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Jed Hoyer’s First Year

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Jed Hoyer has been the general manager of the Padres since October 26th, and much of his first year is in the books.  We looked at Alex Anthopoulos yesterday; now it's Hoyer's turn.

  • Signed Chris Denorfia to a minor league deal - 12-18-09.  This early move was a winner, as Denorfia has a .266/.324/.456 line in 189 plate appearances for the Padres.  
  • Acquired Scott Hairston and Aaron Cunningham from Athletics for Kevin Kouzmanoff and Eric Sogard, 1-16-10.  Cunningham has hit well in 85 big league plate appearances, though he didn't do anything with 246 PAs in Triple A.  Hairston has disappointed in his return campaign.  Neither Kouzmanoff nor his replacement Chase Headley have hit much.  This trade might ultimately be settled by comparing the careers of Sogard and Cunningham, as the veterans could be non-tendered this winter.  
  • Signed Jerry Hairston Jr. to a one-year, $2.125MM deal – 1-18-10.  Hairston has performed as expected – versatile glove, weak bat.  He deserves credit for playing an apparently passable shortstop this year. 
  • Signed Jon Garland to a one-year, $5.3MM deal – 1-26-10.  The Garland signing was praised as a bargain at the time, and he's provided 139.3 innings of 3.55 ball.  His peripheral numbers predict something closer to 4.50 from here on out, but the innings are good value at that price. 
  • Signed Matt Stairs to a minor league deal worth $700K – 1-26-10.  A knee injury is partially to blame, but Stairs hasn't hit at all this year. 
  • Signed Yorvit Torrealba to a one-year, $1.25MM deal – 2-9-10.  Hard to go wrong with this below-market contract, and Torrealba has pleased the Padres with a .317/.381/.400 line. 
  • Acquired Miguel Tejada and $1.1MM from Orioles for Wynn Pelzer, 7-29-10.  It remains to be seen if a move back to the NL will rejuvenate Tejada's bat, but they needed an infielder and there wasn't much out there. 
  • Acquired Ryan Ludwick from Cardinals and cash from Indians, giving up Corey Kluber and Nick Greenwood, 7-31-10.  Nice move by Hoyer, picking up a power hitter many people didn't realize was available.  Ludwick is under team control for 2011, too. 
  • The key to Hoyer's first draft will be signing prep righty Karsten Whitson, opines ESPN's Keith Law.  Whitson was drafted out of high school, ninth overall.
  • The Padres' surprising 64-46 record and first place standing indicates Hoyer has done something right or at least not made any moves to hurt the club.  He inherited the majority of the team's stellar pitching staff, so Kevin Towers deserves a fist bump.  The Garland and Torrealba signings were solid, though both players might have given the San Diego discount.  Hoyer's trades have yet to show a return.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Mets, Park, Garza, Wieters

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On this date four years ago, the Mets locked up franchise cornerstone David Wright to a six-year deal worth $55MM guaranteed. A club option for 2013 could put another $15MM in his pocket, and he's already earned an extra $300K in award based incentives. Wright, just 23 at the time and now a .307/.387/.517 career hitter, would have become a free agent after this season had he not opted for the long-term security. Can't say I blame him.

Here's a look at what's being written in the baseball corner of the blogging universe…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Stark On Padres, Manny, Wandy, Harang

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The Rangers appear to be headed toward stability, but they added $4.6MM in payroll before the trade deadline and, as ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports, that left some rival executives unhappy. Here are the rest of Stark's rumors:

  • The Padres had asked the Cardinals about Ryan Ludwick more than once leading up to the trade deadline.
  • GM Jed Hoyer had also inquired on Jake Westbrook and even Roy Oswalt.
  • When the White Sox called the Dodgers to ask about Manny Ramirez, the Dodgers ended the conversation quickly. That didn't stop the Rays and two other American League teams from calling the Dodgers, however. We should note that GM Ned Colletti told Jim Bowden of Sirius XM Radio that he only fielded one call about Manny (Twitter link).
  • Not one team pursued Jose Guillen seriously before the deadline. The Royals designated the outfielder for assignment today, so we'll see in the next ten days if any teams have mild interest.
  • Joe Beimel drew lots of interest last weekend, but the Rockies never seriously shopped him. 
  • A number of teams tried to acquire Wandy Rodriguez, including the Twins, Reds, Mets, Dodgers and Blue Jays.
  • The Reds tried to determine interest in Aaron Harang, so they could attempt to move him in August if he returns from the DL and proves that the back spasms that sidelined him are no longer an issue.

Odds & Ends: Padres, Sheets, Beltran, Rangers

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More links for Wednesday, after another impressive outing from Ubaldo Jimenez…

Odds & Ends: Westbrook, Beltre, Oliver Perez

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Eight years ago today, the Diamondbacks signed amateur free agent Carlos Gonzalez out of Venezuela.  Two major trades later, CarGo is establishing himself as a star in Colorado.  Links for Tuesday…

Waiver Trade Candidates: NL West

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The current NL West picture: the Padres hold a slim lead over the Giants and the Rockies and Dodgers are playoff contenders, too. The Diamondbacks haven't been close to contention for months. Here are some waiver trade possibilities to keep in mind:

Padres bench player Matt Stairs, who was traded two Augusts ago, could clear waivers in spite of his $700K contract because of his .590 OPS. Scott Hairston could see reduced playing time with Ryan Ludwick around and it's possible that his $2.45MM salary would clear waivers. Hairston has a .235/.316/.390 line in 2010.

Barry Zito and Aaron Rowand would both clear waivers, but Zito is an important part of San Francisco's rotation. Rowand has $27MM remaining on his contract, but is hitting just .252/.302/.405. The Giants have enough outfielders to give the 32-year-old up, but no team would claim Rowand given his salary. Edgar Renteria is hitting .284/.346/.376, but he's making $9MM this year, so he could clear waivers. The Giants, who have a club option for Renteria's services in 2011, could get by without him. It's possible that Todd Wellemeyer would clear waivers given his 5.52 ERA, but his $1MM salary is affordable. The Giants have bullpen depth, so they would likely consider parting with Wellemeyer, who is finishing a rehab stint.

Manny Ramirez earns $20MM this year, but the White Sox and Rays showed interest in him last month. Manny could definitely clear waivers in late August if he returns from his calf strain, so he is a player to watch. George Sherrill cleared waivers recently, so teams clearly don't think he's worth his $4.5MM salary. He hasn't pitched well this season, so he will be available. Like Stairs, Garret Anderson would likely clear waivers despite his modest salary ($550K) because of his poor production (.484 OPS).

The Rockies have waiver trade candidates galore, from relievers Rafael Betancourt, Joe Beimel and Randy Flores to bats like Brad Hawpe to role players like Jason Giambi and Melvin Mora. Aaron Cook, who went to the hospital this weekend after getting hit on the foot with a line drive, could appeal to contenders. He'd have to prove he's healthy first, but Cook makes $9MM this year with $9.75MM or more remaining afterwards, so he'd likely clear waivers. He has pitched to a 5.08 ERA this year, but contenders could have interest if his foot is fine and the Rockies keep fading.

Diamondbacks first baseman Adam LaRoche makes a reasonable $4.5MM this year, so it's possible that someone would claim him. It wouldn't be a surprise to see the D'Backs trade LaRoche given the many deals they've already made. Chris Young and Stephen Drew are making reasonable salaries, so they will probably be staying put.

For our primer on the waiver trade process, click here.

Odds & Ends: Lowell, Cardinals, Mets

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On this date in 2001, the Cardinals acquired Woody Williams from the Padres for Ray Lankford.  Lankford was useful for the rest of that season, but Williams went on to have an excellent Cardinals career.  Links for Monday…

Minor League Transactions: Lumsden, Red Sox

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The latest minor league transactions from Baseball America's Matt Eddy…

  • The Padres acquired lefty Tyler Lumsden from the Astros for future considerations.  The former first-round pick has already tossed over ten innings for the Double A San Antonio Missions.  Lumsden was well-regarded a few years ago, ranking fifth among Royals' prospects in BA's '07 Handbook.
  • The Red Sox released pitchers Randor Bierd and Kason Gabbard.  Bierd came to the Sox in the January '09 David Pauley trade, while Gabbard was sent to Texas in July of '07 in the Eric Gagne deal and later reacquired.
  • The Diamondbacks released reliever Saul Rivera.  He'd been designated for assignment on June 8th.

Trade Deadline Reactions

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While we wait for August's rumor mill to pick up, the focus remains on the trades made over the last few days. Let's take a look at how a few writers are evaluating those deals….

  • USA Today's Bob Nightengale and the New York Post's Joel Sherman list their winners and losers, agreeing that the Rangers and Padres did very well, while the Mets and Red Sox needed to do more.
  • In Jeff Passan's assessment of July's deals for Yahoo! Sports, the Mets get a surprising thumbs-up.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports examines how the trades affect the playoff races. The Phillies and Cardinals are among his predicted division winners, after their respective deals for Roy Oswalt and Jake Westbrook.
  • The Cardinals paid too high a price for Westbrook, according to Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  • Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times says that although the Dodgers' and Angels' moves were nice, they won't be enough to propel either team into the playoffs.
  • A pair of New York Daily News writers disagree about the merit of the Yankees' weekend acquisitions. According to Mike Lupica, all the additions make the Yanks seem slightly desperate, but John Harper sees nothing wrong with making baseball's best team better. I have to side with Harper here – Brian Cashman's goal is to field a championship team, not to worry about whether a division rival's inactivity makes his club look insecure.
  • The Houston Chronicle's Richard Justice and Jerome Solomon have conflicting views on the post-deadline Astros. Solomon can't think of much to be happy about, while Justice writes that a younger, more energetic roster should be fun.

Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Salty, Braves, Cards

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Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count video up, so let's dive in…

  • The Red Sox scouted Jarrod Saltalamacchia hard before acquiring him this afternoon, and they feel that he is throwing better and will benefit from a change of scenery.  18 months ago the cost for Salty was Clay Buchholz, so they feel he's worth the gamble considering the uncertain futures of Victor Martinez and Jason Varitek.
  • The Braves didn't need either Kyle Farnsworth or Rick Ankiel, but picking up both improves their depth considerably. Ankiel will be the regular center fielder against righties, platooning with Melky Cabrera, while Farnsworth will help lessen the burden on Takashi Saito and Jonny Venters. The Braves are clearly going for it in Bobby Cox's final season.
  • It seems odd that the Cardinals would trade Ryan Ludwick given their offensive inconsistency this year, but the team likes what Jon Jay has done and they'll save big when Ludwick goes to arbitration for the final time next season.
  • Relative to its competition, no team did as poorly as the Mets at the deadline. They were outbid for Ramon Ramirez, and the Cubs wanted no part of a Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez for Carlos Zambrano swap. The Cubbies are hopeful that Big Z will come back and rebuild his value down the stretch.
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