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Dick Enberg Passes Away

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Legendary broadcaster Dick Enberg, the 2015 Ford C. Frick Award winner and an icon in the broadcasting industry, has passed away at the age of 82, according to Bryce Miller of the San Diego Union Tribune. Enberg’s wife, Barbara, tells Miller that the family believes he suffered a heart attack.

Enberg’s career in broadcasting spanned well beyond the world of baseball, as he spent six decades also calling NCAA basketball, the NFL, professional tennis, the PGA and the Olympics, among other sporting events. That versatility brought Enberg’s iconic voice into the homes of millions of sports fans, from his humble beginnings calling Indiana Hoosiers football and basketball in the 1950s to the seven seasons he spent as one of the voices of MLB’s San Diego Padres from 2010-16.

Along the way, Enberg was honored not only by the National Baseball Hall of Fame with the Ford C. Frick Award, but also by the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, who named him the recipient of their respective Pete Rozelle Award (1999) and Curt Gowdy Award (1995).

“We are immensely saddened by the sudden and unexpected passing of legendary broadcaster Dick Enberg,” the Padres said in a statement issued by chairman Ron Fowler and managing partner Peter Seidler. “Dick was an institution in the industry for 60 years and we were lucky enough to have his iconic voice behind the microphone for Padres games for nearly a decade. On behalf of our entire organization, we send our deepest condolences to his wife, Barbara, and the entire Enberg family.”

Enberg’s signature “Oh, my!” call was a familiar refrain for multiple generations of sports fans across the country, and the impact that he had on the sportscasting industry is immeasurable. Our condolences go out to the family and friends of Enberg, as well as the countless fans whose lives were bettered by his passion, insight and joy over the years.

Padres Release Travis Wood

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The Padres announced that they’ve released left-hander Travis Wood, whom the team designated for assignment over the weekend to clear roster space for right-hander Jordan Lyles.

Wood, 30, signed a two-year, $12MM contract with the Royals last winter but struggled enormously both in Kansas City and in San Diego this past season. The former Cubs lefty posted an ERA north of 6.70 with both teams last year, working to an overall 6.80 ERA with 6.2 K/9, 4.3 BB/9 and a 1.8 HR/9 mark in 94 innings. He’s still owed $6.5MM in 2018, but the Royals agreed to pay the entirety of that sum when he was traded to San Diego, so Wood will represent a pure lottery ticket for any club that signs him this offseason.

As unsightly as his 2017 results were, Wood had success with the Cubs from 2015-16, totaling 161 2/3 innings with a 3.51 ERA, 9.2 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and 1.1 HR/9 between nine starts and 122 relief appearances. Overall, he posted a 3.94 ERA in nearly 700 innings in parts of five seasons in Chicago. Given his experience both in a big league rotation and bullpen, Wood figures to draw interest from clubs looking for depth options in either capacity.

A low-payroll club like the Marlins, who had interest in Wood as a free agent last offseason, could make sense as a speculative landing spot given their overall need for affordable pitching depth. NL clubs may also be drawn to the fact that Wood has some ability at the plate (relative to his pitching peers, anyhow). In 195 plate appearances over the past five seasons, Wood has connected on eight homers and batted .202/.241/.354.

Padres Sign Jordan Lyles, Designate Travis Wood

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8:10pm: Lyles will earn $1MM in guaranteed money from the deal, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports (via Twitter), with Heyman adding that the deal breaks down as $750K in salary and $250K as a buyout for the 2019 option.  If Lyles’ 2019 option is picked up, Lin notes that the right-hander can also earn performance bonuses in that extra year.

7:10pm: The Padres have announced the signing of right-hander Jordan Lyles to a one-year deal with a club option for the 2019 season.  Lyles’ deal is a Major League contract and FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman (Twitter link) reports that the deal is worth $750K.  Lyles is represented by the Ballengee Group.  In a corresponding move, the Padres also announced that lefty Travis Wood has been designated for assignment to create 40-man roster space.

Lyles signed a minor league deal with San Diego back in August and posted a 9.39 ERA over five starts for the Padres.  That shaky stint underlined an overall rough year for the righty, as Lyles posted a 7.75 ERA over 69 2/3 IP with Colorado and San Diego.  ERA indicators such as xFIP (4.64) and SIERA (4.37) painted a more flattering picture of Lyles’ 2017 performance, as he did suffer from an inflated .352 BABIP and a below-average 61.2% strand rate.  On the other hand, Lyles also saw his home run rate balloon to a whopping 21.1%, an issue that hurt him both in Coors Field and Petco Park.

[Updated Padres depth chart at Roster Resource]

It’s worth noting that the Rockies exclusively used Lyles out of the pen over his 33 appearances in 2017 (and for 35 of his 40 games in 2016), while the Padres used Lyles only as a starter.  Lyles’ MLB contract will ensure that he gets a shot at competing for a rotation job in Spring Training, though the Padres may also deploy him as a long man in the bullpen.

Despite his unimpressive numbers last year, the Padres clearly saw enough in Lyles to give him a big league deal, and it’s a fairly low-risk bet by the team that Lyles still has some untapped potential.  He only just turned 27 in October, and Lyles does carry a pedigree as both a supplemental first-round pick in the 2008 draft and as a top-100 ranked prospect in his days in the Astros’ farm system.

It was just last February that Wood signed a two-year, $12MM (with an $8MM mutual option for 2019) contract with the Royals, with K.C. looking to reinforce its pitching depth by adding Wood as an option out of the rotation or bullpen.  In either role, however, Wood badly struggled, posting a 6.91 ERA, 6.3 K/9 and 1.45 K/BB rate over 41 2/3 innings in a Royals uniform.  Wood was dealt to the Padres as part of a six-player trade in July and he posted virtually identical numbers over 52 1/3 IP for San Diego, all of which came as a starting pitcher.  Never a hard-thrower or a big strikeout-generator, Wood had traditionally found success by dominating left-handed batters or inducing a large number of infield pop-ups, though both skills seemed to evaporate for him in 2017.

The Royals are on the hook for Wood’s $6.5MM salary in 2018, and the $1.5MM buyout of his option will be split between the Royals and whichever team may next acquire his services.  While his advanced metrics didn’t always reflect his on-field results, Wood posted good numbers out of the Cubs’ bullpen in 2015-16, so it seems like that teams in search of southpaw bullpen help will certainly consider him as a rebound candidate.

Padres Could Have Interest In Adrian Gonzalez

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  • The Padres will consider a reunion with Gonzalez if they’re unable to reel in free agent first baseman Eric Hosmer, Bob Nightengale of USA Today suggests (Twitter link). Gonzalez was a franchise player in San Diego from 2006-10, slashing .288/.374/.514 with 161 home runs in 3,425 plate appearances and earning three All-Star nods.

Padres Designate Jose Ruiz For Assignment

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The Padres announced that they’ve designated right-hander Jose Ruiz for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to shortstop Freddy Galvis, whose trade to San Diego has now been officially announced by both the Padres and Phillies.

Ruiz, 23, made the considerable jump from Class-A Advanced to the Majors this season, though he only threw a single inning at the big league level. The Venezuelan-born Ruiz worked as a catcher for the bulk of his pro career with the Padres but began transitioning to the mound in 2016. He tossed a career-high 49 2/3 innings in 2017 with the team’s Class-A Advanced affiliate, struggling to a 5.98 ERA in that time.

Ruiz, however, sat at 95.3 mph with his heater in his lone MLB appearance this past season and averaged 8.2 K/9 in his first full season as a pitcher in the minors. He also averaged 4.5 BB/9, though, and posted a low 32.5 percent ground-ball rate, which contributed to some trouble in keeping the ball in the park (1.27 HR/9). He’s tossed 16 innings in the Venezuelan Winter League this offseason, posting a 3.94 ERA with a 12-to-6 K/BB ratio, a hit batter and a wild pitch.

In 1005 plate appearances throughout his minor league career, Ruiz is a .203/.239/.249 hitter, so it seems unlikely that he’ll return to the catching position anytime soon.

Padres Acquire Freddy Galvis

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12:10pm: The two teams have announced the trade.

11:15am: The Padres look to have found their shortstop for the 2018 season, as they’ve reportedly reached a tentative agreement to acquire switch-hitting Freddy Galvis from the Phillies in exchange for minor league right-hander Enyel De Los Santos. The teams have yet to announce the trade.

Freddy Galvis | Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Galvis, who turned 28 last month, is a free agent following the 2018 season but will provide the Padres with a strong defender to serve as stopgap while ballhyhooed prospect Fernando Tatis Jr. continues developing in Triple-A El Paso. It’s been suggested in the past that Tatis could debut late in the 2018 season, so a one-year placeholder may be all the Friars truly need at the position. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Galvis to earn $7.4MM in 2018 after his final trip through the arbitration process.

In Galvis, they’ll acquire an OBP-challenged defensive specialist that has significantly increased his power output over the past two seasons. Galvis hit a combined 20 homer from his rookie season in 2012 through the end of the 2015 campaign. However, he popped 20 long balls in 2016 and 12 this past season while batting a collective .248/.292/.390 in those two seasons.

Defensively, Galvis ranks sixth among MLB shortstops in terms of Ultimate Zone Rating over the past two seasons. Defensive Runs Saved is less enthusiastic about his work, pegging him as an average defender and ranking him 12th among big league shortstops. Regardless of one’s preferred defensive metric, it’s clear that Galvis will represent a mammoth upgrade on the defensive side of the game for a Padres club that ranks dead last in shortstop DRS (-38) and UZR (-38.4) across the past two seasons.

For the Phillies, Galvis was on the verge of becoming expendable with top infield prospects J.P. Crawford and Scott Kingery on the cusp of MLB readiness. Dealing him to San Diego will allow the Phils to deploy Crawford at shortstop from the get-go in 2018, assuming he looks ready to be tested against MLB pitching on a full-time basis in Spring Training. He’ll line up between Maikel Franco at third base and Cesar Hernandez at second base, assuming Hernandez (another trade candidate) isn’t moved prior to Opening Day as well. That trio will be joined by breakout slugger Rhys Hoskins at first base.

De Los Santos, who will turn 21 on Dec. 25, was the 13th-ranked prospect in a strong Padres system, per Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com. He fell shy of Baseball America’s offseason list of the Padres’ top 10 prospects, though BA’s Kyle Glaser tweets that De Los Santos would be a top 10 name in many systems throughout the league. Glaser tweets that De Los Santos sits 94-98 mph with a heater that he commands to both sides in the lower portion of the strike zone. Callis and Mayo note that he already has an average curveball and a changeup that flashes above-average at times.

The 2017 season was a strong one for De Los Santos, who logged 150 innings over the life of 26 appearances (24 starts) and averaged 8.3 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 with a 44.2 percent ground-ball rate en route to a 3.78 ERA. It’s not clear where the Phils intend to start him in 2018, but he’ll likely either return to Double-A and be in line for a quick bump to Triple-A early in the season or just open the year in Triple-A right out of the gate.

Bleacher Report’s Scott Miller first reported that the two sides were in serious negotiations (Twitter link). AJ Cassavell of MLB.com tweeted that the two sides were close and that a pitcher would go back to Philadelphia in the deal. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that the agreement had been reached and that De Los Santos would be sent to the Phillies in return (Twitter links).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Padres “Clear-Cut Favorites” For Eric Hosmer

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Following two face-to-face meetings, the Padres seem to be the clear-cut favorites to sign free agent first baseman Eric Hosmer, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports. Nightengale also notes that the Red Sox are still “lurking”.

The Padres have been frequently linked to Hosmer this offseason, but multiple face-to-face meetings could mean that talks have reached a more advanced stage. Indeed, Nightengale’s use of the phrase “clear-cut” seems to imply that teams have at least made someone detailed pitches by now, and that the Padres are far ahead of their competition.

Hosmer is coming fresh off a career year and is just 28 years of age. He hit .318/.385/.498 with 25 homers in 671 plate appearances. The durable Hosmer played in all 162 games and added a Gold Glove to his list of accomplishments for the 2017 season. Hosmer ranked third among free agents in terms of earning potential on MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agents With Predictions piece.

The Royals free agent rejected a qualifying offer, so if the Padres were to sign him, they’d have to give up their third-highest pick in the 2018 draft (in the case of the Padres, who have a pick in Competitive Balance Round A, that’d be a second-round selection). Since Hosmer will almost certainly sign a deal for more than $50MM, the Royals would stand to gain a compensatory draft pick after the first round.

Padres Rumors: Hosmer, Shortstops

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Surprisingly, the Padres have been among the most aggressive suitors for free agent first baseman Eric Hosmer this offseason. While the rebuilding Padres likely wouldn’t be near-term contenders even with Hosmer, they regard the longtime Royal as enough of a culture-changing player to justify their attempt to sign him, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. But Hosmer’s still seeking a contract in the $200MM range, according to Lin, who doubts San Diego likes him enough to bid that much (Twitter link).

Elsewhere, the Padres seem to be making some headway in their efforts to add a shortstop, Lin tweets. GM A.J. Preller says the club has at least narrowed the list of possibilities to a handful or so. They’ve been connected to the likes of Freddy Galvis, Zack Cozart and Alcides Escobar (Hosmer’s teammate in Kansas City) recently.

Trade Chatter: Nats, Rays, Fulmer, Reds, Jays, Braves, Giants, Yelich, Phils

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Looking to improve an already enviable rotation, the Nationals have Rays right-handers Chris Archer and Jake Odorizzi on their radar, Jon Heyman of FanRag reports (via Twitter). Either would cost far less in terms of salary than free agent Jake Arrieta will, and Heyman notes that the Nats are unsure if they’d be able to afford Arrieta. Heyman also points to Diamondbacks righty Zack Greinke as a possibility for the Nats; however, he’s not exactly cheap, with $138.5MM coming his way through 2021.

More on the trade front:

  • The Tigers “will only entertain lopsided offers” for righty Michael Fulmer, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). A trade involving the highly coveted 24-year-old doesn’t look likely, then.
  • The Blue Jays are interested in Reds outfielders Billy Hamilton and Adam Duvall, per reports from Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (via Twitter) and Jays Journal. The Braves also have interest in the 29-year-old Duvall, tweets Heyman. Duvall, a 30-home run hitter in each of the previous two seasons, is controllable for the next four years. He won’t be arbitration eligible until next winter.
  • The Giants’ own interest in Hamilton continues, but Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets that the chatter with the Reds has “faded significantly” of late. Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer adds on Twitter that the Giants are the most serious suitors for Hamilton, but they’re “at a bit of a standoff” with the Reds. San Francisco still has interest in free agent Jay Bruce, per Rosenthal, and Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets that Bruce is the top name on San Francisco’s “wish list.” Still, the club has not made him an offer to this point.
  • It’s up in the air whether the Marlins will trade center fielder Christian Yelich. Either way, the Phillies will continue to monitor his availability, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia relays. Meanwhile, they’ve “been aggressive” in shopping shortstop Freddy Galvis, according to Salisbury, who adds (via Twitter) that the Angels “really liked” second baseman Cesar Hernandez before they acquired Ian Kinsler. The Halos didn’t want to meet the Phillies’ asking price for Hernandez, however.
  • The Red Sox asked about Marcell Ozuna before the Cardinals acquired him, but they did not have the sort of pitching assets the Marlins were for, Dombrowski told reporters including the Globe’s Peter Abraham (Twitter link.) The Indians also inquired about Ozuna, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com writes.
  • In addition to Chase Headley, the Padres are dangling infielder Yangervis Solarte in chatter with rival organizations, Heyman reports on Twitter. Solarte, 30, is controllable for the next three years at affordable costs (a guaranteed $4MM in 2018 and then club options totaling $13.5MM for 2019-20).
  • The Blue Jays were another team with interest in Kinsler before Wednesday’s trade, Nicholson-Smith tweets. Toronto was on Kinsler’s 10-team no-trade list, so it’s unclear how open he’d have been to going there.

Angels Close To Acquiring Third Baseman, Interested In Chase Headley

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8:50pm: San Diego’s “working very hard” to trade Headley, according to ESPN’s Buster Olney, though he doesn’t specify whether the Angels are involved (Twitter link).

7:56pm: The Angels are close to acquiring a third baseman, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports (Twitter link). They have “strong interest” in new Padres third baseman Chase Headley, Nightengale adds.

Headley was already part of one trade this week, going from the Yankees to the Padres on Tuesday in what amounted to a salary dump for New York. For now, the Padres are on the hook for $12.5MM of Headley’s $13MM in 2018, the last year of his contract. Given that the Angels are positioning themselves to contend in 2018 and the Padres are still amid a rebuild, the 33-year-old Headley would make more sense on Anaheim’s roster.

Headley has an important fan in Angels general manager Billy Eppler, Joel Sherman of the New York Post notes (Twitter link). Eppler was in the Yankees’ front office when they acquired Headley from his current team, San Diego, in 2014.

Along with Headley, the Angels have shown interest in free agent third basemen Mike Moustakas and Todd Frazier, who was teammates with Headley in New York last season, this week.

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