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Padres Rumors: Headley, Grandal, Int’l Signings

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Padres General Manager Josh Byrnes says that he doesn't expect Chase Headley to be traded this winter, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  The Padres like their offense and want to keep it in tact, but will look to bolster their pitching this offseason.  Here's more out of San Diego..

  • Speaking of Headley, a baseball source tells Corey Brock of MLB.com that no discussions about a multi-year have taken place yet between him and the club.  Earlier this week, it was reported that the third baseman had some extension talks with Byrnes & Co.  Headley is set to hit the open market after the 2014 season.
  • Byrnes indicated to Morosi (via Twitter) that he's unlikely to look for a starting catcher after the suspension of Yasmani Grandal.  Instead, the Padres will work with Nick Hundley and John Baker during Grandal's 50-game suspension.
  • The Padres have signed four amateur prospects from Latin America, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America.  Dominican outfielder Euri Minaya, a 6-foot-4, 200 pound power hitter, was the biggest signing of the bunch at $700K.

White Sox Acquire Blake Tekotte

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5:28pm: The Padres will receive right-hander Brandon Kloess as the player to be named later in the deal, according to Sosnick Cobbe Sports (via Twitter).  Kloess, 28 in December, split time between Double-A and Triple-A last season in the White Sox's system.  In total, Kloess posted a 2.69 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in three starts and 34 relief appearances.

3:37pm: The White Sox have acquired Blake Tekotte from the Padres for a player to be named later, reports Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). San Diego designated the speedy outfielder for assignment last week.

Tekotte, 25, has hit .163/.226/.224 in 55 plate appearances for the Padres over the last two years. He's a .269/.355/.445 career hitter at the minor league level. Baseball America ranked Tekotte as San Diego's 15th best prospect before the season in their Prospect Handbook, saying he "makes enough contact against lefties and fields well enough to remain relevant as a potential center-field regular"

Yasmani Grandal Suspended 50 Games

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Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal as been suspended 50 games after testing positive for a high testosterone level, the team announced.

"We were disappointed to learn of the suspension of Yasmani Grandal for violating Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention & Treatment Program," said the team in a statement. "We fully support Major League Baseball's policy and its efforts to eliminate performance enhancing drugs from our game.  Per the protocol outlined by Major League Baseball's collective bargaining agreement, we will not comment further on this matter.” 

Grandal, 23, hit .297/.394/.469 with eight homers in 226 plate appearances for San Diego last season, his first taste of the big leagues. He was acquired from the Reds in the Mat Latos trade. Grandal was slated to be the team's starting catcher next year, potentially freeing Nick Hundley up for a trade. Those plans — as well as a decision to potentially non-tender John Baker — may have to change.

Yankees Claim Josh Spence

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The Yankees have claimed Josh Spence off waivers from the Padres, the team announced. Earlier today New York claimed David Herndon from the Blue Jays.

Spence, 24, has pitched to a 3.15 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 in 40 relief innings for San Diego over the last two seasons. The left-hander has held lefty hitters to a .158/.247/.237 batting line as a big leaguer.

Olney On Hunter, Pagan, Padres

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MLB executives expressed surprise that Torii Hunter, Edwin Jackson, Angel Pagan and Mike Napoli didn’t get qualifying offers by Friday’s deadline, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports. Here are more notes and rumors from Olney…

  • One high-ranking executive suggested Hunter will get some two or three-year offers as a free agent. The outfielder ranked 20th on MLBTR's list of top 50 free agents.
  • Evaluators were puzzled by the Nationals’ decision not to make Jackson a qualifying offer. An offer would have set them up for draft pick compensation or another affordable one-year deal.
  • GMs and agents expect Pagan to get multiple offers for three years. A four or five-year deal doesn’t seem out of reach for the center fielder.
  • Some rival officials expected the Rangers to make Napoli a one-year qualifying offer and set themselves up for draft pick compensation.
  • Brad Ausmus, one of the top managerial prospects in MLB, told Olney that it’s important for managers to remember how difficult it is to play at the highest level. “The managers who understood the patience involved are the managers who have related to the players best on teams I have been a part of, and garnered their respect,” Ausmus said.
  • The Padres have had some extension talks with Chase Headley, Olney reports. While both sides are interested in a deal, it’s hard to value Headley following his impressive second half performance.
  • The Padres will focus on adding starting pitching this offseason, Olney reports. Rival executives like San Diego’s pitching depth, but GM Josh Byrnes will still pursue additions.

NL Links: Padres, Haren, Giambi, Ross, Phillies

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Ken Davidoff of The New York Post ranked the top 30 free agents by value, with Michael Bourn topping the list. Davidoff predicts the outfielder will sign a five-year, $85MM deal with the Nationals. Here's the latest from the only league Bourn has known as a big leaguer, the NL…

  • “Attractive and realistic … Guys we want and think we can get. We went through a list of 40 pitchers to come up with 8-10 we’re really trying to get," said Padres GM Josh Byrnes to Bill Center of The San Diego Union-Tribune. San Diego figures to focus on arms this winter, and Center believes Dan Haren is near the top of that list.
  • Jason Giambi will still deciding whether to play or manage next season, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). The Rockies are only considering him as a manager, however.
  • Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com looked at Cody Ross as a potential free agent target for the Phillies. In our Offseason Outlook, Ben Nicholson-Smith noted that the Fightin's figure to seek outfield help this winter.
  • The Cardinals have had discussions about expanding Jim Edmonds' role in the organization, reports Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (on Twitter). That could mean more time in Spring Training or something else for the team's long-time center fielder, who currently serves as a special instructor.

Padres Designate Spence, Tekotte For Assignment

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The Padres announced that they have designated left-handed pitcher Josh Spence and outfielder Blake Tekotte for assignment.  The moves helped create space for the reinstatements of left-hander Cory Luebke, right-hander Joe Wieland, catcher Nick Hundley, and infielder/outfielders Kyle Blanks and James Darnell.  The Padres' 40-man roster is now at capacity.

Spence, 24, appeared in 11 games for the Padres this season but spent the bulk of the year in Triple-A where he posted a 4.20 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 31 appearances.  Tekotte, 25, hit .243/.284/.402 with nine homers in his first Triple-A season.

Heyman On Wright, A’s, Cabrera

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The latest from notes and rumors from Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com…

  • The Mets are discussing a long-term deal with David Wright, Heyman reports. They'll exercise the third baseman's $16MM option for 2013 by tomorrow, assuming a larger deal isn't completed by then. The sides appear to have made progress, though some say the negotiations are progressing slowly. It appears the discussions will continue after the option's exercised, Heyman writes.
  • The Athletics are talking to free agent shortstop Stephen Drew about a new contract, Heyman reports. The A's declined their half of Drew's 2013 mutual option yesterday, but assistant general manager David Forst said the team will continue talking to him about a possible deal.
  • Everth Cabrera has hired Scott Boras as his agent, Heyman reports (on Twitter). Cabrera, a former ACES client, will be arbitration eligible for the first time this coming offseason. Be sure to check out MLBTR’s Agency Database for any information about player representatives.
  • The Angels are still talking to teams about possible deals involving Ervin Santana and Dan Haren, Heyman reports. In case you missed it, MLBTR reported today that Santana switched agencies again.

Dustin Moseley, Tim Stauffer Elect Free Agency

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The Padres announced that right-handers Dustin Moseley and Tim Stauffer have cleared outright waivers and have elected to become free agents, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link). 

Moseley was enjoying a career-best year in 2011 (3.30 ERA in 20 starts) before missing the last two months of the season after dislocating his left shoulder while swinging a bat.  The injury bug followed Moseley to this season, as he was limited to just one start in 2012 after undergoing surgery on his throwing shoulder. 

Stauffer posted a 1.87 ERA as a starter and reliever in 2010 and enjoyed a solid full-time return to the rotation in 2011, when he was the Padres' Opening Day starter and posted a 3.73 ERA, a 2.42 K/BB ratio and a 6.2 K/9 in 31 starts.  Like Moseley, Stauffer was limited to just one start in 2012 due to injury, in this case elbow problems that required surgery in August.  Stauffer tells the Union-Tribune (Twitter link) that he would like to return to San Diego, though it would have to be on a minor league contract.

Both pitchers were entering their third year of arbitration eligibility and both were seen as likely non-tender candidates by MLB.com's Tim Dierkes in his look at the Padres' arb-eligible players.  Matt Swartz projected Moseley to earn $2MM in 2013 while Stauffer was on pace to earn $3.2MM.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Berken, Albaladejo, Ransom

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We'll keep track of the day's outright assignments right here… 

  • The Padres outrighted right-hander Thad Weber to Triple-A Tucson, according to Corey Brock of MLB.com (via Twitter).  Weber was claimed off of waivers from the Tigers in late August and saw time in two big league games for Detroit in April.
  • The Cubs announced that they have outrighted utility man Adrian Cardenas and right-handers Jason Berken, Miguel Socolovich, and Marcos Mateo to Triple-A.  Socolovich spent the bulk of the year in Triple-A for the Cubs and Orioles, posting a 2.11 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9.  Berken was also claimed off of waivers from the O's and posted a 3.50 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 26 Triple-A starts.
  • The Diamondbacks outrighted Jonathan Albaladejo, Tyler Graham, Mike Jacobs, Joe Martinez, and Cody Ransom to Triple-A Reno, according to the official MLB.com transactions page.  Albaladejo spent the 2011 season in Japan and saw just three innings of work for Arizona this year.  Jacobs, 31, hit .279/.362/.486 with 18 homers for Triple-A Reno.  Ransom was claimed off of waivers mid-season from the Brewers and hit .220/.312/.411 in 90 games.
  • The Mariners announced that they outrighted first baseman Luis Jimenez to Triple-A. The 30-year-old appeared in seven games with the Mariners this past September after spending most of the season at Triple-A. Jimenez hit 20 homers with Tacoma, posted a .310/.394/.514 batting line, and was named his team's Offensive Player of the Year. The left-handed hitter can become a minor league free agent five days after the World Series ends. Seattle now has two open spots on its 40-man roster.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

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