Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Padres Rumors

MLB Nearing Completion Of Investigation Into Padres’ Medical Processes

By | at

Major League Baseball’s investigation into the Padres’ medical information practices is nearing its completion, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney, and the Friars could face penalty as a result of the findings. Olney reports that multiple sources have informed him that the Padres instructed their medical staff to compile two separate reports on each player — one for industry usage (i.e. medical reviews in trade talks) and one to be kept internal.

The difference between the two files, according to Olney, would be that the file for industry consumption would only contain information on injuries that required trips to the disabled list, whereas the in-house file would contain data on more minor injuries/maladies and preventative treatments that occur over the course of a given season. Three teams with which the Padres executed trades — the Red Sox (Drew Pomeranz), White Sox (James Shields) and Marlins (Andrew Cashner, Colin Rea, Fernando Rodney) were “enraged” and felt they were knowingly deceived by San Diego, Olney writes, adding that a fourth unspecified club filed a complaint with the Commissioner’s Office as well. Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald tweets that punishment for the Padres should be expected, adding that a common point he’s hearing in digging on this matter is that Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski “is [the] wrong guy to cross.”

The Marlins’ case, of course, is the most well-publicized. Rea departed his first start as a Marlin in the fourth inning due to elbow discomfort, and a subsequent MRI revealed ligament damage that ultimately required a platelet-rich plasma injection and may eventually lead to Tommy John surgery. The Padres ultimately traded highly touted minor league right-hander Luis Castillo back to the Marlins in exchange for Rea, and Olney now reports that Rea revealed to the Marlins that he’d been receiving treatment on his elbow for weeks leading up to the trade. That information, according to Olney, was not contained within the Padres’ medical records on Rea, therefore giving the Marlins no opportunity to back away from the deal due to concerns surrounding the young right-hander’s elbow.

As Olney explains, virtually any form of treatment — everything from DL trips down to the use of aspirin and anti-inflammatory medications — is supposed to be logged in a player’s medical file, and those files are logged to MLB’s central database and are available for review in trade talks. One source told Olney that an average team will have filed somewhere in the vicinity of 60 submissions to the database by the All-Star break, but the Padres had filed fewer than 10 submissions this season.

Perhaps most damning, Olney cites multiple sources with direct knowledge of meetings held by the Padres in Spring Training in reporting that the team specifically told its training staff that keeping separate files on the players would ultimately prove beneficial in trading efforts. If proven to be true, this would be far from the first controversy surrounding general manager A.J. Preller’s career as a Major League executive. Preller was suspended for violating signing guidelines and practices while heading up the Rangers’ international department and, per Olney, has also been reprimanded by the league since joining the Padres for violating industry regulations while conducting a workout with an unsigned player.

Those interested in the story are highly encouraged to read Olney’s full column, which goes into considerably greater detail on the matter and contains quotes from multiple unnamed executives on the Padres scandal.

NL Notes: Wright, deGrom, Matz, Kang, Padres Prospects

By | at

A trip to the doctor resulted in generally positive news for Mets third baseman David Wright, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag reports. Wright’s surgically-repaired neck is said to be healing as hoped, though Wright will not even be able to do full-scale workouts until next spring. Still, it seems that he and the team have reason to hope that he’ll be able to attempt a comeback for 2017.

  • Meanwhile, the Mets are considering an interesting way of working injured starters Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz back into the major league mix, as MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo was among those to report. If both are ready to pitch, but not handle a full starter’s workload, then the pair could work in tandem in a single outing, skipper Terry Collins suggested. With wins at a premium, that ought to represent a potent one-two punch, especially since the righty/lefty combo would be hard to match up against.
  • It doesn’t appear as if the investigation into sexual assault allegations against Pirates infielder Jung Ho Kang is progressing much, as Andrew Goldstein of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. The Chicago police who are looking into the claims say that they are not having success in making contact with the woman who says she was assaulted by the Korean star. At this time, though, it appears that it still remains an open matter. The police “are seeking clarification on several items to corroborate the allegations made,” police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has stated that the league will not take action on the matter until the investigation has progressed.
  • Four significant Padres prospects have notably yet to receive major league promotions this year, as Jason Martinez of MLBTR and Roster Resource recently explored. The organization has preferred to keep those players together for the Triple-A playoffs, MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell writes, with manager Andy Green saying that more call-ups are expected once the PCL campaign has wrapped up. Catcher Austin Hedges seems to be an easy call now that a promotion won’t cost the team a year of control, as he’s already on the 40-man and the team just lost Christian Bethancourt. Manuel Margot is also on the 40-man, but the team may wish to watch his service time. Meanwhile, a bump for outfielder Hunter Renfroe and/or infielder Carlos Asuaje could make sense since both need roster spots this winter for Rule 5 protection.

Coppolella On Braves’ Offseason Plans, Prospects, Olivera, Kemp

By | at

Braves GM John Coppolella took over his club’s Twitter account today to address the organization’s direction. While he expressed disappointment that the win-loss record hasn’t shown much improvement, the focus obviously remains on the future for Atlanta. Still, he continued to suggest that the expectation is for the on-field product to begin improving in the near term … and also left no doubt that he follows Braves fandom rather closely on social media.

Here are some of the key points, with all links to Twitter:

[Related: Braves Depth Chart]

  • Coppolella predicts that the Braves will be quite active in free agency, saying that the team has “more money to spend than in the past 10 years.” Atlanta has never been one of the biggest spenders around, so it’s not exactly a lofty bar, but with only $50MM on the books for 2017 (before arbitration raises) there ought to be some added freedom this winter. Coppy adds that he’s interested in making “major [free agent] signings” to bring in “impactful” players, with a focus (whether in free agency or trade) on adding “at least two” starters and bolstering the catching unit. The latter area, at least, is one of some depth on the coming market.
  • The upcoming crop of open-market starters, of course, is about as thin as we’ve ever seen. But that remains a need for the Braves, with Coppolella saying he was disappointed in the lack of progress from the club’s young rotation members. He adds that “opportunity time is over in 2017” for those pitchers, who will “have to earn a rotation spot once [the Braves] add free agents.” One still-youthful staff member, Julio Teheran, has turned in an outstanding year. While Coppolella did not address the topic, I’d note that it’ll be interesting to see whether there is any chatter regarding the talented righty, whose stock is firmly on the rise. He has often been mentioned as a trade candidate, but with Atlanta looking to add at the major league level, the time for a deal may have passed.
  • There isn’t a general need for arms, Coppolella insisted. In addition to noting the many minor league talents who are in the pipeline, he says that the “bullpen is likely the least area of concern” entering the winter.
  • Looking back, Coppolella acknowledges that acquiring Hector Olivera “still haunts me.” That deal obviously did not pan out on or off the field, and Olivera’s contract was sent to the Padres in the deal that netted Matt Kemp. The Braves GM copped to being “shortsighted” in commenting recently on Kemp’s poor conditioning, saying the veteran has been “terrific” in all regards since coming over. As for a trade that has gone in Atlanta’s favor, Coppolella expressed surprise at Shelby Miller’s struggles with the Diamondbacks and said that as many as twenty teams attempted to acquire him last winter.
  • The Braves did not promote young infielder Ozzie Albies to the majors this year because they “didn’t feel Ozzie was ready,” says Coppolella. But he notes that the youngster “will get an opportunity to fight for a [major league] job” this spring despite being passed over. Generally, Coppolella added, the organization expects to “continue to push players and provide opportunities.” He hinted that service time won’t be a factor in determining when the club’s touted minor league assets make it to the bigs.
  • With a laundry list of interesting young arms on the farm, Coppolella singled out towering, 22-year-old righty Patrick Weigel, who he says has a “chance to be a frontline starter.” The 2015 seventh-round draft pick has posted 149 2/3 innings of 2.47 ERA ball at the High-A and (briefly) Double-A levels this year, with 9.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9, leading Coppy to name him the most improved minor league pitcher in the organization. The GM cited outfielder Dustin Peterson as the recipient of that honor on the position-player side after his .282/.343/.431 batting line and 12 home runs over 578 plate appearances at Double-A. Peterson came over as part of a group of increasingly interesting prospects in the Justin Upton trade, with lefty Max Fried also drawing praise from the organization’s baseball operations triggerman.
  • All said, it promises to be another interesting winter in Atlanta. It’s generally a quiet time right now on the rumor front, but Coppolella says the club is already holding talks on prospective offseason trades. Primary attention seems to be going to the major league roster at present, but Coppolella suggested that he will continue to focus on infusing young talent to the system, writing that the organization “will always try to trade for draft picks” when possible.

Christian Bethancourt, Tyson Ross Unlikely To Return In 2016

By | at

The Padres are unlikely to welcome back either catcher Christian Bethancourt or righty Tyson Ross in the final weeks of the 2016 season, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Bethancourt is sidelined with an intercostal strain that has not improved enough to allow him to return. The expectation, though, is that he’ll participate in winter ball once healthy. The 25-year-old receiver, who’ll end the year with a .228/.265/.368 slash over 204 plate appearances, is part of an uncertain mix of future options behind the dish for San Diego.

Prospect Austin Hedges seems like the future number one, but the Triple-A standout appears to be finishing out his standout year at the highest level of the minors. (It’s worth noting that Hedges already has 154 days of major league service, so an earlier call-up would have meant bumping him past one full season and moved up his free agency.) Meanwhile, veteran Derek Norris has scuffled through a disastrous season with the bat and still looks to be a trade candidate.

As for Ross, who has been throwing in an attempt to work back from a shoulder injury, it seems increasingly unlikely that he’ll make it to his second MLB start on the year. “Before September rolled around, we all felt very strongly that Tyson was going to pitch again for us this year,” said manager Andy Green. “Then it looked like a probability. Now it looks like just a possibility at this point in time.”

Certainly, there’s little reason for San Diego to push Ross too hard. At present, the veteran righty “has not been able to rebound” sufficiently from his sessions, per Green. It has been a lost season for Ross, 29, who is nevertheless likely to earn something close to his $9.625MM salary in his final arb-eligible campaign. The Pads could still look to work out a trade for him if he shows up healthy in the spring, but otherwise will presumably enter the year as a prime mid-season trade candidate — if his shoulder holds up.

NL Notes: Cashner, Pollock, Casilla, Olivera, Solis

By | at

Facial hair policy may not typically be at the top of the list of considerations for free agents, but Marlins righty Andrew Cashner says it’s a matter of concern to him, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports. The recently-acquired starter says that he “still hate[s]” Miami’s policy forbidding beards and intends to weigh that when he reaches the open market after the season. “That is a big deal to me in free agency,” he said. The 29-year-old seems unlikely to be more than a rental for the Fish anyway — his 4.78 ERA with the team is a near match for the 4.76 mark he put up before he was dealt — but if he sticks to his guns, it would seem that he also will be unlikely to sign with the beardless Yankees this winter.

Here are some more notes from the National League:

  • Diamondbacks center fielder A.J. Pollock left tonight’s action with what the team announced as a groin strain. The severity of the injury is not known at present, but it represents another turn of bad luck for a player who missed the vast majority of the year with a broken bone in his elbow. The 28-year-old hasn’t quite been himself at the plate since returning, though returning to health is the primary consideration and he has only had a chance to accumulate 45 plate appearances thus far in a star-crossed season.
  • The Giants have elected to remove Santiago Casilla from the closer’s role, skipper Bruce Bochy told reporters including Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco intends to play the matchups for the time being, but Bochy suggested both that Casilla could still see save opportunities and that rookie Derek Law may get some chances once he’s back from the DL. Law, 25, has posted a 1.94 ERA over his first 51 MLB frames, with 8.3 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9, and could set himself up as the team’s closer of the future. As for the 36-year-old Casilla, the move mostly represents an acknowledgment that he’s more a sturdy reliever than a lights-out presence at the back of the pen. He still carries a solid 3.52 ERA with 10.2 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9 in his walk season.
  • By releasing Hector Olivera, the Padres forewent any chance of avoiding salary obligations that his jail time would otherwise have freed them from paying, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports (Twitter links). It’s important to note, though, that he is only slated to spend ten days in prison after his domestic violence conviction, and the team would only have been able to recoup salary if the time ended up being served during the season.
  • Nationals lefty Sammy Solis has encountered a “roadblock” in his efforts to work through a shoulder injury, manager Dusty Baker told reporters including Dan Kolko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). Washington still hopes that the 28-year-old will make it back by the end of the year, which could represent a nice boost as the club enters a highly likely postseason berth. Solis has had quite a nice season when healthy, posting a 2.35 ERA in 38 1/3 frames while compiling 10.3 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9.

NL West Notes: Olivera, D-Backs, Dodgers’ Rotation

By | at

Outfielder Hector Olivera, who was technically under contract most recently with the Padres — albeit quite briefly, and never in uniform — has been found guilty in his domestic abuse trial, as A.J. Perez of USA Today writes. Olivera was ultimately sentenced to 90 days in prison, but 80 of them are suspended under the judge’s decision for his misdemeanor conviction. It remains to be seen whether the disgraced 31-year-old will attempt any kind of comeback. He hasn’t donned a Major League uniform since his arrest and was released by the Padres after they acquired his contract as part of the financial work-out of the deal that sent Matt Kemp to Atlanta.

Here’s more from the NL West:

  • The Diamondbacks’ internal issues may run deeper than is generally known, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, who says there’s discord between director of player development Mike Bell and senior VP of baseball ops De Jon Watson. Though all of the relevant front office members issued statements denying or glossing over the alleged discord, Rosenthal says that the pair is “at odds” over how the team runs its player development system, with Bell possibly prepared to depart if Watson is retained. As with chief baseball officer Tony La Russa and GM Dave Stewart, a decision is due on Watson’s contract.
  • Meanwhile, Diamondbacks president & CEO Derrick Hall participated in a Reddit AMA in which he fielded some less-than-favorable points of view from fans. One in particular challenged the baseball decisionmaking since La Russa has taken charge, prompting an interesting response from Hall — who has said that the team is assessing whether to keep that front office group intact. “As you know, we are evaluating and analyzing all areas that you’ve touched on, and will have decisions on direction very soon,” he wrote. “What history has shown us is that turnarounds come quickly as was the case from 2006 to 2007 and 2010 to 2011. I obviously want us to be in a position where we play contending baseball much more consistently year and year for fans like you. Keep your head high and know that we all see the same issues and feel the same frustration.”
  • We checked in recently on the Dodgers’ interesting bullpen, and tonight it’s time to look at the rotation. Ben Lindbergh of the Ringer writes that Los Angeles is the rare team that has received positive contributions from a rotation that has required a laundry list of names. The organization’s oft-noted strategy of rolling the dice on starters with injury risks has worked even though many of those arms have ended up on the DL rolls, owing largely to the presence of a host of useful backups.

NL Notes: Jay, Campos, Gutierrez, Feliz

By | at

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.

More from the National League:

  • The Diamondbacks received unfortunate news about righty Vicente Campos, as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets. Not long after making his MLB debut, the 24-year-old has been diagnosed with an ulnar fracture that will require surgery and an eight-month recovery timeline. That seems to suggest that a mid-season return in 2017 may be possible, at least, but the fracture obviously represents a highly disappointing development. Campos was acquired in July in the Tyler Clippard swap.
  • Just-signed righty Vladimir Gutierrez was also pursued by several other clubs before agreeing with the Reds, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports (Twitter links). The Rangers and Astros were the two primary pursuers who were willing to strike a deal right now, but three other organizations tried to convince the Cuban youngster to wait until the following July 2 signing period to put pen to paper. Meanwhile, Cinci GM Dick Williams says that the club likely won’t be making any other big-dollar signings in the near term.
  • Pirates righty Neftali Feliz left action on Saturday, leading to some concern about his health, but it appears to be a minor issue. As Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweeted yesterday, there is no elbow or shoulder concern. Feliz still hasn’t returned to the bump, but is expected to be ready in short order, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets. The 28-year-old has enjoyed a solid campaign in Pittsburgh, posting a 3.52 ERA with 10.2 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 over 53 2/3 innings, though some good batted ball fortune (.240 BABIP despite allowing 37.0% hard contact) may be helping. He’ll return to the open market this fall.

Padres Release Alexei Ramirez

By | at

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.

Pitcher Notes: Dodgers, Jeffress, T. Ross

By | at

Superstar Clayton Kershaw, out since late June with a herniated disc in his back, could return to the Dodgers’ rotation as early as Friday, writes Jim Alexander of the Orange County Register. The left-hander struck out five batters in three innings of 34-pitch, one-hit ball in a rehab start at Class-A Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday, saying afterward, “I felt good. I was able to warm up and sit in between innings and everything, stuff that’s bothered me in the past.” Prior to suffering the injury, Kershaw recorded a 1.79 ERA in 121 innings and looked like a shoo-in for the National League Cy Young Award. With a 16.11 K/BB ratio, he was also on track to shatter the record of 11.63 the Twins’ Phil Hughes set in 2014. It’s possible not pitching for two-plus months has killed Kershaw’s Cy Young changes, but he’s still among the majors’ leaders in fWAR and RA9-WAR despite having amassed far fewer innings than his closest competitors. The 28-year-old could give voters plenty to think about at season’s end, then. In the meantime, he’s primed to come back and try to help the NL West-leading Dodgers make a run at a World Series.

More news on a few other pitchers:

  • Rangers reliever Jeremy Jeffress’ stay in rehab will likely last weeks, not months, reports FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (video link). If true, Jeffress – who was arrested and charged with DWI last month – will have an opportunity to return this season. Jeffress could even throw with a staff member at his rehab clinic, which contains a workout facility, says Rosenthal. With that in mind, it shouldn’t take him long to get back into game shape before rejoining the Rangers as they chase a championship.
  • 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.
  • While Kershaw’s rehab outing went swimmingly Saturday, the same wasn’t true for teammate Brett Anderson. The oft-injured southpaw, who’s on the DL with a blister in his left index finger, followed Kershaw at Rancho Cucamonga and lasted just two frames in what was supposed to be a five-inning appearance, according to Alexander. Anderson yielded six runs and nine hits to continue what has been a season to forget. Thanks to multiple injuries, Anderson has thrown a mere four innings for the Dodgers this season. In his limited work, he has surrendered 11 earned runs on 14 hits and three walks.

Padres Unlikely To Exercise Alexei Ramirez’s Option

By | at

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.

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