Padres Rumors

Odds & Ends: Garciaparra, Jackson, Barajas, Branyan

By Tim Dierkes | February 4, 2010 at 5:30pm CDT

Links for Thursday…

Nomar Garciaparra told Lou Merloni of WEEI.com that he would like to play in 2010, if the right situation presents itself. Garciaparra played in 65 games for the A's last season, hitting .281/.314/.388 with 3 homers.
RotoAuthority discusses the fantasy prospects of Rangers starter Colby Lewis.
Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic says that while an arbitration hearing is likely for Edwin Jackson and the Diamondbacks, "the team has broached the idea of a two-year deal."
Piecoro also says the D'Backs are considering bringing recently-designated lefty Dana Eveland back.
Talking to agents who dealt with the Mets this winter, Murray Chass believes the team was incapable of multitasking. On a related note, MetsBlog's Matthew Cerrone believes the team remains interested in free agent catcher Rod Barajas.
ESPN's Jerry Crasnick says Russell Branyan was seeking a three-year deal in the $20-30MM range earlier this offseason. At this point I'd say he's looking at a one-year deal at maybe $3MM.
Unlike CEO Jeff Moorad, Padres GM Jed Hoyer said all the right things regarding Adrian Gonzalez (Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reporting).
Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune says the Twins are in a position of strength in that they don't need Orlando Hudson or Jarrod Washburn. He doesn't feel they'd still be willing to offer $5MM to Washburn. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports notes that if the Mariners re-sign Erik Bedard, as has been rumored, they probably wouldn't sign Washburn.
Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times says the grievance has been settled regarding the Ramirez Provision, involving forced charity donations as part of contracts.

Moorad Finds Adrian Gonzalez Extension Unlikely

By Tim Dierkes | February 3, 2010 at 2:36pm CDT

Padres CEO Jeff Moorad stated the obvious yesterday regarding first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. Tim Sullivan of the San Diego Union-Tribune has the quote:

"While I’d be thrilled to have him part of the organization for the long term, the early signals indicate his cost will be greater than our ability to pay."

Gonzalez's agent John Boggs agreed, and explained that he expects a trade:

"The feeling we're getting is more than likely (the Padres) are going to have to trade Adrian because (they) can't afford him."

These quotes are far from groundbreaking, so consider this your official Gonzalez Trade Prediction post. Tell us the acquiring team and players given up. Keep in mind that at $10.25MM over the next two years, any team willing to surrender the right players could acquire Gonzalez. Given their first base incumbents, though, the Cardinals, Brewers, Phillies, Reds, Yankees, and Twins appear unlikely.

Rays Claim Mike Ekstrom

By Tim Dierkes | February 3, 2010 at 1:01pm CDT

The Rays claimed reliever Mike Ekstrom off waivers from the Padres, reports Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. He'd been designated for assignment a week ago to make room for Jon Garland.

Ekstrom, 26, was done in by hits and home runs allowed in an 18.3-inning big league stint last year. At Triple A, he had a 1.73 ERA, 6.2 K/9, and 2.3 BB/9 in 62.3 innings.

Odds & Ends: Mauer, Hairston, Buck, Benson

By Tim Dierkes | February 2, 2010 at 5:10pm CDT

Links for Tuesday…

We shouldn't expect a Joe Mauer extension soon, according to this tweet from USA Today's Bob Nightengale.
The Padres avoided arbitration with Scott Hairston, signing the outfielder to a one-year deal worth $2.45MM, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports believes that the Tigers have moved into the non-denial stage regarding Johnny Damon (via Twitter).
A's outfielder Travis Buck has a chip on his shoulder after watching the A's acquire multiple outfielders, reports CSNBayArea's Mychael Urban. But as ESPN's Rob Neyer points out, Buck hasn't done much recently with the bat.
Free agent outfielder Darin Erstad told ESPN's Jerry Crasnick he'd love to play in 2010, but "there is nowhere to find at-bats."
Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times tweets that the Dodgers "remain interested in Jeff Weaver, but their roster situation could prevent them from offering him a major-league deal."
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports names the D'Backs, Cubs, Reds, and Nationals as teams monitoring free agent starter Kris Benson. Benson didn't pitch much in the last three seasons due to rotator cuff surgery.
Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. further explained his rationale behind the Cliff Lee trade, reports Scott Lauber of The News Journal. Amaro's reasoning didn't sway my opinion; none of the three prospects he received are in Keith Law's top 100 (though Ramirez is #101). The long-term value of Phillippe Aumont, J.C. Ramirez, and Tyson Gillies should not outweigh the extra 4-5 wins Lee would've provided in 2010. And did Amaro even shop Lee around for the best package?
Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star is pessimistic on the Royals, who he says don't offer much beyond Zack Greinke, Billy Butler, and Joakim Soria.
RotoAuthority looks at Boston's closer situation from a fantasy baseball point of view.

Kevin Gregg Narrowing Choices

By Howard Megdal | February 2, 2010 at 8:16am CDT

TUESDAY, 8:16am: Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel offers a different take – he says not to look for a Gregg-Marlins reunion. Instead, the righty is close to signing with the Rockies or Blue Jays. According to this tweet from Yahoo's Tim Brown, the Padres are also in the mix.

MONDAY, 9:26pm: According to Troy Renck of the Denver Post, Kevin Gregg has narrowed his choices down to the Rockies and Marlins.

"I am not overly optimistic, but we have a chance," Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd told Renck Monday. "Our job would be as a setup guy." For Gregg, the chance to be second in line to Huston Street isn't as promising as the chance to be behind Leo Nunez, Renck figures. After signing Melvin Mora, the Rockies had about $2MM to offer for Gregg.

Yorvit Torrealba Has Padres Offer

By Tim Dierkes | February 1, 2010 at 4:30pm CDT

Catcher Yorvit Torrealba "has a one-year offer from the Padres in hand," tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. Olney adds that Torrealba "would like to engage the Mets, but to this point the Mets have indicated they don't have any money available to make something happen." Previous reports had indicated the Mets were turning to Torrealba after missing out on Bengie Molina, despite Torrealba's grievance against them. With question marks at catcher and in the rotation, Mets fans have to hope the team isn't out of money.

That said, the free agent catching market is bleak: Torrealba, Rod Barajas, and Jose Molina are the most notable names.

Odds & Ends: Mora, Edmonds, Nelson

By Zachary Links | January 30, 2010 at 5:37pm CDT

Saturday linkage…

With Orlando Cabrera "leaning towards" accepting an offer from Cincinnati, Troy Renck of the Denver Post says the Rockies are "a finalist" in the hunt for Melvin Mora. Renck reports that Colorado, Texas and Seattle are the most interested parties.
Jim Edmonds tells MLB.com's Adam McCalvy that Cardinals GM John Mozeliak told Edmonds on Wednesday that "he didn't see a fit" for the outfielder in St. Louis. Edmonds signed with Milwaukee a day later.
Righty Joe Nelson is attracting interest from the Dodgers, Nationals, and Red Sox, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The journeyman reliever broke through with the Marlins in 2008, posting a 2.00 ERA with 10.0 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 54 innings. His 2009 with the Rays was less than spectacular, but the 35-year-old points to his performance outside May, as he had a 2.38 ERA in the 10 games prior and a 1.40 ERA in 20 games after.
Jonny Gomes and the Reds are close to agreeing to a deal, according to ESPN. Yesterday, GM Walt Jocketty confirmed that the club offered a minor league deal to the 29-year-old outfielder. Gomes proved to be one of the best minor league signings of 2009, hitting .267/.338/.541 with 20 HRs in 98 games.
The Padres have set an arbitration date with outfielder Scott Hairston, though they hope to reach an agreement beforehand, according to Corey Brock of MLB.com (via Twitter). Brock writes that the two sides could come to terms next week.
ESPN's Jorge Arangure (via Twitter) gets the feeling that Cuban prospect Jose Julio Ruiz may sign this week or shortly thereafter. Ruiz – who has reportedly garnered interest from the Red Sox and Tigers – was "unblocked" by the Office of Foreign Asset Control yesterday, allowing him to sign with a major league club.

Odds & Ends: Calero, Nats, Byrnes, Fogg, Timlin

By Tim Dierkes | January 28, 2010 at 5:24pm CDT

Links for Thursday…

The Marlins aren't that confident in Kiko Calero's ability to hold up as well as he did last year, tweets MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.
The Nationals designated right-hander Marco Estrada for assignment to make room for Tyler Walker according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson, via Twitter.
The A's have no interest in Eric Byrnes, tweets Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com.
The Dodgers are a finalist for Derrick Turnbow, tweets MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.
The Mets are interested in Josh Fogg, according to Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog.
Mike Timlin said on WEEI.com that he will stay in retirement this year. Last year, Timlin pitched in the Rockies' minor league system.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports notes that Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos is "open to anything." The Jays could stand to add a corner outfielder and there are a number of options available should the Jays decide to pursue them.
I wrote an article for my fantasy website, RotoAuthority.com, suggesting that overhyped "sleepers" can still provide a profit.
USA Today's Bob Nightengale tweets that Gary Sheffield might be a good fit for the Reds, and that Sheff was "on his way" to the Diamondbacks before they signed Adam LaRoche.
Brandon Webb still contends that re-signing with the D'Backs is his first choice, in an article written by MLB.com's Steve Gilbert.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Reds, Padres, White Sox, and Royals inquired on the Yankees' Brett Gardner this winter, with hopes of using him as a starting center fielder.
Bill Shanks of Scout.com makes a case for the Braves to sign Johnny Damon.
Yahoo's Tim Brown tweets that the Dodgers are one club eyeing Garret Anderson for a fourth outfielder role.

Padres Designate Mike Ekstrom For Assignment

By Tim Dierkes | January 27, 2010 at 8:18am CDT

The Padres designated reliever Mike Ekstrom for assignment to make room for Jon Garland, tweets MLB.com's Corey Brock. Ekstrom, 26, was done in by hits and home runs allowed in an 18.3-inning big league stint last year. At Triple A, he had a 1.73 ERA, 6.2 K/9, and 2.3 BB/9 in 62.3 innings. Ekstrom was designated for assignment once before, in April of '09.

Rays Interested In Orlando Hudson

By Mark Polishuk | January 26, 2010 at 9:36pm CDT

9:36pm: Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (via Twitter) thinks "it's unlikely anything happens" between Tampa Bay and Hudson, noting that the Rays are happy with Zobrist, Reid Brignac and Sean Rodriguez at second base. He does say, however, that the Rays "have interest in [a number] of free agents."

8:12pm: ESPN's Buster Olney reports (via Twitter) that Tampa Bay is "in on Orlando Hudson talks." The plan would be to install Hudson at second base while Ben Zobrist gets moved to right field. Olney says that the move "all depends on the price," which would presumably have to be significantly lower than Hudson's $9MM asking price.

The Nationals have been considered to be the leaders in the Hudson sweepstakes this winter, and MLB.com's Bill Ladson was told today by a source that the Nats "have a good chance" of signing the free-agent second baseman due to Hudson's close ties to Adam Dunn and Willie Harris.

Ladson also went straight to the horse's mouth and talked to Hudson himself, who told Ladson that "progress had been made." The interview also included this interesting passage from Hudson that cited two other teams in the hunt:

"I will sign soon enough. You can put it on the Internet and on TV. I'm going to sign. I can't say exactly when. It will not be long. I can't say if it's with the Nationals, San Diego or Cleveland. I can't say with whom. Something is getting done."

The Padres could be a longshot if, as MLB.com's Corey Brock tweeted earlier today, they've completed their winter shopping following the signing of Jon Garland. The Tribe also seem like unlikely suitors given Hudson's contract demands.

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