Padres Rumors

Offseason In Review: San Diego Padres

By Tim Dierkes | March 30, 2010 at 2:38pm CDT

The Padres are next in our Offseason In Review series.

Major League Signings

Jon Garland, SP: one year, $5.3MM. Includes $6.75MM mutual option for 2011 with a $300-600K buyout.
Jerry Hairston Jr., IF/OF: one year, $2.125MM.
Yorvit Torrealba, C: one year, $1.25MM. Includes $3.5MM mutual option for 2011 with a $500K buyout.
Total spend: $8.675MM.

Notable Minor League Signings

Matt Stairs, Chris Denorfia

Trades and Claims

Claimed P Radhames Liz off waivers from Orioles
Acquired OF Scott Hairston and OF Aaron Cunningham from Athletics for 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff and 2B Eric Sogard

Notable Losses

Kevin Kouzmanoff, Eric Sogard, Brian Giles, Luis Rodriguez, Henry Blanco, Edgar Gonzalez, Eliezer Alfonzo, Chris Burke, Drew Macias, Josh Banks, Shawn Hill, Mike Ekstrom, Eulogio de la Cruz

Summary

Jed Hoyer's tenure as Padres GM kicked off quietly, with a November 25th waiver claim of pitcher Radhames Liz. Hoyer went on to spend $8.675MM for three free agents and make one big trade. Let's take a look.

Hoyer added free agents Garland, Jerry Hairston Jr., and Torrealba on reasonably-priced one-year deals. The affordable trio should have a small amount of trade value, in contrast to overpaid veterans like Jason Marquis, Ivan Rodriguez, and Kevin Millwood. We've seen varying approaches by rebuilding clubs this winter – the Nationals and Orioles spent about $30MM, the Padres, Blue Jays, and Pirates spent $8-10MM, and the Indians spent less than $3MM.

The Scott Hairston acquisition was a lateral move, as the Padres and A's were looking to fill different needs. Kouzmanoff has one more year of team control than Hairston, a possible point in Oakland's favor assuming these players aren't eventually non-tendered. It's difficult to predict the outcome of the Sogard-Cunningham portion of the deal.

Hoyer has the Adrian Gonzalez situation on the horizon, but in the short-term he's likely to see how the team performs for the season's first three months. The Padres project to have a terrible offense, possibly the worst in the NL. Their pitching may be better than you realize, with a slew of guys capable of ERAs in the low 4.00s and Mat Latos bringing #1 starter stuff. To contend in 2010, the Padres would need breakout years from Chase Headley and Kyle Blanks and quality bats added to the offense in midseason trades.

Odds & Ends: Gaudin, Stairs, Lowell, Darvish

By Tim Dierkes | March 29, 2010 at 9:55pm CDT

Links for Monday…

FoxSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi spoke to one executive who thinks the lack of open 40-man roster spots is inhibiting trades. There are only 28 open spots across the league, and more than half of the teams are maxed out.
Chad Gaudin said he considered "a couple" of other teams before deciding to rejoin the A's, reports MLB.com's Jane Lee.
MLB.com's Corey Brock reminds us that the Padres will have to remove someone from their 40-man roster before Opening Day to make room for Matt Stairs.
The Rangers have a scout on hand to watch Mike Lowell play third base tonight, tweets ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes. This deal has to get done eventually, right?
The Braves were concerned the Marlins would take Jason Heyward at #12 in the 2007 draft, writes Yahoo's Jeff Passan.
Yu Darvish hinted for the first time that he might be willing to come to MLB, says Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker. Newman passes along a Sponichi report in which Darvish said, "Well, I’m planning on climbing the ladder, step by step," when asked about moving to MLB one day. Newman notes that Darvish isn't close to free agency, so the Nippon Ham Fighters would have to post him.
SI's Jon Heyman writes that the Mariners and Jarrod Washburn "are believed to remain apart on the dollars for a new deal."
Brian Cashman and Johnny Damon met in person for the first time since Damon left the Yankees, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
MLB.com's Peter Gammons names six clubs that might be better than you think.

Odds & Ends: Stauffer, Twins, Tigers, Desmond

By Luke Adams 2 | March 28, 2010 at 1:25pm CDT

Links for Sunday….

More from Rosenthal, as he tweets that the Padres are not looking to move Tim Stauffer despite there being several teams interested in the pitcher. Stauffer has been rumored to be on the trade block as he is out of options.
FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports (via Twitter) that the Twins will use a closer-by-committee approach to start the season, which presumably means no trades are imminent.
Dave Dombrowski denies that the Tigers are looking for a second base upgrade, writes MLB.com's Jason Beck. ESPN.com's Jayson Stark had reported that Detroit could be in the market for a second baseman, given Scott Sizemore's up-and-down spring, but Dombrowski says the club's lineup is set. The GM also mentions that "a lot of clubs have been calling" about the Tigers' pitching.
Ian Desmond has been named the Nationals' starting shortstop, according to the team's Twitter page. The rookie beat out Cristian Guzman, who will now earn $8MM this season as a utilityman. Guzman, for his part, will not ask for a trade, tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
The Rockies had interest in Chad Gaudin last year, but don't think they have a spot for him anymore, tweets Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports.
Mike Lowell is maintaining a realistic outlook on his current situation, writes Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston. Edes adds in a tweet that Lowell took grounders at third base this morning, a good sign for the health of his knee.
Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post explains the decision facing the Nationals regarding Scott Olsen. The Nats are evaluating whether or not Olsen belongs in their rotation, and will owe him his full 2010 base salary ($1MM) if he's with the team past March 31.

Odds & Ends: Gaudin, Jones, Stauffer, Oliver, Lowell

By Mike Axisa | March 27, 2010 at 9:46pm CDT

Links for Saturday…

The Phillies considered Chad Gaudin according to Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com, but they decided he wasn't enough of an upgrade over what they already have in-house.
The Twins have informed Jacque Jones that he will not make the team, reports MLB.com's Kelly Thesier. Minnesota brought the long time Twin back on a minor league deal in February.
On the heels of another strong outing from Tim Stauffer, MLB.com's Corey Brock speculates (via Twitter) that the Padres could receive a mid-level prospect from a team in need of pitching if they opted to trade him. Stauffer's four shutout innings today lowered his spring ERA to a tidy 2.57 with an 11:3 K:BB ratio through 14 innings.
Jon Paul Morosi tells the great story of Darren Oliver's resurgence after nearly retiring in 2005 and wonders who the next veteran will be to make a similar run.
Doug Mientkiewicz was told he will not make the Dodgers' Opening Day roster, according to a report from the Associated Press. Mientkiewicz was excused from camp today so he can weigh his options in regards to his future in baseball.
Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe says Mike Lowell's injury "almost kills his trade value, which was already low to begin with." Lowell suffered a knee contusion when he fouled a ball off his left knee Friday.
Blue Jays' team president and CEO Paul Beeston chatted with fans on the team's official site yesterday. He discussed the latest on Adeiny Hechevarria and the club's policy on long-term contracts, among other topics.
ESPN's Buster Olney says that some general managers believe the reason there's so little movement on the trade front is because there are still viable alternatives on the free agent market.
As Joe Christensen of The Star Tribune notes, Joe Mauer's new deal may have turned one of the team's top prospects in a prime piece of trade bait.
New Padres' GM Jed Hoyer isn't as brash as Kevin Towers used to be, writes Nick Canepa of The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Stark’s Latest: Trade Block, Mets, Phillies, Tigers

By Mike Axisa | March 27, 2010 at 6:37pm CDT

ESPN's Jayson Stark has a new blog post up with some trade rumor nuggets for us. It's behind the Insider wall (if you don't have a subscription yet, what are you waiting for?), so I can't give away too much…

Stark lists 16 players currently on the trade block. Among the names we haven't seen mentioned recently: Willie Harris, Andy Marte, Tim Stauffer, Omir Santos, and Brad Thomas.
The Mets are looking to move one of their extra catchers, either Santos or Chris Coste, and are looking to add "major league-ready triple-A pitching depth." Aren't we all…
The Phillies are looking to add all sorts of pitching depth, and have interest in the recently released Chad Gaudin.
Scott Sizemore's rocky spring has the Tigers looking for a second base upgrade.
Kansas City is shopping Brayan Pena in their perpetual search for starting pitching.
The Braves have told other clubs that David Ross is available, "possibly in a catcher-for-catcher swap for a younger backup-catcher type."

Rosenthal’s Latest: D’Backs, Robertson, Pirates

By Mike Axisa | March 27, 2010 at 9:32am CDT

Some notes from Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com…

The Diamondbacks continue to pursue a number three or four starter in the wake of Brandon Webb's setback. A club official acknowledged that such a pickup was possible, but “I don’t think any team will be willing to give up that kind of pitcher at the start of the season.”
Rosenthal says the team has infield depth to use in a trade, and reiterated that they'd love to move Chris Snyder and the $11.25MM left on his contract. The Rangers and Red Sox are said to be looking for infielders, and the Mariners could join them following Jack Hannahan's injury.
The Tigers are shopping Nate Robertson, but Arizona doesn't consider him enough of an upgrade. Zach Duke and Paul Maholm are not available.
The best available starter may be Chad Gaudin, who was released by the Yankees on Thursday.
The Brewers considered a Jeff Suppan for Snyder trade, but didn't want to take on Snyder's 2011 salary. Suppan will earn $12.5MM this season, the final one on his contract.
The Cubs do not expect to make a trade for a reliever before Opening Day, but they've scouted Jason Frasor and Scott Downs, plus Luke Gregerson of the Padres.
Nick Green has an out clause in his minor league contract, but the Dodgers may add him to the roster to serve as the backup shortstop.

Odds & Ends: Giants, Harper, Heyward, Padres

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 26, 2010 at 4:37pm CDT

Some links as the weekend draws closer…

In his organizational rankings, Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says it's a good time to be a Brewers fan and explains why 2010 is a critical year for the Angels.
Don't expect the Giants to sign an outfielder. GM Brian Sabean told Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News that the club's right fielder will come from within the organization (Twitter link).
The Giants have yet to announce the extensions for Jeremy Affeldt and Brian Wilson, so Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle wonders (via Twitter) if Matt Cain will get an extension of his own soon.
MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo offers an extensive scouting report for Bryce Harper, the 17-year-old slugger whose power is "off the charts" according to one scout.
Jason Heyward made the Braves, according to Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. They're going for it in Bobby Cox's last season in Atlanta.
Chipper Jones would not be surprised to see the Braves lock Heyward up after the season, according to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez (via Twitter).
The Cardinals released ten minor leaguers, including knuckleballer Charlie Zink, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Bill James tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that he thinks players peak defensively around the age of 25.
Jeff Moorad assured Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune that his partnership will be able to complete its purchase of the Padres without trouble.
MLB.com's Bill Ladson reminds us that Cristian Guzman has ten and five rights.

NL West Notes: Bowker, Giants, D’Backs

By Mark Polishuk | March 25, 2010 at 8:47pm CDT

Here's some news items from what might be baseball's most competitive division next season….

ESPN.com's Rob Neyer says that despite John Bowker's big spring, he's not likely to get regular playing time in the majors unless there's an injury in San Francisco or unless "the Giants trade him to an American League team looking for a cheap DH."
Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reports that Giants infielder Emmanuel Burriss will be out until June due to foot surgery, leaving the team in need of a utility infielder. This tracks with the information reported yesterday about the Giants looking for such a player in exchange for Fred Lewis. If a deal isn't out there, San Fran might be best served to just hang onto Kevin Frandsen. He's no whiz with the glove (Fangraphs lists him with a career UZR/150 of -13.5 at shortstop, albeit over just 198 innings), but this might not be a problem in the short-term if the Giants just need him as a reserve SS until Freddy Sanchez is healthy and Juan Uribe can move into the reserve middle-infield role.
Speaking of middle infielders, the Diamondbacks have a surplus of them and Augie Ojeda looks to be at the top of the trade list. MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez reports that while the Snakes would like to make a move for pitching, their plans are complicated since they don't know how much time Brandon Webb will need to get healthy.
Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com says that Ivan DeJesus has gone from being seen as a potential future starting shortstop to "perhaps trade bait" for the Dodgers.
Ronald Belisario still hasn't arrived to spring training due to visa issues, reports MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. The fact that Belisario is out of options further complicates matters,
Padres RHP Tim Stauffer is also out of options, but MLB.com's Corey Brock predicts that San Diego will be able to deal him to "a pitching-starved team" rather than putting him on waivers.

Odds & Ends: Kim, Dukes, Adrian

By Tim Dierkes | March 25, 2010 at 4:00pm CDT

Links for Thursday…

The Giants' Byung-Hyun Kim experiment is over, as the pitcher asked the Giants for his release according to Baseball America's Matt Eddy.
Multiple teams are interested in free agent outfielder Elijah Dukes, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
Murray Chass chatted with agent Ron Shapiro about the Joe Mauer deal. Speaking of Mauer, 620 WTMJ's Dan O'Donnell spoke to MLBTR's Mike Axisa about how the catcher's deal might impact Prince Fielder.
The Marlins' interest in Mike Lowell is "barely above zero," learned MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. Lowell told Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald today that he's not sure if a move back to the NL would work.
The Diamondbacks don't expect to sign Dominican outfielder Wagner Mateo, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
Nick Canepa of the San Diego Union-Tribune spoke to Padres CEO Jeff Moorad, who wouldn't be surprised to see Adrian Gonzalez play two more seasons for his team.
In reference to Mets rookie Jenrry Mejia, ESPN's Keith Law notes that "promoting prospects who aren't ready is a hallmark of GMs in fear for their jobs."
Tracy Ringolsby is now on Twitter, give him a follow.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post examines the Mets' reconfiguration of Hisanori Takahashi's contract.
I'll be participating in an NFBC fantasy league Sunday evening. They've got all kinds of events and prizes, check it out.

Odds & Ends: Stanton, Daigle, Bell, Mariners

By Mark Polishuk | March 24, 2010 at 10:15pm CDT

A round-up of some of Wednesday's newsbits….

The Marlins assigned top prospect Mike Stanton to Double-A, but MLB.com's Joe Frisaro writes that by keeping Stanton in the minors until "around Memorial Day, or June 1," the club can delay Stanton's Super Two status.
RHP Casey Daigle, a non-roster invitee signed by the Astros in December, has a shot at winning a spot on the Houston roster, writes Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Daigle last pitched in the majors in 2006.
MLB.com's Corey Brock (via Twitter) hears from GM Jed Hoyer that the Padres haven't heard from other teams interested in Heath Bell, nor are they "actively shopping" the closer themselves.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports calls the Mariners "a disappointment waiting to happen" and feels they won't live up to the hype generated by their busy offseason.
Carroll Rogers of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on new TBS analyst John Smoltz popping by the Braves camp. Smoltz said he is "not officially [retired], but close" and noted that the Nationals offered a deal over the winter for him to pitch and eventually coach for the club.
MLB.com's Steve Gilbert writes that Arizona GM Josh Byrnes' interest in Kelly Johnson dated back to the infielder's high school days, and that Byrnes tried to deal for Johnson back in 2006.
LHP Danny Duffy, one of Kansas City's top pitching prospects, is quitting baseball, reports Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star.
WEEI.com's Rob Bradford reports that reliever Joe Nelson has an opt-out clause in his contract with the Red Sox that allows him to become a free agent if he isn't on Boston's major league roster by June 1.
Prospective Rangers owner Chuck Greenberg won't have the deal finalized to buy the team by Opening Day, reports Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com. Mid-April is the new target date.
Matt Klaassen of Fangraphs looks at the battle for the last spot on the Oakland roster, while also dropping several hints that the A's would be helping themselves by releasing Eric Chavez.
Matt Eddy of Baseball America looks at seven out-of-options players who he figures will either make their team's roster or be traded in the coming days. Eddy also gave us a shout-out by linking to MLBTR's full list of players who are out of options.

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Show all

Headlines

Padres Rumors

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect