washington has already been coaching professionally since the 2010 season and has steadily risen to more prominent roles in spite of his youth.

Now 48 years of age, Easley is likely a familiar name for many fans after playing 17 seasons in the Majors — from 1992 through 2008. An All-Star and Silver Slugger winner at second base in a career-year back in ’98, Easley spent seven seasons with the Tigers, five with the Angels, two apiece with the Mets and Marlins and individual seasons with the D-backs and Rays. He was a career .253/.329/.404 hitter in his 17 seasons and has been coaching in the Padres’ minor league ranks for the past seven years.

The rest of the Padres’ coaching staff will include returnees Darren Balsley (pitching coach), Doug Bochtler (bullpen), Glenn Hoffman (third base) and recently retired utilityman Skip Schumaker (first base).

Heyman’s Latest: Hamels, Smoak, Nunez, Bregman, Padres

By | at

The Cubs seem likely to pick up left-hander Cole Hamels’ $20MM option for 2019, Jon Heyman of Fancred writes. The club could instead buy out Hamels for $6MM, a sum his previous team – the Rangers – would cover, though that would be a surprise in the wake of his second-half performance. After the Cubs acquired Hamels in late July, he pitched to a 2.36 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 over 76 1/3 innings. Thanks in part to Hamels’ excellent results over the final couple months of the season, Cubs president Theo Epstein recently called the 34-year-old a “breath of fresh air.”

Here’s more from Heyman’s latest column:

  • Surprisingly, despite his quality production from 2017-18 and his reasonable price tag for next season, the Blue Jays aren’t certain to exercise first baseman Justin Smoak’s option, according to Heyman. Toronto must decide whether to bring back Smoak for $8MM or cut him loose and pay $250K. But if the team’s uninterested in retaining Smoak, perhaps it’ll pick up the soon-to-be 32-year-old’s option and shop him to first base needy-clubs. MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk recently took a look at several teams that could pursue a deal for the switch-hitting Smoak, who slashed .242/.350/.457 (121 wRC+) with 25 home runs in 594 PA this year.
  • Red Sox infielder Eduardo Nunez is “likely” to exercise his $5MM player option, per Heyman. Nunez could otherwise opt out and receive $2MM, but he’d be doing so on the heels of a rough campaign (heroics in Game 1 of the World Series notwithstanding). The 31-year-old hit a meek .265/.289/.388 (78 wRC+) in 502 regular-season plate appearances and accounted for minus-0.4 fWAR – the sixth-worst mark among those who totaled at least 500 PA. Notably, Nunez had a much better campaign in 2017, but he was still unable to secure a large guarantee as a free agent last winter.
  • Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud is a non-tender candidate, Heyman relays. The oft-injured d’Arnaud is projected to earn $3.7MM in 2019, his last year of arbitration, but the Mets could deem that too pricey in the wake of another injury-shortened season. D’Arnaud, 29, suffered a partial UCL tear in early April, limiting him to four games. With d’Arnaud unavailable, the Mets ended up relying on Devin Mesoraco and Kevin Plawecki behind the plate. There’s also uncertainty with Mesoraco heading into the offseason, given that he’s a pending free agent.
  • Astros superstar Alex Bregman is among those sticking with agent Brodie Scoffield, who recently left Legacy to start Tidal Sports Group, Heyman writes. The 24-year-old third baseman is coming off a tremendous season in which he hit .284/394/.532 (157 wRC+) with 31 home runs, more walks (96) than strikeouts (85) and 7.6 fWAR across 705 trips to the plate. Bregman’s in line to play his final pre-arb season in 2019.
  • Some manager-needy teams recently requested interviews with Padres executive Moises Alou, but the 52-year-old spurned those overtures, Heyman reports. Alou, a big league outfielder from 1990-2008, joined San Diego’s front office in 2015. He doesn’t have any managerial experience, though it does run in his family. His father, Felipe Alou, managed the Expos (1992-2001) and Giants (2003-06) to a combined 1,033-1,021 record, and he took home NL Manager of the Year honors during the strike-shortened ’94 season.

NL Notes: Cubs, McGwire, Nationals

By | at

By renovating the historic Fenway Park in 2002, Boston augmented their baseball ops department with the quickening revenue streams from an improved stadium experience – a strategy Theo Epstein brought with him to Chicago, writes Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. Additionally, both Fenway Park and Wrigley Field, under Epstein’s leadership, have benefited from in-stadium advertising along the outfield walls – much like your local little league field. In Boston, the seats added above the Green Monster came complete with the ad billboards above. In Chicago, the bleachers were devoid of ad content until 2010 when a 360-foot Toyota sign was installed over the left field bleachers. Baseball purists may balk at these eyesores becoming a focal point of such historic stadiums, but the financial welfare afforded both franchises by these towering facades have produced previously-unmatched eras of on-field success. Lest we forget, Wrigley Field was called Weeghman Park until it was acquired by the chewing gum tycoon, so while it’s not as obvious a money grab as southside rival Guaranteed Rate Field, the Cubs’ northside stadium has long been financially-inspired – Epstein’s major contribution is making these influxes of cash obvious on the field.

Now, some coaching updates around the National League…

  • Mark McGwire won’t be returning as the Padres bench coach for 2019, per MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell. McGwire is reportedly stepping down to spend more time with his family after two seasons as the bench coach in San Diego. Big Mac had previously spent three seasons apiece as hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers. For the Padres, they will seek to avoid an extended search to fill their three coaching vacancies for 2019 (bench coach, hitting coach, and infield coach).
  • In other coaching news, the Washington Nationals will not be making any changes to their coaching staff prior to 2019, per Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. Manager Dave Martinez returns for the second year of a three-year deal, hoping for a turnaround after a disappointing first year in Washington. Bench coach Chip Hale, hitting coach Kevin Long, and pitching coach Derek Lilliquist will return to buttress Martinez in the Washington dugout. Rounding out the coaching crew: former infielder Tim Bogar returns to the first base coaching box, Greg Maddux’s former personal catcher Henry Blanco returns to coach in the bullpen and longtime third base coach Bob Henley returns in his usual role.

NL West Notes: Rockies, Myers, Hundley

By | at

In looking ahead to the future of the Rockies’ outfield, Kyle Newman of the Denver Post suggests that the Rockies are likely to move Charlie Blackmon, whose defensive ratings in center field plummeted in 2018, to left field in favor of David Dahl next season. The two appear to be locks to be in the Colorado outfield next season regardless of alignment, given Dahl’s outstanding finish to the season. The 24-year-old former top prospect hit .273/.325/.534 with 16 homers in 271 plate appearances in the Majors last year, including a ridiculous .287/.330/.655 slash with nine homers in the season’s final month. In a second column looking at the rotation, Newman’s colleague, Patrick Saunders, notes that right-hander Jon Gray drew trade inquiries at the deadline, but the Rockies opted not to sell low on their Opening Day starter. Gray, the No. 3 pick in the 2013 draft, undeniably has electric raw stuff, but he’s yet to consistently tap into his front-of-the-rotation upside in parts of four big league seasons. He’s controlled through 2021, though, so he’d be an incredibly in-demand commodity in the event that the Rox do at least listen to offers this winter.

Here’s more from the division…

  • MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell looks at four options the Padres have in their Wil Myers dilemma this offseason: play Myers regularly at third base, move him back to the outfield, bounce him between multiple positions or trade him (and likely eat some of the remaining $74MM on his contract in the process). Myers didn’t rate well at third base in his limited time there this past season, though the slugger expressed confidence that he’d be able to improve dramatically with more reps. A move back to the outfield is difficult with Hunter Renfroe, Franmil Reyes and Franchy Cordero each already representing corner-only options, though Cassavell notes that it’s possible the Friars shop one of Renfroe or Reyes. The team’s initial hope in moving Myers to the hot corner was that he could rotate between multiple positions, but he’s unlikely to improve to the point where he’s not a liability if he doesn’t get fairly regular work there. It’s a tough spot for the Padres, who figure to have some outfielders for sale this offseason regardless of the direction they take.
  • Buster Posey’s hip surgery makes it a “pretty good bet” that Nick Hundley will return to the Giants for a third season in 2019, writes Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. While Aramis Garcia’s September play encouraged many in the organization, bringing Hundley back into the fold would allow the Giants to either get Garcia everyday at-bats in Triple-A early in the season or to serve as Hundley’s backup if Posey isn’t ready to begin the season. Interestingly, Pavlovic adds that some members of the organization can even envision Hundley, who has become one of the more popular figures in the clubhouse, managing the Giants in the future. The 35-year-old Hundley hit .241/.298/.408 with 10 home runs in 305 plate appearances with San Francisco in 2018.

NL West Notes: Dodgers, Braun, Rockies, Padres

By | at

With the Dodgers and Brewers facing off in the NLCS, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy looks back to 2016 at the potential blockbuster deal between the two clubs that would’ve sent Ryan Braun to Los Angeles.  The rebuilding Brew Crew were exploring ways to get Braun’s big contract off the books, and the Dodgers were a natural trade partner, given their large payroll and the fact that they were one of six teams that Braun (a Southern California native) didn’t have on his no-trade list.  The most oft-cited version of the trade would’ve been Braun dealt to L.A. with Yasiel Puig, Brandon McCarthy, and two prospects going to the Brewers.  According to multiple sources, McCalvy reports that the Dodgers walked away from talks within the last half-hour before the August 31st deadline.

Imagining Braun as a Dodger (and, not to be overlooked, Puig as a Brewer) makes for a very interesting alternate-reality scenario, especially given the domino effect that that trade would’ve created on the Brewers’ and Dodgers’ subsequent moves over the last two seasons.  The deal will particularly loom large should either Braun or Puig end up being a deciding factor in the final three-plus games of the NLCS.

Some more from the NL West…

  • The Rockies head into the offseason with a lot of position player questions, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes, perhaps most notably at second base and in the outfield, as DJ LeMahieu, Gerardo Parra, and Carlos Gonzalez are all free agents.  The Rockies might want to move on to younger outfield options than Parra or Gonzalez, while “there’s no indication Colorado will attempt to re-sign” LeMahieu, which could open the door for prospects Garrett Hampson or Brendan Rodgers at the keystone.  The team needs to upgrade its middling offense in general, with catcher being another position of need in that regard.  Due to Jake McGee’s struggles, Saunders also predicts the Rockies will have to add another left-handed reliever to the bullpen.
  • With the Padres facing some tough decisions about 40-man roster placements in advance of December’s Rule 5 draft, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune breaks down the current players on the roster and the several minor league candidates to see who is likeliest to make the eventual 40-man slate.  Quite a bit of this conjecture is up in the air, of course, as Acee notes that “there is almost no player the Padres wouldn’t at least consider in trade offerings,” so even the Major League roster could look quite different by the time the Rule 5 draft rolls around.
  • If you feel like weighing in on a question about one of the NL West’s biggest stars, vote in this MLBTR Poll about whether or not the Diamondbacks will trade Paul Goldschmidt this offseason.

Padres Release Jose Torres

By and | at

Oct. 10: The Padres released Torres after he unsurprisingly cleared waivers earlier this morning, MLBTR has learned.

Oct. 4: The Padres have designated left-hander Jose Torres for assignment, as per MLB.com’s official transactions listing.  Torres’ roster status had to be addressed once his 100-game suspension under the MLB/MLBPA joint domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse policy was up at season’s end.

Torres didn’t pitch in 2018 after he was charged with multiple criminal offenses during the offseason, stemming from a domestic disturbance incident where Torres was accused of pointing a gun at a woman with whom he was involved in a domestic relationship.  Torres’ charges included assault with a deadly weapon, intimidation, and criminal damage, as well as a charge for possession of marijuana.  He reportedly plead guilty to those charges in March. The Padres placed Torres on their restricted list in February, and Major League Baseball issued Torres with the 100-game suspension in June.

Torres, 25, made his big league debut in 2016 and then posted a 4.21 ERA, 8.3 K/9, and 3.94 K/BB rate over 68 1/3 innings in 2017.  With the Padres facing a 40-man roster crunch this winter as some of their best prospects become eligible for the Rule 5 draft, it isn’t surprising that Torres would be DFA’d rather than restored to the 40-man.  Torres could be outrighted to the minors if isn’t claimed or acquired during his 10-day DFA period, or it’s possible the Padres could simply release him altogether given the severity of his off-the-field situation.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top