Padres Rumors

Padres Mulling Role Change For Christian Bethancourt

By Connor Byrne | October 1, 2016 at 6:09pm CDT

The Padres are exploring the idea of turning catcher Christian Bethancourt into a multi-position player, reports Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Bethancourt has thrown two bullpen sessions and could become a pitcher/catcher/outfielder hybrid, per Lin, who notes that the Padres recently shifted ex-catcher prospect Jorge Ruiz to the mound (Twitter links).

Bethancourt’s best asset is likely his arm, which some scouts have graded an 80 on the 20-80 scale, and the right-hander did see some time as a pitcher this year before suffering a season-ending intercostal strain at the end of August. The 25-year-old Bethancourt made two appearances on the mound and totaled 1 2/3 innings with three hits, a walk and a strikeout. Interestingly, Bethancourt’s pitches ranged from 54 mph to 96 mph during that limited sample size, with Mike Petriello of MLB.com noting (via Twitter) that he complemented his fastball with a changeup and knuckleball.

The Padres aren’t the first team to consider a position change for Bethancourt. His previous organization, the Braves, also mulled converting him into a pitcher, according to Lin. Ultimately, Atlanta traded the former top 100 prospect to the Padres last December.

Bethancourt hit an unpalatable .228/.265/.368 in 204 plate appearances with the Friars this season, which was actually a significant improvement over the .200/.225/.290 line he recorded in 160 PAs as a Brave in 2015. But such subpar production won’t suffice either behind the plate, where the Padres already have a potential long-term solution in Austin Hedges, or in the outfield. Bethancourt did garner some experience in the grass this season, though, as he picked up limited action in both corners. Now the Padres are deciding whether to have Bethancourt divvy up his time among the outfield, the mound and behind the plate going forward.

Edwin Jackson Interested In Returning To Padres

By charliewilmoth | October 1, 2016 at 9:58am CDT

Veteran righty Edwin Jackson is set for free agency at the end of the season, but he’s interested in returning to the Padres, as MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell writes. “It’s definitely a place I’d like to come back to,” says Jackson. “A lot of positives and a lot of upside to the future of the organization. It’d be fun to be a part of it toward the end of my career.” Whether the Padres would have interest in Jackson is unclear, but he’s unlikely to be a sought-after free agent this winter after posting a 5.89 ERA, 6.5 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 84 innings with San Diego and Miami.

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/30/16

By Steve Adams | September 30, 2016 at 12:15pm CDT

Here are the day’s minor moves…

The Padres have outrighted infielder Nick Noonan off the 40-man roster following his DFA last week, as was first noted on the team’s transactions page. Noonan, 27, appeared in seven games for San Diego and collected three hits in 18 at-bats (20 plate appearances). That marked his third season with some degree of Major League experience, though the longtime Giants farmhand hasn’t hit enough at the big league level to stick for very long. In 155 plate appearances, Noonan is a .193/.239/.234 hitter. Once considered one of San Francisco’s top prospects, Noonan is a .274/.322/.372 hitter in nearly 1900 Triple-A plate appearances. The former No. 32 overall pick can elect free agency this winter and look for a new organization if he chooses.

Reds Claim Patrick Kivlehan

By Jeff Todd | September 28, 2016 at 1:14pm CDT

The Reds have claimed utilityman Patrick Kivlehan off waivers from the Padres, the Cincinnati organization announced. Kivlehan had been designated for assignment by San Diego.

Entering the year, the 26-year-old had spent his entire professional career in the Mariners organization, moving steadily up the ladder but never having earned a big league promotion. That all changed with a wild 2016 campaign for the former fourth-round draft pick.

Kivlehan is now on to his fourth team of the year with today’s claim. In between his time in Seattle and his forthcoming stint with Cinci, he saw action in the Rangers and Padres organizations. The latter of those afforded him his first big league opportunity, with Kivlehan logging four hits (including one home run) in his first 19 plate appearances.

For most of this year, Kivlehan has played at Triple-A with his various teams. In 397 total plate appearances, he owns a .254/.302/.416 batting line with 12 home runs. Since beginning his pro career as a third baseman, Kivlehan has increasingly spent time also in the corner outfield as well as at first base.

Surgery A Possibility For Tyson Ross; Cosart Undergoes MRI, X-Rays

By Steve Adams | September 27, 2016 at 10:32pm CDT

Tyson Ross has received multiple medical opinions over the past couple of weeks, skipper Andy Green told Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune, and surgery to repair his right shoulder is a possibility. Ross, naturally, prefers to avoid that endgame, and he’s exploring all possible alternatives for the time being. The Padres hope to have a plan mapped out for Ross by the end of the regular season, Lin writes, and an ultimate decision could come later this week. Ross is earning $9.625MM this season but pitched only once for the Friars, on Opening Day, before going down with a shoulder injury that would eventually wipe out his entire season. Additionally, Lin writes that righty Jarred Cosart underwent an MRI and X-rays on his right elbow to determine the severity of a bone spur that he said he’s been pitching through.

Drew Pomeranz Won’t Start Again This Season

By Steve Adams | September 27, 2016 at 6:31pm CDT

Red Sox left-hander Drew Pomeranz won’t make another start this season, manager John Farrell told reporters, including WEEI’s Rob Bradford. Pomeranz has been feeling some soreness in his left forearm and has also pitched a career-high 169 1/3 innings this season whilst splitting the year between San Diego and Boston. Farrell stated that Pomeranz came out of his last start “a little more sore” but emphasized that the lefty isn’t being shut down and will hopefully make a bullpen appearance before season’s end. If Pomeranz is deemed healthy enough, he could be a bullpen option in the postseason, but his status for the playoffs remains unclear, writes Tim Britton of the Providence Journal.

The news on Pomeranz is magnified by the fact that the Red Sox were reportedly unhappy with the lack of medical information disclosed by the Padres prior to the trade that sent Pomeranz to Boston in exchange for top pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza. Major League Baseball has already suspended San Diego general manager A.J. Preller for 30 days, without pay, due to the fact that the Padres withheld medical information in the Pomeranz trade. Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe tweets that Red Sox officials declined comment about the specifics of what was withheld today in the wake of Farrell’s announcement, but it was “very clear” that the officials to whom he spoke are angry.

Bradford tweets that in spite of this recent development, the Pomeranz case will remain closed. Reports at the time of Preller’s suspension indicated that the White Sox, among other teams, were “enraged” with the Padres and felt that they were knowingly deceived, but based on Bradford’s tweet, it doesn’t appear that there will be any further action taken against San Diego. The 27-year-old Pomeranz pitched to a 2.47 ERA in 102 innings with the Padres this year, but his performance has slipped with the BoSox, as he’s worked to a more pedestrian 4.68 ERA in 67 1/3 innings. Boston controls him via arbitration for another two seasons beyond the current campaign.

Padres Conditionally Supporting A.J. Preller

By charliewilmoth | September 24, 2016 at 2:55pm CDT

The Padres continue to support GM A.J. Preller, who’s currently suspended due to disputes over medical information the team withheld from other teams in trade negotiations. The team’s ownership expects, however, that when Preller returns he will improve the medical and training practices that got him into hot water. An even bigger issue for Preller might be earning the trust of executives from other teams, who he’ll have to continue to trade with despite a series of disputes.

San Diego Padres: Top 5 Bright Spots Of 2016

By Jason Martinez | September 21, 2016 at 8:33pm CDT

Rebuilding season or not, falling short of the playoffs and finishing with a losing record probably means that more things went wrong than went right for a team. This series, however, will focus on those silver linings that each team can take away from an otherwise disappointing season.

[Related: “Top Bright Spots” archive]

Here are the biggest bright spots for the San Diego Padres.

1. Ryan Schimpf, 2B

In seven years with the Blue Jays, Schimpf was never even added to the team’s 40-man roster. It’s safe to assume that they didn’t think he was capable of having anywhere near the success he’s had with the Padres (.890 OPS, 19 homers, 15 doubles, five triples in 79 games). To be fair, neither did the 29 teams who passed on Schimpf whenever he was available in the Rule 5 draft. His unimpressive stints in Triple-A (.648 OPS in 2014; .607 OPS in 2015), despite success at every other level, probably helped to keep him off the radar.

For the 28-year-old, who signed a Minor League deal with the Padres this past offseason, it took a 1.160 OPS with 15 homers in 51 games for Triple-A El Paso to finally earn a big league call-up in mid-June. Schimpf got off to 3-for-29 start, but he’s been one of the most productive hitters in baseball since July 1, posting a .946 OPS and 37 extra-base hits in that time.

Schimp’s arrival has seemingly created a logjam at second base with Cory Spangenberg coming back from injury and Carlos Asuaje coming off of a terrific Triple-A season. In reality, though, there’s no way that a guy who just hit 19 homers in a two-and-a-half month span while playing solid defense won’t be penciled into the projected lineup for 2017.

2. Luis Perdomo, SP

Rule 5 picks are typically stashed in the bullpen, eating up innings in low leverage situations. On occasion, a Rule 5 draftee might perform well enough to take on a more vital role (see Joe Biagini of the Blue Jays). But spending more than half of the season in a big league starting rotation is unimaginable for a guy who had spent most of the previous season in Low-A and finished off the year by giving up seven runs on 11 hits in 4 1/3 innings for Palm Beach, the Cardinals’ High-A affiliate. It was Perdomo’s fifth start at the level. If he had not been chosen in the Rule 5 draft, a return to the Florida State League would have been expected in 2016.

Instead, the 23-year-old finds himself in the midst of an eye-opening rookie season with the Padres. While he was being hidden in the bullpen early in the season, mostly pitching when the game was well out of reach and looking very much like he should still be in the minors, Perdomo was forced into starting duty in mid-June. As a starting pitcher, the right-hander has looked like a poised veteran who has the utmost confidence in a sinker that opposing hitters have a difficult time squaring up on.

In 16 starts since entering the rotation for good on June 15, Perdomo has a 4.29 ERA with 26 walks and 70 strikeouts in 98 2/3 innings. He’s completed at least six innings 11 times and has nine quality starts. He’ll enter the offseason as arguably the team’s second-best starting option behind injured staff ace Tyson Ross.

3. Ryan Buchter, RP

Seven-plus years in the minors for Schimpf is nothing compared to Buchter, who was drafted in 2005 and spent most of the next 11 seasons in the Minor Leagues. He logged exactly one big league appearance through the 2015 season before finally breaking through with the Padres in 2016.

The 29-year-old Buchter, who signed a Minor League contract with the Padres this past offseason, made the team out of Spring Training and has been their best reliever with a 2.86 ERA, 4.4 BB/9, 11.1 K/9 and 20 holds in 67 appearances. Opposing hitters have not come close to figuring out the left-hander, mustering only 34 hits in 63 innings. For the first time in his 12-year professional career, he’ll head into Spring Training with a big league roster spot all but locked up.

4. Trade Chips Maximizing Value (Drew Pomeranz, Melvin Upton Jr., Fernando Rodney, Matt Kemp)

Trading away a veteran player for something of value is not an easy task if that player isn’t performing well. But thanks to Pomeranz’s breakout season, strong bounce-back seasons from Rodney and Upton, and a perfectly-timed Kemp hot streak, the Padres were able to get three very good pitching prospects—Anderson Espinoza, Chris Paddack and Hansel Rodriguez—and/or salary relief for four veterans who didn’t figure into the team’s future plans.

Fernando Rodney: 0.31 ERA, 4.1 H/9, 3.8 BB/9, 10.4 K/9, 17 saves in 28 appearances; traded to Marlins on June 30th.
Drew Pomeranz: 2.47 ERA, 5.9 H/9, 3.6 BB/9, 10.1 K/9 in 17 starts; traded to Red Sox on July 14th.
Melvin Upton Jr.: .743 OPS, 16 HR, 20 SB in 92 games; traded to Blue Jays on July 26th.
Matt Kemp: .891 OPS, 9 HR, 12 2B from June 11-July 29; traded to Braves on July 30th.

Thanks for the memories and for maximizing your value prior to the trade deadline!

5. Austin Hedges, C/ Carlos Asuaje, 2B/ Manuel Margot, CF/ Hunter Renfroe, OF (MiLB)

My “Knocking Down The Door: All-Snub Team” was headlined by four Padres, who are finally getting called up to the Major Leagues on September 21—they were part of the Triple-A El Paso team that won the Pacific Coast League Championship—despite each doing more than enough to warrant a much-earlier promotion.

While Asuaje, Margot and Renfroe had their big league arrival time affected somewhat by the performances of Schimpf, Alex Dickerson and Travis Jankowski—we’ll call the latter two “Bright Spot Honorable Mentions”—this talented quartet isn’t likely to spend much more time in the minors, if any at all.

Here’s a look at how they fared for Triple-A El Paso during the 2016 regular season.

Austin Hedges, C: .951 OPS, 21 HR, 20 2B in 82 games; considered one of, if not the best defensive catchers in the minors.
Carlos Asuaje, 2B: .851 OPS, 9 HR, 32 2B, 11 3B, 10 SB in 134 games.
Manuel Margot, CF: .777 OPS, 6 HR, 21 2B, 12 3B, 30 SB in 124 games.
Hunter Renfroe: RF: .893 OPS, 30 HR, 34 2B in 133 games.

For an organization that relies heavily on producing young talent down on the farm and has had very little success in doing so, there is finally a reason to be optimistic.

[Padres Depth Chart]

Padres Designate Patrick Kivlehan, Nick Noonan

By Jeff Todd | September 21, 2016 at 4:10pm CDT

The Padres have designated outfielder Patrick Kivlehan and infielder Nick Noonan for assignment, the team announced. Their 40-man roster spots were needed for the team’s wave of prospect call-ups, which were also made official.

Though he earned his first MLB promotion, hitting well in just five games of action, Kivlehan will presumably find his way to another club after a year of constant change. (San Diego was his third team in 2016.) Kivlehan spent most of the season at the highest level of the minors, posting a .254/.302/.416 slash with a dozen homers in 397 trips to the dish.

Noonan, 27, received only brief major league time this season — his first as a member of an organization other than the division-rival Giants. Over 374 plate appearances at Triple-A, Noonan has posted a .301/.338/.427 batting line.

Padres Promote Margot, Renfroe, Hedges, Asuaje

By Steve Adams | September 21, 2016 at 7:58am CDT

With the Triple-A postseason now complete, the Padres announced late Tuesday night that they have promoted top outfield prospects Hunter Renfroe and Manuel Margot as well as catcher Austin Hedges, second baseman Carlos Asuaje and lefties Buddy Baumann and Jose Torres in a final wave of September call-ups. Of the bunch, Renfroe and Margot rank firmly within the game’s top 100 prospects, while Asuaje ranks as one of the Padres’ best prospects after coming to San Diego alongside Margot in the Craig Kimbrel blockbuster. Hedges, meanwhile, is a former top 100 prospect in his own right that saw his rookie status expire while struggling in the Majors last season but enjoyed a monstrous season in Triple-A this year.

Starting with Margot, the 21-year-old center fielder currently ranks 16th, 20th, 27th and 39th on the respective midseason top prospect lists compiled by Baseball Prospectus, ESPN’s Keith Law, MLB.com and Baseball America. Margot was one of the headliners of the Padres’ return for Kimbrel and demonstrated many of the reasons that he’s so well-regarded with a strong 2016 season in which he batted .304/.351/.426 with six homers, 21 doubles, 12 triples and 30 stolen bases in 566 plate appearances at the Triple-A level despite being more than five years younger than the league’s average age.

Scouting reports peg Margot as a plus defensive center fielder due to his above-average speed and strong reads, and it should be mentioned that he racked up 18 outfield assists in Triple-A this year. His hit tool draws strong reviews as well, with the only real questions regarding his skill set centering around his power (or potential lack thereof). Even if he’s not a big threat in terms of clearing the fences, though, Margot profiles as a regular that works the count, hits for average, gets on base, steals bases and plays quality defense.

Renfroe, meanwhile, ranked 41st on MLB.com’s list, 43rd on BP’s and 66th on BA’s. The 24-year-old was the No. 13 overall pick back in 2013, and while his arrival to the Majors took longer than some might’ve anticipated, he’s hit quite well in parts of two seasons with Triple-A, slashing a combined .310/.339/.568 with 36 homers in 154 games. Those numbers, of course, are aided somewhat by the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, and it’d be encouraging to see Renfroe walk in more than four percent of his Triple-A plate appearances. But, his 20.5 percent strikeout rate isn’t through the roof, and the reports on him laud his raw power and bat speed as well as his arm strength in right field (where he fell just shy of Margot with 17 outfield assists this season). Even if his discipline never improves, Renfroe could be an power-oriented regular with an OBP in the low .300s and solid defense in right field.

Turning to Asuaje, MLB.com rates him 20th among San Diego farmhands and praises his contact skills, hand-eye coordination and gap power/line-drive stroke. Asuaje is listed at 5’9″ and 160 pounds, so the odds of him ever hitting for much power, especially playing his home games at Petco Park, are fairly long. though MLB.com’s report on him does mention his “surprising” pop and give him a chance to crack double digits in homers. The 24-year-old Asuaje was brilliant with El Paso this season, hitting .321/.378/.473 with nine homers, 32 doubles and 11 triples. He’ll be in the mix for the second base job in 2017, and even if he loses out to breakout slugger Ryan Schimpf or a returning Cory Spangenberg, Asuaje could crack the roster as a utility player. He’s appeared at third base, left field and (briefly) shortstop throughout his minor league tenure and could help the Friars at a number of positions.

Hedges didn’t receive the call-up that many (myself included) were anticipating earlier this season due largely to the fact that Derek Norris played himself out of a potential trade by hitting just .183/.253/.320. With Norris and the out-of-options Christian Bethancourt serving as manager Andy Green’s primary receivers in the bigs, the Padres left Hedges at El Paso to continue to hone his offensive skills, and he delivered in a big way, hitting .326/.353/.597 with 21 homers. That’s a critical development for a player who has long been touted for standout defense but had previously struggled to hit. Hedges batted a woeful .168/.215/.248 in 152 MLB PAs last season, and the .225/.272/.314 slash he compiled in 133 career games at the Double-A level was concerning as well. Now, with such an impressive 2016 season in his back pocket, it’s easy to envision the Padres finding a way to clear a roster spot for him in 2017.

Neither Baumann nor Torres ranks among San Diego’s top minor leaguers, but both had strong minor league seasons. Baumann posted a 3.14 ERA with a 31-to-12 K/BB ratio in 28 2/3 innings, and the 28-year-old will return to the Padres for a third stint this year. Torres, just 22, split the 2016 campaign across three minor league levels after beginning in Class-A Advanced and compiled a 2.24 ERA with 8.8 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 in 64 1/3 innings of relief.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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