Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Padres Rumors

Tomase’s Latest: Felix, Hawpe, Rays

By | at

John Tomase from the Boston Herald has some notes about several Major League topics in his latest article:

  • Tomase reminds us that at the 2009 deadline, the Red Sox reportedly offered the Mariners any five of the following prospects in exchange for Felix Hernandez: Clay Buchholz, Daniel Bard, Michael Bowden, Josh Reddick, Yamaico Navarro, Nick Hagadone, Felix Doubront, and Justin Masterson. While a Boston official disputed the specific names, Tomase says the reports were in the ballpark.
  • Regarding a trade though, Tomase quotes King Felix himself as saying that he wants to stay in Seattle: "I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m not trying to think about it. I’d love to stay here (with the Mariners). I’m part of Seattle now and I’d like to be in Seattle."
  • San Diego's Anthony Rizzo, acquired in the Adrian Gonzalez trade, is off to a blazing start at Triple-A. Rizzo has posted a monstrous line of .400/.471/.744 with seven homers, eight doubles, and a triple through 102 PAs, but despite that production the Padres aren't giving up on Brad Hawpe yet. Manager Bud Black cites Hawpe's career success, but it'll be hard to ignore his .149/.194/.194 line much longer.
  • Manny Ramirez's abrupt retirement had many questioning a Rays' lineup that was struggling to score runs, but as Tomase points out, the Rays have gone 14-5 since Manny called it quits. The Rays were 0-6 with Manny on board.

Tomase's article also features several more quotes from Felix on his appreciation for Seattle as well and is a good read all-around.

Quick Hits: Padres, Snider, Wheeler

By | at

Let's take a look at some tidbits from around the majors on this Thursday evening..

  • Be wary when considering radar gun readings.  Former Padres GM (now Diamondbacks GM) Kevin Towers told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that the club would tinker with the pitch speeds from time to time.  Every time Brad Penny pitched for the Dodgers in San Diego, the club would dial down the radar gun to frustrate him.
  • The Blue Jays caught some off guard by demoting promising outfielder Travis Snider earlier today.  MLB.com's Todd Wills writes that the club sent him to Triple-A to make adjustments to his swing.
  • Red Sox newcomer Dan Wheeler is still working to carve out a niche for himself in the bullpen, writes Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal.  Last year with the Rays, Wheeler posted a 3.35 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9.

Olney On Rangers, Bell, Dodgers

By | at

Reds slugger Joey Votto could be on his way to a second-straight MVP award, writes ESPN.com's Buster Olney.  Pitchers now work around Votto with extreme wariness and the 27-year-old can no longer predict what's coming.  Because of that, the first baseman has adapted and learned to work with what he's given.  Here's more from Olney..

  • The Rangers bullpen has taken a major blow after losing closer Neftali Feliz to the disabled list.  This is a difficult time to land a reliever, especially a closer, because other teams will have a skyhigh asking price. For example, Olney writes that if Texas were to call the Padres about Heath Bell, the Padres would ask for a great deal in return, even though Bell is likely to be dealt this season.
  • In the highest offices of a handful of other teams, there is heavy speculation that Brewers owner Mark Attanasio would be the most likely candidate to move from one team to the Dodgers.  This can only happen, of course, if Major League Baseball maintains their hold on the club and if they decides to have an established owner take over the Dodgers.  Such a scenario, Olney writes, would take months to play out.

2012 Contract Issues: San Diego Padres

By | at

The Padres are next in our 2012 Contract Issues series.

Eligible For Free Agency (3)

  • Heath Bell may not finish the season with the Padres, though he hopes for a three-year extension.  If he reaches the open market he'll be joined by several other solid stoppers.
  • The Padres chose to tender a contract to Ryan Ludwick, paying him more than he'd have earned on the open market.  So far, he hasn't done anything in his Padres career.
  • Jorge Cantu took an 86% pay cut this year as he attempts to re-establish himself.

Contract Options (3)

  • Aaron Harang: $5MM mutual option with a $500K buyout.  The mutual option is basically a way to transfer some money to the next fiscal year.  Rarely do both sides pick one up.
  • Brad Hawpe: $6MM mutual option with a $1MM buyout.
  • Chad Qualls: $6MM club option with a $1.05MM buyout.  Though this is a club option, the goal here again appears to be pushing off some money to next year.  Qualls would need a really strong season for the Padres to pick this up.

Arbitration Eligible (14)

Though not all 14 will get to the point of being tendered a contract, the Padres have many raises due.  As a whole, I think the Padres' arbitration eligible players could be paid as much as $25MM in 2012.

2012 Payroll Obligation

The Padres have a 2012 payroll obligation of just $13.55MM, according to Cot's, most of which is for their middle infield.  Add in their arbitration eligible players and payroll could approach $40MM before the minimum salary players are accounted for, which is normal for this club since '09.

Quick Hits: Gonzalez, Padres, Rays, Mariners

By | at

Links for Sunday, as Grady Sizemore homers versus the Orioles in his return to the Indians' lineup….

NL West Notes: D’Backs, Mota, Padres

By | at

Let's check out the latest from the NL West…

  • The Diamondbacks are putting some serious money into upgrading their player development system, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.  "We spend more now on scouting and player development than we ever have," said Jerry Dipoto, Arizona's senior VP of scouting & player development.  "We made that an internal focus, that these are areas where we can create an advantage in the industry. I don't think it's short-term. I think it's something we're going to do over and over for many years."
  • In another piece, Piecoro looks at "the interconnectedness" of the Snakes' coaching and development process throughout the organization, using 2009 third-round draft pick Keon Broxton as an example.
  • Guillermo Mota tells Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle that the Giants' World Series victory last year was a major reason he chose to re-sign with San Francisco rather than accept one of the other four offers he received in the winter.
  • In his latest mailbag for CSNBayArea.com, Mychael Urban looks at such Giants-related topics as how the team will shuffle its roster when Cody Ross is healthy.  Urban shot down a reader suggestion that San Francisco could release Mark DeRosa to make room.
  • Anthony Rizzo, Casey Kelly and Reymond Fuentes (the three prospects the Padres acquired from the Red Sox in the Adrian Gonzalez trade) are off to good starts in the minors, reports Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com.  Rizzo is at Triple-A, Kelly at Double-A and Fuentes is at Class A Lake Elsinore.   

Olney On The Bullpen Market

By | at

Teams like the Yankees and White Sox are already encountering bullpen problems and it won’t be long before other clubs are looking for relief help as well. The Yankees aren’t optimistic about the current relief market, while Chicago’s search for an effective closer has manager Ozzie Guillen dreaming of Bobby Thigpen. As one GM points out to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney, lots of teams will be looking for bullpen help this summer and lots of effective pitchers should eventually become available.

Unless Heath Bell takes a massive discount to stay in San Diego, Olney suggests the Padres will deal him. The White Sox should be considered the early favorites to land Bell, Olney says.

Jonathan Broxton, Francisco Rodriguez and the Blue Jays and Rays relievers could also become available this summer. Jose Valverde will probably stay in Detroit unless the Tigers fall far out of the race, but Michael Wuertz (now on the disabled list) could be on the block even if Oakland contends.

Quick Hits: Zito, Rangers, Morgan, Angels

By | at

Links for Thursday night..

Minor League Transactions

By | at

There was a slew of minor league transactions from March 30 to April 5, and Matt Eddy of Baseball America has written them up and included info on some noteworthy names. Here's more on those …

  • The Cubs released righty Chris Huseby, an 11th-round draft pick in 2006 who signed for a hefty $1.3MM. Huseby wasn't panning out as a pitcher and saw action in the outfield in recent seasons.
  • The Indians released third baseman Matt Cusick, one of the two players they received from the Yankees in last season's swap for Kerry Wood. The other player – Andrew Shive – had been previously released.
  • The Rockies released reliever Craig Baker, who led the Minors in saves in 2009 with 33. A fourth-round pick 2006, Baker's 2010 was derailed by the injuries that haunted him earlier in his career.
  • The Astros released reliever Bubbie Buzachero, who is among the active career leaders in minor league saves.
  • The Royals released speedy outfielder Hilton Richardson, a seventh-round pick in 2007 who has 77 steals in the minors in 100 attempts. The Braves then signed Richardson.
  • The Dodgers released lefty reliever James Adkins, a sandwich-round pick in 2007 out of Tennessee. The southpaw is the Volunteers' career leader in strikeouts but has struggled with control and against righties in the minors.
  • The Brewers released hard-throwing lefty Evan Frederickson, the 35th overall pick in 2008. Frederickson has been excessively wild in his minors career, never walking fewer than 7.6 batters per nine, according to Eddy.
  • Twins righty Chris Province, acquired from the Red Sox in the Boof Bonser trade in 2009, voluntarily retired. Province surrendered a lot of hits in 2010, but seeing as he posted solid groundball rates for two poor teams, Eddy wonders whether he might have fared better with a better defense behind him.
  • The Padres released catcher Mitch Canham, the 57th overall pick in 2007. The Friars hoped Canham would develop into an offense-first backstop, but he was abused by basestealers, and his production with the bat didn't hold up at other positions.
  • The Giants released righty Craig Whitaker, a supplemental-round pick in 2003. Whitaker, as Eddy notes, is something of a rarity as an unsuccessful power arm drafted by San Francisco. Outfielder Ben Copeland, the Giants' first pick (fourth round) in 2005, was also released.
  • The Rangers released righty Danny Gutierrez, formerly one of their top-10 prospects. Gutierrez had been acquired from the Royals, but his stuff has diminished and was suspended 50 games for amphetamines prior to the 2010 season.
  • The Blue Jays released speedy outfielder Eric Eiland, a second-round pick in 2007. Eiland has been an efficient basestealer but has struggled overall offensively.

NL West Notes: Bell, Kemp, McCourt

By | at

The latest from the NL West, as Troy Tulowitzki hits his first home run of the season…

  • Padres closer Heath Bell, who has expressed his desire for an extension, says he will stop discussing his contract status in the media, according to Tom Krasovic of Inside the Padres. The Padres had preliminary discussions with Bell about an extension earlier in the spring. If they don't sign him long-term, he'll become a free agent after the season.
  • Matt Kemp is in a different state of mind this year, writes Yahoo's Tim Brown. The talented Dodgers center fielder says he's putting his disappointing 2010 campaign behind him.
  • Dodgers owner Frank McCourt sent representatives to meet with the commissioner's office about preserving the rights to the team, according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times. McCourt's people proposed a plan that involves a TV deal with Fox that could help stabilize the team. 
  • Jon Heyman of SI.com, who first reported the meeting, says that McCourt needs $200MM to settle his divorce and keep the team.
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