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Non-Tender Candidate: Ryan Ludwick

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About a month ago, Padres GM Jed Hoyer appeared on XX-1090 Sports Radio with Darren Smith, and one of the topics was outfielder Ryan Ludwick.  Ludwick is eligible for arbitration for the last time this winter, and he'll get a raise on this year's $5.45MM salary.  Though Ludwick struggled mightily after coming to the Padres in a deadline deal, Hoyer's comments on the radio show strongly implied the outfielder will be tendered a contract:

I think he came over here and probably put too much pressure on himself to try to protect Adrian and hit home runs and he struggled, but a lot of people can struggle over a two-month period and we still love the power, the corner outfield power and I think one thing that we'll probably talk about at some point is moving him to left here. I think Will [Venable] is a great right fielder defensively and that might be a better fit, but otherwise we’re excited to have him back and he's a guy that we think will have a lot of home runs for us. I think he'll fit in better for us over the course of a full season than he did and I think he'll put less pressure on himself.

Those comments indicate Hoyer has Ludwick in his plans for 2011, but should he?  Ludwick is likely to be paid $6.5-7MM next year.  Coming off a .251/.325/.418 season, he might make half that as a free agent if he's non-tendered.  It may be difficult to convince a slugger to sign in San Diego, but not to the point where they must be paid double.

In Ludwick's defense, he did slug .484 with the Cardinals this year.  Only a dozen free agents had a higher slugging percentage in 2010.  Ludwick also has a ridiculous 2008 season on his resume -  a 37 home run campaign.  If the Padres let him go, what's the backup plan in left field?  Free agents like Pat Burrell and Brad Hawpe aren't much better, while Adam Dunn and even Magglio Ordonez may be expensive.  Trade options could include Josh Willingham, Luke Scott, Carlos Quentin, and Kosuke Fukudome.

Your turn: will Ludwick be tendered a contract?  Click here to make your prediction and here to see the results.

Brown On Red Sox, Reynolds, Beckham

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Agent Scott Boras tells Yahoo’s Tim Brown that the changes to the offseason schedule mean he’s fielding offers for his clients earlier than usual. Here are the rest of Brown’s rumors:

  • The Astros appear to be close to re-signing Geoff Blum.
  • The Red Sox will determine how available Adrian Gonzalez and Prince Fielder are before they start serious negotiations with top free agents. It sounds like the Padres and Brewers will at least listen to offers for their respective first basemen.
  • The D’Backs are “shopping” Mark Reynolds and looking for relievers and contact hitters.
  • Rival teams believe the White Sox will listen to offers for Gordon Beckham.
  • Gary Matthews Jr. hopes to continue playing, according to Brown.

 

Heyman On Cliff Lee, Mets, Penny

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SI's Jon Heyman dishes the latest on the hot stove…

  • Heyman provides reasons why he sees the Yankees as the favorite to sign Cliff Lee: their revenue, rotation question marks, and lack of a backup plan chief among them.  He also talked to Lee's agent Darek Braunecker about the story about Lee's wife being harassed by Yankees fans at a game.  Braunecker said, "That story was blown out of proportion.  It's not like she's hypersensitive. She's been with him in Philadelphia and all over, been with him from the get-go. It really was that one time, just a couple clowns…probably intoxicated. I don't know if that will have any bearing on (the decision)."
  • Heyman predicts destinations for 15 of the top free agents; nothing crazy.
  • Padres GM Jed Hoyer draws praise for being upfront about not being able to sign Adrian Gonzalez.
  • New Mets GM Sandy Alderson will be paid close to $3MM, while Paul DePodesta will get close to $1MM.  With J.P. Ricciardi, Wayne Krivsky, and Omar Minaya also on the ledger, Heyman figures this is baseball's most expensive front office.
  • Heyman feels that the Mets "would likely avoid" allowing Francisco Rodriguez to finish 55 games in 2011, which would trigger his $17.5MM option for '12.  He also notes that the Mets "will wait to see Jose Reyes play a large chunk of this coming season before getting serious about a long-term deal."  That approach might work, but from Reyes' point of view if he's having a great year and is months away from free agency he might as well go to the open market.
  • It's a little early for "best shape of his life" reports, but that's the word on free agent righty Brad Penny.  The 32-year-old was limited to nine starts this year due to a lat muscle injury.

Japan Rumors: Nishioka, Kobayashi

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The Chiba Lotte Marines will not decide whether to post shortstop Tsuyoshi Nishioka until after Saturday's championship game, tweets Jason Coskrey of the Japan Times.  Nishioka would prefer to play for the Dodgers if he's posted, reports Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times.  Otherwise, he hopes to land with the Giants, Padres, or Diamondbacks.  Of course, Nishioka can't control which team wins the bidding for the right to negotiate with him.  The 26-year-old switch-hitter batted .346/.423/.482 this year, and was described as a Chone Figgins/Ryan Theriot type by Patrick Newman of FanGraphs.  Hernandez says he'll be represented by Beverly Hills Sports Council if posted.

One Marines player is definitely heading to MLB, tweets Coskrey: free agent reliever Hiroyuki Kobayashi.  The 32-year-old righty reliever posted a 2.21 ERA, 7.82 K/9, 2.07 BB/9, and 0.30 HR/9 in 61 innings this year.  Kobayashi moved to the bullpen in 2010, reported Newman, so he brings versatility.  He will be represented by Octagon, MLBTR has learned.

Padres Seek Backup Catcher

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The Padres expect to ease catcher Nick Hundley into a bigger role in 2011, but they’ll look to complement him with a backup, according to Dan Hayes of the North County Times. GM Jed Hoyer said the Padres are not looking for someone to play as much as Yorvit Torrealba did in 2010. Instead, the Padres are looking for a catcher who can "play a fair amount” while Hundley starts 95 games, Hoyer says.

Gerald Laird, Bengie Molina, Miguel Olivo, Matt Treanor, Jason Varitek and Gregg Zaun are among the free agent catchers who could be willing to accept part-time jobs, so they could fit in San Diego if their demands fit the Padres' budget. It’s too early to rule out Henry Blanco and Yorvit Torrealba, the two catchers who shared time with Hundley in 2009-10, but A.J. Pierzynski probably isn't a fit. He said he'd like to catch in San Diego, but other teams figure to offer more playing time and more money.

Hundley hits lefties (.672 career OPS) and righties (.708 career OPS) at about the same rate, so  the Padres can consider backstops who bat from either side of the plate. Manager Bud Black says the organization believes in Hundley “as a major league catcher” at this point in his career. The 27-year old batted .249/.308/.418 in 307 plate appearances in 2010 and he threw out a career-best 29% of would-be base stealers.

Odds & Ends: Beltre, Crawford, Mets, Konerko

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Links for Tuesday night, as free agents Adam Dunn and Dave Bush celebrate birthdays…

Mets Hire Paul DePodesta

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The Mets hired Paul DePodesta as their new vice president of player development and amateur scouting, tweets SNY's Brad Como.  DePodesta had been working for the Padres since '06.  Before that he was the GM of the Dodgers and assistant GM of the Athletics.  DePodesta worked under new Mets GM Sandy Alderson in San Diego and under his protege Billy Beane in Oakland.  With J.P. Ricciardi already on board, the new Mets front office has a Moneyball feel to it.

Odds & Ends: Renteria, Huff, Takahashi

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Four years ago today, the Padres traded Josh Barfield to the Indians for Andrew Brown and Kevin Kouzmanoff.  Only Kouzmanoff panned out to any extent; he was sent to the A's with Eric Sogard in January for Aaron Cunningham and Scott Hairston.  With Kouzmanoff and Hairston non-tender candidates, Sogard and Cunningham could be the remaining threads of the deal.  Links for Monday…

Odds & Ends: Hale, Pirates, O’s, Free Agents

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With the free agency period officially upon us, many of today's links focus on either the top players available or which of those players particular teams will pursue. Let's round 'em up….

Olney’s Latest: Gonzalez, Lee, Crawford, Jeter

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Two days ago we learned that Padres GM Jed Hoyer is willing to listen to trade offers for Adrian Gonzalez (and Heath Bell), unsurprising since the first baseman is reportedly seeking close to $22MM annually when he becomes a free agent next offseason. In today's blog post (Insider req'd), ESPN's Buster Olney lists a few reasons why the Pads are more likely to wait until the trade deadline to move their franchise player…

  • Ticket sales. After surprising success in 2010, the team doesn't want to lose the trust of the fans by dealing their best player before the season.
  • The Padres have a chance to compete in 2011 with Gonzalez in the middle of their lineup, but without him it'll be close to impossible.
  • Other clubs wanting to acquire Gonzalez might be more desperate during the summer, which could result in a better package for San Diego.
  • Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe points out that Hoyer and assistant GM Jason McLeod worked for the Red Sox before joining the Padres, so they have strong first-hand knowledge of Boston's prospects.

Here are the rest of Olney's rumors…

  • Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, and Jayson Werth will dominate the headlines when free agency begins at 12:01am ET Sunday morning, but Olney lists ten more interesting free agents, led by Joaquin Benoit, Pedro Feliciano, and Orlando Hudson.
  • The Yankees could place their first bid on Lee very soon, perhaps within 72 hours. Anthony McCarron of The New York Daily News hears something similar.
  • Crawford is in a unique situation because he's an elite player that could have six or more teams bidding for his services. Usually players of that caliber only have three or so teams after them.
  • The Yankees operate with the knowledge that no matter how popular the individual player is, the team and its fan base will move on. This of course refers to Derek Jeter.
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