Padres Acquire Ross For Parrino, Werner
The Padres announced that they acquired right-hander Tyson Ross and infielder A.J. Kirby-Jones from the A's for infielder Andy Parrino and left-hander Andrew Werner. None of the four players have enough service time to be arbitration eligible.
Ross started 13 games and made five relief appearances for the Athletics this past season. The 25-year-old posted a 6.50 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in 73 1/3 innings. The 2012 campaign was Ross' third at the MLB level. Ross is the older brother of Joe Ross, the right-hander selected by the Padres in the first round of the 2011 draft.
Kirby-Jones, 24, played at Class A this past season. The first baseman has a .248/.384/.448 batting line over the course of his three-year minor league career.
Parrino appeared in 55 games for the Padres in 2012, playing shortstop, second base, third base and right field. The 27-year-old switch hitter posted a .207/.316/.276 batting line in 138 plate appearances.
Werner debuted with the Padres this past season, starting eight games at the MLB level. The 25-year-old posted a 5.58 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 40 1/3 innings with San Diego. He signed with the Padres as an amateur free agent two years ago.
West Notes: Headley, Gregerson, Dodgers, Iwakuma
Today we celebrate Veterans Day, a day to recognize every person who serves our nation valiantly in the defense of our freedom and liberty whether it be in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, or National Guard. Thank you kindly to all who have served and are currently serving at home and overseas. John Schlegel of MLB.com explains how the national pastime is forever linked with the nation's armed forces and uses, as an example, the statue of Jerry Coleman erected by the Padres this past September. The pose wasn't inspired by Coleman's playing days or by his Hall of Fame broadcasting career, but of his tour of duty as a Marine pilot during World War II. Here's the latest news on the Padres and the other NL and AL West division teams:
- Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune believes it would take at least four years and $36-40MM to extend NL MVP finalist Chase Headley. Last month, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes examined the parameters of an extension for Headley.
- Also from Center's recent online chat with fans, the Padres could use their bullpen depth to acquire starting pitching with Luke Gregerson being a prime trade chip. If Gregerson is dealt, Andrew Cashner and Brad Brach would be internal candidates to take over as closer if Huston Street suffered an injury, according to Center.
- The Dodgers could place Aaron Harang and Chris Capuano on the trading block if they are able to sign Hyun-Jin Ryu and are satisfied Ted Lilly has recovered from shoulder surgery or Chad Billingsley has avoided Tommy John elbow surgery after suffering a partially torn ligament, reports MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.
- The best and only chance for new Rockies manager Walt Weiss to succeed is to change the defeatist mind-set about the altitude and make it their greatest home-field advantage, opines Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post.
- Right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma will not participate in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, so as to better focus on his second season with the Mariners, writes Greg Johns of MLB.com referencing a report from Japan's Kyodo News Agency. Iwakuma, who recently signed an extension with the Mariners, joins countryman Yu Darvish in deciding not to pitch for Japan, the two-time WBC defending champion.
Byrnes On Free Agency, Padres
At this point in the offseason, when the free agent market features impact players capable of improving any club, it’s easy to forget that some teams can’t rely on free agency — especially not in early November, when asking prices are high and bargains have yet to emerge. Padres general manager Josh Byrnes is considering free agents, but at this point he ranks free agency third in importance behind trades and developing internally.
“Is it going to happen through trade or free agency or patience? Probably a little bit of all, but probably not as much in free agency as some people think,” Byrnes told MLBTR at the GM Meetings in Indian Wells.
Six of the Padres’ starting pitchers — Cory Luebke, Andrew Cashner, Anthony Bass, Casey Kelly, Joe Wieland and Robbie Erlin — recently dealt with injuries, which makes it difficult to project the 2013 rotation (Wieland and Luebke are recovering from Tommy John surgery). The Padres could look to obtain some certainty by supplementing their rotation with free agents. If they do pursue players on the open market, they might choose to do so relatively late in the offseason. Often team-friendly deals emerge in January or even February.
“That’s certainly recent history,” Byrnes said. “When I was in Arizona we signed guys like [Adam] LaRoche or [Jon] Garland late in the offseason. The early offseason is usually the heavyweights financially but we have to stay active and know what’s out there and, as I said, be patient and disciplined.”
Byrnes said the Padres will remain flexible in case the unexpected occurs and it becomes advantageous to change plans. For now it doesn’t sound as though those plans are oriented around the free agent market.
Padres Rumors: Headley, Grandal, Int’l Signings
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.