Padres Rumors

Padres Release Radhames Liz

By Mark Polishuk | January 5, 2011 at 5:24pm CDT

The Padres have released right-hander Radhames Liz, according to the club's official transactions page. Liz was claimed off waivers from Baltimore last winter, and posted a 4.83 ERA in 25 games (22 of them starts) for San Diego's Triple-A affiliate in Portland in 2010.

Liz, 27, was touted by Baseball America as the second-best prospect in the Orioles' system (behind Matt Wieters) before the 2008 season and ranked as the 69th-best prospect in the game overall. He has yet to live up to that potential in his limited Major League experience; Liz has a 7.50 career ERA, accumulated in 28 appearances with the Orioles from 2007 to 2009.

Padres Sign Kevin Frandsen

By Mark Polishuk | January 5, 2011 at 5:02pm CDT

The Padres have signed Kevin Frandsen to a minor league contract, tweets ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. The deal will pay Frandsen $575K if he makes San Diego's Major League roster.

Frandsen has played all over the diamond in his five seasons with the Giants and Angels, but played mostly third base last season for the Halos before being non-tendered. Frandsen has a career .636 OPS in 626 plate appearances, but his value to the Padres will come as a versatile utilityman off the bench. MLB.com's Steve Gilbert noted that the Diamondbacks also had some interest in signing Frandsen. (Twitter link)

Contract Details: Saito, Beltre, Capuano, Hudson

By Zachary Links | January 5, 2011 at 2:52pm CDT

Here are some recent updates on contracts from around the majors:

Reliever Takashi Saito will earn a base salary of less than $2MM with the Brewers but incentives could push his salary close to the $3.2MM he made with Atlanta last year, writes MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Saito could mark the Brewers' last major offseason acquisition.
Adrian Beltre will earn $14MM in 2011, $15MM in 2012, $16MM in 2013, $17MM in 2014, and $18MM in 2015, according to Anthony Andro of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Left-hander Chris Capuano gets a base of $1.5MM in 2011 but he could earn more than $4.5MM through incentives, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.
The Padres agreed not to offer salary arbitration if Orlando Hudson, Brad Hawpe, or Aaron Harang end up being Type A free agents, according to Corey Brock of MLB.com (via Twitter).
If they make the Bucs' major league roster, Garrett Atkins and Brian Burres will earn $800K and $600K, respectively, according to Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. If Atkins is not on the 25-man roster on April 1 or June 1, he can request his release. Burres also has an out clause of sorts as can sign with an Asian team for $50K between now and Opening Day or for $100K during the season.

Olney On Padres, Young, Manny, Branyan

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 5, 2011 at 8:45am CDT

The Padres like that Brad Hawpe posted a .903 OPS two years ago and is still just 31 years old, writes ESPN.com's Buster Olney. The team's front office is confident in Hawpe's ability to play first, but club execs don't know what they'll get from the longtime Rockie at the plate. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors:

Olney suggests a player’s inability to play the field seriously compromises his value, since teams would prefer to have roster flexibility. Though Michael Young may become the Rangers’ regular DH, his ability to play all over the infield is a plus that players like Jim Thome and Vladimir Guerrero cannot offer.
Executives wonder “where the heck [Manny] Ramirez is going to land – if anywhere.” As Olney notes, Ramirez has the potential to become a distraction.
Russell Branyan can still play first base when healthy, which is why one GM believes he’ll find a job. “He’ll get a shot someplace," the GM said.

Padres Looking To Add Catching Depth

By Mike Axisa | January 4, 2011 at 10:06pm CDT

The Padres are looking for catching help according to MLB.com's Corey Brock (Twitter links), specifically seeking a backup for Nick Hundley. The team will not hand the newly acquired Rob Johnson the job, according to Brock.

The free agent catching pool is rather light at the moment, especially now that former Padre Josh Bard is returning to the Mariners. This is just speculation on my part, but the Angels could be a potential trade match. They have Mike Napoli, Jeff Mathis, Bobby Wilson (who's out of options), and top prospect Hank Conger (debuted in 2010) on the 40-man roster, and could look to move one in exchange for help elsewhere. The recently designated for assignment Max Ramirez could also be an option. Again, that's just my speculation.

Hundley, 27, hit .249/.308/.418 in what was essentially a platoon with Yorvit Torrealba last summer. He's never played more than 85 games in any of three big league seasons, but he's also never played fewer than 60. It'll be tough for San Diego to replace Torrealba's .271/.343/.378 batting line, but upgrades at second base, shortstop, and in center field will help mitigate the loss.

Padres Agree To Sign Brad Hawpe

By Mike Axisa | January 3, 2011 at 5:10pm CDT

JANUARY 3RD: Hawpe's deal is worth $3MM guaranteed, tweets Bernie Wilson of the Associated Press. The 31-year-old will earn $2MM in '11 with a $6MM mutual option for '12 that can instead be bought out for $1MM.

DECEMBER 24th: The Padres have reached an agreement with Brad Hawpe on a one-year deal according to Bernie Wilson of the AP (via The Miami Herald). The deal is pending a physical. He is represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council.

Hawpe, 31, will replace the departed Adrian Gonzalez at first base even though he has just 72 innings of experience at the position in the big leagues. He's a .279/.373/.490 career hitter with at least 22 homers per year from 2006 through 2009. In close to 1,600 plate appearances away from Coors Field, Hawpe is a .271/.367/.467 career hitter. The Padres will likely want to bring in a platoon partner for the lefty swinging Hawpe, who is a .245/.322/.438 career hitter against southpaws.

A quad strain cost Hawpe a little more than two weeks early in the 2010 season, and a rib issue cost him a few days in June. The Rockies cut ties with him in August, and the Rays picked him up off the scrap heap. The Padres also had interest in signing him before Tampa swooped in. Hawpe didn't do much for the Rays on the field (.179/.304/.333 in 46 plate appearances), but he will bring them a supplemental first round pick as a Type-B free agent. San Diego will not have to surrender a pick for the signing.

What Changed For Orlando Hudson

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 30, 2010 at 10:01am CDT

Orlando Hudson has been consistently productive this decade, but he signed the first multiyear deal of his career this month. Though Hudson's stats have fluctuated from season to season, it appears that his health and free agent ranking played more significant roles in determining his value on the open market.

The 33-year-old signed a two-year, $11.5MM deal with the Padres this offseason after agreeing to one-year contracts in each of the past two winters. Hudson signed a $5MM deal with the Twins for 2010 and a $3.8MM deal with the Dodgers for 2009.

At first glance, it appears that this offseason is the outlier, but teams were willing to offer the second baseman two-year contracts a year ago. The 2008-09 offseason is really the one that stands out.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported last offseason that the Indians offered Hudson a backloaded two-year, $10MM deal that included an option for a third year (Twitter link). The Nationals also appeared willing to offer Hudson a two-year deal at the right price last winter.

But in 2008-09, no teams appeared willing to make that sort of commitment to Hudson. It's probably not a coincidence that he was coming off a significant injury and was tied to draft pick compensation at the time. Hudson, who has finished the past two seasons in relatively good health, underwent surgery on his left wrist at the end of the 2008 season and didn't play after August 9th. It seems that his wrist operation detracted from his value.

It cost a top draft pick to sign Hudson in the 2008-09 offseason, since the D'Backs offered him arbitration and he was a Type A free agent. But Hudson was not tied to draft pick compensation this offseason or last offseason, which has made signing him easier for clubs to justify.

Though health and draft pick compensation appear to have been major factors in determining Hudson's value, they aren't the only ones. The four-time Gold Glover posted below average UZR/150 numbers at second base in 2008 and 2009, but the metric suggests his defense was much better last year (12.0 UZR/150). However, his batting average, on base percentage and slugging percentage all dropped from 2008 to 2009 and again from 2009 to 2010.

Hudson didn't play in the 2008 postseason and was benched in favor of Ronnie Belliard down the stretch in 2009 and in that year's playoffs. Those postseason results were likely secondary to health and draft pick compensation, but I doubt it hurt that Hudson had four playoff hits, including a homer, in 2010.

Lots Of Arb Cases For Angels, Jays, Giants, Padres

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 29, 2010 at 2:44pm CDT

The Angels and Blue Jays have more upcoming arbitration cases than any other major league teams. Toronto and Los Angeles both have eight remaining arbitration eligible players, one more than the Giants, Padres and Rockies, who lead the National League with six apiece.

Teams and arbitration eligible players file for arbitration early next month in the first part of the process that determines players' 2011 salaries. If teams and players don't reach an agreement by January 18th, they exchange salary figures. If the sides don't reach a deal by the end of the month, they schedule a February hearing that would take place in front of a panel of arbitrators who decide between the player's pitch and the team's.

The Blue Jays avoided arbitration with their eligible players last offseason, the team's first under GM Alex Anthopoulos. The organization has avoided arbitration hearings for 13 consecutive offseasons, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see the team settle with Jose Bautista, Shawn Camp, Rajai Davis, Yunel Escobar, Casey Janssen, Jesse Litsch, Carlos Villanueva and Brandon Morrow.

The Angels have as many arbitration eligible players; the club faces potential hearings with Erick Aybar, Alberto Callaspo, Howie Kendrick, Jeff Mathis, Kendry Morales, Mike Napoli, Jered Weaver and Reggie Willits.

Most teams have 3-5 arbitration eligible players, but the Red Sox, Phillies and Pirates have just two. Kyle McClellan is the Cardinals' lone remaining arbitration eligible player.

Be sure to keep track of every arbitration case using MLBTR's new Arb Tracker, which you can find under the Tools tab at the top of the site.

Orioles Target Derrek Lee

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 28, 2010 at 4:23pm CDT

The Orioles are targeting Derrek Lee, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The team renewed discussions with the free agent first baseman a week ago and are open to a deal in the one-year, $8MM range, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. Rosenthal reports that the team is more comfortable signing Lee for one year than committing to Adam LaRoche for three.

The Orioles will have some competition for LaRoche, who appeals to the Nationals, and Lee. The Padres offered Lee a one-year deal worth more than $8MM before agreeing to terms with Brad Hawpe, according to Rosenthal. San Diego would have been a good fit for Lee, who is interested in playing for a contender and returning to the West Coast.

The Angels are “cool” on Lee, according to Rosenthal. They tried to acquire him after Kendry Morales went down last summer and could pair him with Morales at first/DH.

Lee is a potential bargain for 2011. He's coming off thumb surgery and had a down year by his standards, but finished the 2010 season strong with the Braves and hit 35 homers as recently as 2009.

Unfinished Business: NL West

By Tim Dierkes | December 28, 2010 at 8:44am CDT

We've covered the NL East and Central. Now it's time to examine the remaining unfinished business for NL West clubs.

Diamondbacks: None. New GM Kevin Towers suggested eleven days ago that the signings of Xavier Nady and Henry Blanco might be his last of the offseason. Check out our Transaction Tracker for a look at Towers' winter.
Rockies: Starting pitching depth, lefty reliever, Carlos Gonzalez extension. Having added Matt Lindstrom recently, the Rockies' major changes may be done. They may be minor league deals, but it appears GM Dan O'Dowd could add extra starting pitching depth with a Bartolo Colon or Josh Fogg type. They were also thinking about re-signing lefty reliever Joe Beimel earlier this month, though Troy Renck suggests they might stick with internal options. Extending CarGo this winter appears unlikely.
Dodgers: Right-handed hitting left fielder. At last check the Dodgers had interest in Marcus Thames and the Hairston brothers, who are still free agents. But GM Ned Colletti told Ken Gurnick there's a chance he'll go into spring training with his current group of internal candidates. The Dodgers could also try to do a multiyear deal with Chad Billingsley.
Padres: Backup infielder. They had plenty of needs, but Jed Hoyer appears to have addressed most of them once the Brad Hawpe deal becomes official. They could sit back and try to snag a bargain middle infielder on the free agent market.
Giants: Backup shortstop, sixth starter. The Giants haven't ruled out Edgar Renteria, who doesn't have experience beyond shortstop. It was 20 days ago that John Shea linked them to Orlando Cabrera, Ramon Santiago, and sixth starters as well.

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