Padres outfielder Jon Jay officially returned to action last night, making his first plate appearance since the 19th of June. As Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune explains, the 31-year-old stayed busy during his rehab from a fractured forearm. While he says his focus remains on “going out and proving to everyone that I’m healthy and I can still play at a high level,” Jay also spent time focusing on other aspects of the game. “I love this game of baseball, and in the future you never know what’s going to happen,” said Jay. “I would maybe want to coach or be involved in the game still with player development or whatever it might be. I’m kind of working on those things now so that if an opportunity does come in the future, I’m ready for it.” First things first, though: Jay will be playing to help set up his next contract, as he’ll reach the open market this fall. Mutual interest in a return to San Diego won’t be explored further until that time, both he and manager Andy Green noted.
Padres Rumors
Padres Release Alexei Ramirez
The Padres have released shortstop Alexei Ramirez, according to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com (Twitter link). Cassavell reported Saturday that the Padres were unlikely to pick up their end of Ramirez’s $4MM mutual option for 2017 during the offseason. A day later, his time with the Padres has ended. He’ll collect what’s left of his $3MM salary for this season and a $1MM buyout for 2017.
After a subpar 2015 in his final campaign as a member of the White Sox, with whom he spent the first eight seasons of his career, the Padres bought low on Ramirez during the winter. However, he failed to live up to his modest deal. As a result of both Ramirez’s poor performance and the rebuilding Padres’ shift toward youth, the club began phasing the soon-to-be 35-year-old out at shortstop recently, instead turning to the likes of Jose Rondon and Luis Sardinas.
The right-handed Ramirez began working in right field as a way to stay in the Padres’ lineup against southpaws, but that wasn’t enough for him to remain with the team through season’s end. Ramirez batted a disappointing .240/.275/.331 in 440 plate appearances with the Padres and wasn’t any better in the field, where he’s currently last among 2016 shortstops in Defensive Runs Saved (minus-17) and Ultimate Zone Rating (minus-14.4). All told, he has been worth a league-worst minus-2.0 fWAR this year.
Before his decline began in earnest last season, Ramirez was a useful player for several years. The one-time All-Star batted a combined .275/.313/.395 with 78 home runs in 3,868 trips to the plate from 2009-14, also playing no fewer than 148 games in each season, adding 105 steals and totaling 18.5 fWAR.
Latest On Tyson Ross
- The Padres aren’t optimistic right-hander Tyson Ross will play much of a role the rest of the season, but they’re not ready to shut him down, per Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The front-line starter has been on the shelf since Opening Day on account of shoulder inflammation. With the minor league regular season ending Monday, Ross won’t have a chance to embark on a rehab assignment. That means the 29-year-old is unlikely to serve as anything more than a short reliever if he does take the mound again for the Padres this season. Going forward, Ross won’t command much of a raise on his $9.625MM salary in his final year of arbitration eligibility, but a disastrous 2016 has likely caused significant damage to his once-high trade value.
Padres Unlikely To Exercise Alexei Ramirez’s Option
The Padres are unlikely to pick up their end of shortstop Alexei Ramirez’s $4MM mutual option for 2017, reports AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. Letting Ramirez go would cost the Padres $1MM in the form of a buyout, but his poor output in 2016 won’t leave the club with much choice during the offseason.
Regarding his future, Ramirez said, “I just want to finish this season well, but that’s something that’s out of my hands. It’s not in my control what happens there, so I just prepare myself, finish the season strong.”
With the Padres shifting toward a youth movement at short, where they’ve played Jose Rondon and Luis Sardinas lately, the soon-to-be 35-year-old Ramirez has begun adjusting to right field as a way to stay in the lineup against left-handed pitchers. Ramirez has hit a useful .298/.350/.404 in 123 plate appearances versus lefties this year, but his overall line of .240/.275/.331 through 440 PAs makes him a poor fit as an everyday player. Ramirez hasn’t been any better in the field, where he ranks last among shortstops in Defensive Runs Saved (minus-17) and Ultimate Zone Rating (minus-14.4)
This is the second subpar season in a row for Ramirez, whose eight-year tenure with the White Sox ended in forgettable fashion in 2015. At his best, Ramirez batted a combined .275/.313/.395 with 78 home runs in 3,868 trips to the plate from 2009-14, also playing no fewer than 148 games in each season, adding 105 steals and totaling 18.5 fWAR.
The Padres were surely hoping Ramirez would bounce back to his past form when they signed him to a one-year, $3MM deal last winter, which perhaps would’ve paved the way for an in-season trade, but that hasn’t been the case. As a result, the Friars were considering releasing Ramirez as of last month. While the Padres haven’t yet cut Ramirez, his time in their uniform is likely running out.
Padres Notes: Jon Jay, Wil Myers
- Padres outfielder Jon Jay is set to begin a rehab assignment tomorrow, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports on Twitter. The veteran wasn’t able to return in time to become a trade piece, and the Pads are well out of contention, but he has plenty to play for. The outcome of his upcoming free agency could depend quite a bit on whether he can return to being the solid regular he was before fracturing his forearm on a hit-by-pitch. (In case you missed it, San Diego reportedly has interest in exploring a reunion.)
- Padres outfielder Jon Jay is set to begin a rehab assignment tomorrow, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports on Twitter. The veteran wasn’t able to return in time to become a trade piece, and the Pads are well out of contention, but he has plenty to play for. The outcome of his upcoming free agency could depend quite a bit on whether he can return to being the solid regular he was before fracturing his forearm on a hit-by-pitch. (In case you missed it, San Diego reportedly has interest in exploring a reunion.)
- Linlooks at the second-half struggles of Padres first baseman Wil Myers. After a big start to the year, Myers has been slumping for about six weeks even though he remains healthy. The 25-year-old hinted that he is battling through the mental and physical grind of a long season, but says he expects to learn and improve from his lull at the plate. It will be interesting to see whether and how Myers’s fall-off will impact the chatter about an extension we heard earlier in the summer.
Mariners, Padres Complete Nick Vincent Trade
It has been a long time coming, but the Mariners and Padres have finally completed the late-spring trade that sent righty Nick Vincent to Seattle, per Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). Cash considerations, rather than a player, will head to San Diego to tie up the deal.
Vincent has been a nice addition for the M’s, contributing 47 innings of 3.83 ERA ball on the year. The bottom-line results may not be terribly exciting, but Vincent has racked up 10.3 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 since coming over. He has been a bit homer-prone, but the slider specialist owns a career-best 12.9% swinging strike rate and seems fairly likely to be tendered a contract this fall heading into his first season of arbitration eligibility.
Padres Send Cash To Mariners To Complete Luis Sardinas Trade
- Last month, the Mariners traded infielder Luis Sardinas to the Padres in exchange for a player to be named later or cash, and MLB.com’s A.J. Cassavell now reports that the deal has been completed, with San Diego sending cash to Seattle (Twitter link). The return for Sardinas was never expected to be all that high, considering the fact that he’d endured a poor 2016 season and had already been designated for assignment at the time of the trade. Since joining the Padres, Sardinas has seven hits in 22 at-bats, including a homer and a pair of doubles. On a somewhat related note, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets that the two sides have not yet formally wrapped up the Nick Vincent swap that took place all the way back in March (Twitter link). The Padres and Mariners have until Sept. 30 to complete the trade, which was announced as Vincent to Seattle in exchange for a player to be named later. Vincent has been a nice add for the Mariners, tossing 47 innings of 3.83 ERA ball.
Padres Claim Oswaldo Arcia From Marlins
The Padres have claimed Oswaldo Arcia from the Marlins, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets. Arcia will start in the Padres’ outfield tonight. The team has optioned outfielder Patrick Kivlehan to make room for Arcia on its active roster.
The last two months have been something of a whirlwind for Arcia. The Twins designated him for assignment in mid-June, then traded him to the Rays. After 61 plate appearances, the Rays designated him, and the Marlins claimed him this week before designating him for assignment Thursday.
It’s not hard to see why many teams find Arcia somewhat appealing, just as it’s easy to see the flaws that have prevented him from sticking with a team this season. He’s just 25 and has obvious power, with 42 home runs in 1,030 career big-league plate appearances. Unfortunately, he’s also struck out in over 30% of his plate appearances and doesn’t walk much, leading to low batting averages and on-base percentages. It appears he’ll get another shot in San Diego, where he’ll join an outfield that’s been depleted by a host of recent injuries (Jon Jay, Jabari Blash) and recent trades (Matt Kemp, Melvin Upton).
Padres Interested In Re-Signing Jon Jay
The Padres are interested in retaining outfielder Jon Jay beyond this season and have engaged in preliminary discussions with him about a return, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. The veteran is scheduled to reach free agency this fall.
Jay, 31, was in the midst of a productive campaign for San Diego before a wayward pitch fractured his forearm. Generally regarded as a solid defender in center, Jay also ran up a useful .296/.345/.407 slash with a then-league-leading 24 doubles over 291 plate appearances. He has been working his way back since hitting the DL in late June, and is expected to return in early or mid-September.
Prior to the injury, Jay seemed like a quality trade piece for the Friars. And there still seems to be at least an outside shot at a deal materializing over the next five days. (He could still be traded after the calendar flips to September, but an acquiring team would not be able to use him on its postseason roster.) This latest news, however, suggests that San Diego may instead keep Jay around — though he could certainly be dealt and then re-signed.
It’s not immediately clear whether the club is interested in keeping Jay from reaching the open market, or instead hopes to get a head start on free agent talks. Manager Andy Green suggested the latter, labeling it “an offseason discussion” to be had at year end. And Jay seems to be inclined to test the free agent waters, even if he sees a return to San Diego as a desirable possibility.
While Jay said it was “great” to be approached, he went on to explain that he’d likely need to weigh the alternatives. “Obviously, with free agency, you wait so long to get to this point as a player, you want to see what’s out there,” said Jay. “But at the same time, I feel very comfortable here. I do like it a lot here, so this is definitely something my wife and I will discuss when we’re making those decisions.”
As Lin well explains in the above-linked post, it is a bit surprising at first glance to learn of the Padres’ interest in retaining Jay. The organization has a fair number of untested but rather intriguing outfielders kicking around at or near the major league level, and doesn’t seem primed to contend in 2017. It seems, though, that Jay made quite an impression both on and off the field.
And while the injury was certainly a freak occurrence, it may limit his earning power somewhat and leave an opportunity for the team to realize some value if it does ultimately strike a deal. Though the overall free agent market is rather thin, there are a number of quality outfielders available, so it’ll be interesting to see how things develop with regard to Jay, who ought to draw fairly wide interest from a variety of teams.
Latest On Padres’ Jon Jay
AUGUST 21: The bone in Jay’s forearm has fully healed and he could return by the first week of September, Padres manager Andy Green said Sunday (Twitter link via AJ Cassavell of MLB.com).
AUGUST 16, 10:06pm: Jay’s imaging results were clean, Lin adds on Twitter, but he still needs to regain sufficient flexibility to move toward a return. It is still possible he could be back by the first week of September, per the report.
8:36pm: Padres outfielder Jon Jay didn’t receive the news he hoped for when his fractured right forearm was examined today, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports on Twitter. When he was placed on the DL, the hope was that Jay might be back by this point. But after a CT scan and consultation, Jay was not cleared to hit, making mid-September a more realistic target for his return.
While a slight delay in a rehab timeline for a player on an out-of-contention team isn’t generally of much transactional relevance, Jay’s situation is somewhat different. The Padres have been perhaps the most aggressive seller in baseball, and Jay had looked like a solid trade asset — and a nice target for buyers to pursue.
Over his 291 plate appearances on the year, the left-handed-hitting Jay owns a .296/.345/.407 batting line that checks in just above league average. With a solid glove that plays in center, that makes him a useful piece for the right club.
Because he’s now facing continued uncertainty, teams probably won’t be willing to put in a claim on Jay with just over $1.75MM left on his salary. If he clears waivers, he can be dealt freely, but teams may not be willing to give up much of anything when Jay hasn’t even begun swinging the bat. Once the calendar flips to September, though, an acquiring team wouldn’t be able to utilize him on a post-season roster.
Looking beyond the trade market, the downgraded prognosis also represents a blow to Jay’s efforts to boost his free agent stock. The 31-year-old had been on track to draw solid interest as a player who could start or represent a high-quality fourth outfielder. He may still be able to push for a multi-year deal, but without a month or more to lay down more plate appearances after the injury, his market standing will likely be somewhat tamped down.
