Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Padres Rumors

NL West Notes: Dodgers Ownership, Moorad, D’Backs

By | at

The Giants were the first NL West team up in MLBTR's 2011-12 Offseason In Review series.  Tim Dierkes examined the Giants' winter moves earlier today as we continue to review every club's offseason in the weeks leading up to Opening Day.

Here's the latest from the NL West…

  • Steve Cohen may be the favorite to take ownership of the Dodgers, writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.  Cohen and fellow bidder Stan Kroenke are the richest of the four remaining ownership groups bidding for the team, though Cohen has seemingly made more connections within MLB and Kroenke's bid "could be complicated by [a] cross-ownership rule from another sport" since he also owns the NFL's St. Louis Rams, the NHL's Colorado Avalanche and the NBA's Denver Nuggets.
  • Perhaps as a way of combating Cohen and Kroenke's cash-on-hand advantage, the Dodgers ownership group led by Magic Johnson has added Peter Guber to its rank, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.  Guber co-owns the NBA's Golden State Warriors and his Mandalay Entertainment group owns and manages seven minor league baseball franchises.
  • Jeff Moorad's attempt to buy the Padres is an "uphill battle," a source tells Jon Heyman.  As per Moorad's deal with current Padres owner John Moores, Moorad has two years remaining to try to complete the purchase but may not be able to win the votes needed from other owners.  White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick are rumored to be against Moorad's bid.
  • Dennis Tankersley hasn't pitched in the majors since 2004 and hasn't played any pro ball since 2008 but is attempting a comeback with the Padres this spring, writes MLB.com's Corey Brock.
  • Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers told reporters (including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic) that he is still looking to add depth at the middle infield and catcher positions.  Towers also said that teams have expressed an interest in Gerardo Parra via their scouts talking to Arizona's scouts, though Towers reiterated that he doesn't want to trade the outfielder.  In January, I outlined why the D'Backs want to hold to Parra even though the Jason Kubel signing pushed him out of their lineup.

John Lannan Drawing Interest

By | at

The Red Sox, Tigers and Astros are watching John Lannan and a deal involving the left-hander is "likely" Danny Knobler of CBS Sports tweets. The Mets and Padres had interest, but balked at his $5MM salary.

Lannan doesn't have a guaranteed rotation spot in Washington after posting a 3.70 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 184 2/3 innings last year, so he's a potential trade candidate this spring. The Blue Jays, Royals and Tigers are among the teams monitoring the market for starting pitching, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported today.

Rosenthal On Braves, Blue Jays, Nationals, Gonzalez

By | at

Rival executives believe Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez may already be on ‘probation,’ Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes. Last year’s team lost its grip on a playoff spot down the stretch under Gonzalez, who’s now entering his second season as Atlanta’s manager. Here are the rest of Rosenthal’s notes from around the Major Leagues…

  • Special assistant Jim Fregosi may be the Braves’ leading candidate to manage should they replace Gonzalez internally.
  • The Diamondbacks would have interest in catcher J.P. Arencibia if the Blue Jays made him available. Arencibia isn’t going anywhere just yet, but top catching prospect Travis d'Arnaud could force the Blue Jays to make some difficult decisions within the year.
  • The Blue Jays, Royals, Tigers and others are in the market for starting pitching and many options are available, Rosenthal writes. Joe Blanton, Gavin Floyd and John Lannan are among the potential trade targets for teams seeking starters.
  • The Tigers, who are currently leaning toward left-hander Andy Oliver for their final rotation spot, could be a fit for Lannan. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes examined possible fits for Lannan last week, including the Tigers.
  • The Padres’ financial outlook is improving, so owner John Moores may be less eager to sell the team to CEO Jeff Moorad. Moorad has two years to complete his purchase of the club, but the deal won’t be finalized in the near future.
  • The A’s are no longer interested in free agent reliever Mike Gonzalez and the White Sox aren’t currently pursuing him, Rosenthal reports. The lefty is “about ready to go” following arthroscopic knee surgery.
  • Some in the industry question shortstop Ian Desmond, but the Nationals like him.

West Notes: Quentin, Robinson, Dodgers

By | at

A few items to pass along out of MLB's west divisions …

  • The stalled sale of the Padres leaves the team's ownership situation a mess, writes Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune, who adds that the prolonged uncertainty hampers the odds of signing outfielder Carlos Quentin to a long-term extension, which was the objective when he was acquired from the White Sox.
  • Mariners outfielder Trayvon Robinson told Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times that he was confused and disappointed by last season's three-way trade that sent him from his hometown Dodgers to the Mariners via the Red Sox. Robinson said he was first told he was going to Boston while he was reading on Twitter that he was in fact going to Seattle.
  • The Dodgers hosted Steve Cohen at their Spring Training complex on Saturday, writes Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. Cohen is considered by some to be the favorite to win the bidding for the franchise, according to Gurnick. Outgoing owner Frank McCourt was also in attendance.
  • Yoenis Cespedes still remains something of a mystery to even the Athletics, the team that invested $36MM in the Cuban outfielder, explains Richard Justice of MLB.com. "We know less about this guy than anybody in camp," A's manager Bob Melvin said Saturday. "It's a huge question." Cespedes went 2-for-2 with a homer and two RBIs in his Spring Training debut on Saturday.

NL West Notes: Posey, Moores, Page

By | at

Don't expect any inter-sport recruiting from Todd Helton.  The veteran first baseman says he isn't planning to try and sell his friend Peyton Manning about possibly coming to Denver, after reports surfaced that Manning was making a free agent visit to the NFL's Denver Broncos.  The two were teammates on the University of Tennessee's football team, and Helton was briefly the Volunteers' starting quarterback before Manning took over.

Curiously enough, this isn't the only NFL-related item within this roundup of news from around the NL West…

  • The Giants and Buster Posey agreed to terms on a one-year, $615K contract for 2012, reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.  Posey will be eligible for arbitration for the first time next winter and Schulman reported last week that no extension talks were planned between Posey and the team before Opening Day.  The Giants now have all 19 of their pre-arbitration players under contract for 2012 — most received salaries at or slightly above the Major League minimum of $480K except Posey and Madison Bumgarner ($575K).
  • Padres majority owner John Moores talked to Nick Canepa of the San Diego Union-Tribune about Jeffrey Moorad's decision to drop his attempt to buy a controlling interest of the team.  "This was a done deal a long time ago," Moores said.  "But it’s not the worst situation in the world to sit in the owner’s seat from time to time for another season — though I am conflicted about it, no question.”  Moores praised Moorad for stepping back so the club could get its new TV contract approved before Opening Day.
  • The Dodgers have signed former Minnesota Vikings safety Jarrad Page to a minor league contract, reports MLB.com's Ken Gurnick (via Twitter).  Page has played in the NFL since 2006, but was not expected to be re-signed by the Vikings once the NFL's free agency period opens on Tuesday.  A well-regarded high school baseball prospect, Page was drafted by the Brewers in 2002 before deciding to attend UCLA, and was also drafted by the Rockies in 2005 and the Angels in 2006.  Page attended an open tryout with the Dodgers last week and has signed as an outfielder.

Chris Young Leaning Towards Re-Signing With Mets

By | at

Chris Young is closer to rejoining the Mets, with a source telling Andy Martino of the New York Daily News that an agreement between the two sides "will happen."  Young has narrowed his choices down to the Mets and Padres (another of his former teams) but apparently favors a return to New York due to his good relationship with Mets GM Sandy Alderson.  Martino adds in a follow-up tweet that there is "nothing imminent" between Young and the Mets.

Young, 32, signed a one-year, $1.1MM contract with the Mets last offseason and was on pace to be a nice bargain (a 1.88 ERA in four starts) before undergoing season-ending surgery for a torn anterior capsule in his throwing shoulder.  It was the latest in a series of arm injuries for Young, who has made just 40 starts over the last four seasons.  A return to the Padres could be complicated by the fact that the Friars don't offer incentive-laden contracts, which Young would obviously be interested in case he returns to form.

NL West Notes: Lincecum, Padres, Moores, Jimenez

By | at

Here's a look at some items out of the National League West..

  • The Giants offered Tim Lincecum at least $100MM over five years a couple months back, but it now it appears that the two sides are at least $75MM apart, with the right-hander looking for a seven- or eight-year deal, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
  • Jeff Moorad has withdrawn his application to be the controlling partner of the Padres, meaning that John Moores will own the team for the foreseeable future, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
  • Tom Krasovic of Inside The Padres runs down the particulars of what this means for the future of the club.  Moorad will remain the Vice Chairman and CEO of the Padres while Moores will remain the majority owner of the team as he has since 1994-95.  Krasovic also writes that MLB is likely to approve the 20-year TV deal between the Padres and FOX.
  • Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez don't exactly see eye-to-eye with former teammate Ubaldo Jimenez on his dissatisfaction with the Rockies, writes Scott Miller of CBSSports.com.  The pitcher said that he was upset with the club in part because Tulowitzski and Gonzalez received lucrative new deals following the 2010 season while he did not.

Minor Moves: Ruiz, Meloan, Hernandez

By | at

Here are the details on the latest minor moves. Unless otherwise noted, Matt Eddy of Baseball America first reported these transactions on Twitter…

  • The Diamondbacks signed 34-year-old first baseman Randy Ruiz. He won the 2009 Pacific Coast League MVP and spent the past two seasons in Japan.
  • The Rangers signed right-hander Jon Meloan, who has big league experience with the Dodgers, Indians and Athletics.
  • The Padres signed right-hander Dennis Tankersley. Baseball America ranked Tankersley ahead of Jake Peavy in its 2002 handbook, but he hasn't pitched affiliated baseball since 2008.
  • The Blue Jays signed right-hander Fernando Hernandez, who appeared briefly with the 2008 Athletics. The reliever has a 3.55 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in nine minor league seasons.
  • The Cubs released right-hander Kyle Smit, who struggled at three levels in 2011.
  • The Dodgers signed right-handed reliever Blake Johnson, their second round selection in the 2004 draft.
  • The Mariners released former catching prospect Angel Salome, according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.

2013 Vesting Options

By | at

Which players can lock in 2013 contract options based on their 2012 performance?  Let's take a look.

  • Jason Bartlett, Padres: $5.5MM option vests with 432 plate appearances.
  • Alex Gonzalez, Brewers: $4MM option vests with 525 plate appearances.
  • Chipper Jones, Braves: $9MM+ option vests with 123 games.
  • Kevin Gregg, Orioles: $6MM option vests with 50 games finished.
  • Brett Myers, Astros: $10MM option vests based on unknown starting or relieving milestones.

West Links: D’Backs, Cespedes, Maybin

By | at

Here's the latest from baseball's two West divisions as some late night baseball is being played in Florida…

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