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Padres To Sign Wily Mo Pena

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The Padres will sign Wily Mo Pena to a minor league deal and assign the former big leaguer to Triple A Portland, according to Mario Rojas of Candela Deportiva. The team has not confirmed the agreement, but Dan Hayes of the North County Times has (via Twitter). 

Pena, 28, has been playing for the Bridgeport Bluefish of the Atlantic League since late May and was in tonight's starting lineup, according to a Bluefish public relations official. Nothing is official now, but the Padres appear to be moving towards a deal with Pena.

In parts of seven major league seasons, Pena has a .253/.307/.447 line. He hasn't played in the majors since 2008, but he did hit 26 homers on the 2004 Reds. Padres outfielders have combined to hit 26 homers (one more than Jose Bautista) in 1007 at bats this season, so they may hope Pena can return to the majors and add pop to an unintimidating lineup.

Padres Interested In Tejada, Not Targeting Guthrie

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The Padres have scored fewer runs than any winning team in the major leagues, so their need for offense is clear. Reports have connected the Padres to a number of outfielders, but they also have interest in Miguel Tejada, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock (via Twitter). 

The former AL MVP has a .275/.314/.372 line, for his lowest OPS since 1998. That's still better than the marks middle infielders David Eckstein and Jerry Hairston Jr. have posted, but not by much. Perhaps the Padres believe Tejada can hit like he did a year ago, when he posted a .795 OPS and made the NL All-Star team, or perhaps they view him as a capable backup.

Tejada is playing third in Baltimore, though he spent more than a decade as an everyday shortstop before the 2010 season. The Phillies have been linked to Tejada on and off, though their need for an infielder is less acute now that Placido Polanco is healthy.

Meanwhile, the Padres are not targeting Tejada's teammate, Jeremy Guthrie, according to Brock. The Padres have discussed Guthrie and would like to add pitching depth, but Brock's report suggests the team would prefer to add other starters.

Odds & Ends: Guthrie, Ross, Ranaudo

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A year ago today, the Brewers acquired Felipe Lopez from the Diamondbacks for prospects Roque Mercedes and Cole Gillespie.  Lopez raked after the trade, but was not offered arbitration by the Brewers.  Gillespie and Mercedes ranked among Arizona's top 30 prospects heading into the season according to Baseball America, with the former now playing for the big league club.  On to today's links…

Padres Extend Bud Black

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11:02am: GM Jed Hoyer officially announced Black's extension, according to a team press release.

7:27am: The Padres will announce a three-year extension for manager Bud Black today, reports MLB.com's Corey Brock.  The deal also includes club options for 2014 and '15.

This is Black's fourth season managing the team, and many labeled it a rebuilding year after the '09 Jake Peavy trade.  Instead, the Padres have the best record in the National League and are buyers at the trade deadline.

Padres Still Eyeing Hart, May Need Arms Too

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Much has been made of the surprising first-place Padres' needs as the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline approaches. It's a known fact that they've relied on tremendous pitching to win in spite of an offense that ranks 27th in the Majors with a .701 team OPS and 21st with 396 runs scored.

The San Diego Union Tribune's Tim Sullivan says that manager Bud Black made a subtle pitch to Corey Hart, a known Padres target, at the Home Run Derby, opining to the Milwaukee right fielder that a lot of his home runs would also have gone out in Petco Park to gauge a reaction. While Hart kept an even keel and simply replied, "Yeah, they would have," Black says he wanted Hart to know that the Padres were interested.

Padres closer Heath Bell also spoke with Hart, and relayed that Hart isn't happy to be on the trading block. If he does get moved, he would like to train in Arizona near his newly-purchased house.

While Hart's 22 home runs would look nice in the middle of the Padres lineup and add some much needed support for Adrian Gonzalez, it's worth noting that the offense may no longer be the club's main focus.

Both Mike Adams and Mat Latos have landed on the disabled list in the past week. While Latos is expected to recover quickly, the Padres will likely be limiting his second half innings.

Padres general manager Jed Hoyer did acknowledge that they have the resources to improve both the offense and the defense, but said that the odds of a significant improvement to both seemed "remote." Any trades that send away cost-controlled young players will require a return that's controlled beyond 2010 for the Padres as well, according to Hoyer, who stressed that financial limitations make cost-control important to San Diego.

Sullivan asked Bell about his personal wish list for acquisitions, and Bell named Hart, Cody Ross, Miguel Tejada, and Milton Bradley before floating a unique idea: acquire Lance Berkman and put him back in the outfield. It's unlikely that Berkman would play a respectable outfield at this point, but the scenario suggests that Bell clearly would like to see a proven, veteran bat added to the lineup.

Cafardo On Gonzalez, Oswalt, Lilly, Ramos

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Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez will eventually end up with another club, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  The reality of a seven- or eight-year deal at more than $20MM per season in a market as small as San Diego remains a long shot.  If Gonzalez, who is under contract through 2011, reaches free agency, he'll be preferred over fellow slugger Prince Fielder, who is also in that free agent class.  Let's see what else Cafardo has for us..

  • Orioles infielder Ty Wigginton's right-handed bat and versatility make him attractive to the Yankees, Reds, Rays, and Angels.  Wigginton likes playing in Baltimore but wouldn't mind being in a playoff race.
  • A major league source wonders if Roy Oswalt will get too picky about to which teams he would approve a trade.  We've already heard that Oswalt won't approve a trade to the White Sox or Tigers.  One talent evaluator says that Oswalt can succeed in the American League.
  • That same talent evaluator told Cafardo that Ted Lilly will encounter problems with a move to the American League.  Therefore, he would make more sense for a team like the Mets, who are said to have interest.
  • Twins catcher Joe Mauer has been playing through a few undisclosed injuries, in part because he feels the need to live up to his enormous contact.  The club has been dangling catcher Wilson Ramos in a trade for a prime pitcher but they're now less inclined to deal him due to concerns about their franchise player.
  • The Red Sox watched Mark Prior throw in Arizona, but a team source says that they won't sign him.

Odds & Ends: Sheets, Padres, Scutaro, Nationals

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A few links to check out while the Yankees play their first game without George Steinbrenner at the helm since 1972…

  • Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Phillies have had a "top scout" on hand for the A's last four series, though Oakland isn't going to move Mark Ellis and Ben Sheets isn't scheduled to pitch this weekend. 
  • James Schmehl of MLive.com says that Sheets could be a "rather inexpensive" trade option for the Tigers if they're looking to add a starting pitcher. 
  • MLB.com's Corey Brock reports that Padres' GM Jed Hoyer told reporters he would like to make a move to improve the team, not just a cosmetic one (all Twitter links). He says the prices must first come down, and that he has the resources to add multiple pieces.
  • WEEI.com's Rob Bradford says (via Twitter) that the Braves did not talk to the Red Sox about a potential Yunel Escobar–Marco Scutaro deal. He says that the Blue Jays were the only team Atlanta spoke to about an Escobar trade.
  • Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo ranked the team's international free agent signings for MASNSports.com's Ben Goessling.
  • Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times tweets that the Tokyo Giants have a scout attending tonight's Dodgers-Cardinals game. If nothing else, it shows that Japanese teams scour the U.S. for talent just like MLB teams do in Japan.

Padres Have Not Had Contract Talks With Gonzalez

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The Padres are perhaps the biggest surprise contender in baseball this season, sporting the best run differential and second best overall record in the National League coming out of the break. That doesn't mean they're any closer to locking up franchise cornerstone Adrian Gonzalez though, as Dan Hayes of The North County Times tweets that the two sides have yet to discuss a contract extension.

Earlier this week we heard that Gonzalez was seeking an eight-year contract, which suggests that he and his agent might be using Mark Teixeira's eight-year, $180MM contract as a guideline for his next deal. Unsurprisingly, many teams are still interested in trading for Gonzalez, but San Diego has him under contract through next season for slightly more than $7.5MM. They don't have any motivation to move him at this point.

In fact, the Padres are looking to add offense right now, not subtract it. Gonzalez is the only legitimate power threat on the team, and while he may be looking for a Teixeira kind of contract, the team would be looking for a Teixeira kind of return if they were to trade him, referring of course to the haul Texas received when they sent the current Yankee first baseman to Atlanta.

Odds & Ends: Marlins, Wigginton, Rockies, Wood

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It was on this day in 1905 that Shirley Povich, one of the great sportswriters of all time, was born in Bar Harbor, Maine.  Povich, who passed away in 1998, would've been 105 today and no doubt still would've been keeping an eye on Stephen Strasburg for the Washington Post.

Some news items….

Padres Rumors: Westbrook, Guthrie, Gonzalez

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The Padres are looking at at least one short-term option for their rotation, and their first baseman may be thinking much longer-term. Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse has the details:

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