Padres Rumors

Odds & Ends: Brewers, Marlins, Red Sox, Calero

By Zachary Links | April 4, 2010 at 10:49pm CDT

Sunday night links..

While other clubs did some last minute tinkering today, Brewers GM Doug Melvin decided to stand pat with his lineup, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
For the first time in three years, the Marlins won't have the lowest payroll in baseball on Opening Day, writes Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. Florida's payroll of $46MM ranks ahead of the Padres and Pirates.
Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com (via Twitter) didn't expect Scott Schoeneweis to make the BoSox roster after being released by the Brewers. Edes adds that he expects Alan Embree to make his way to the big league squad after he puts in more work in the minors.
The Mets have demoted reliever Kiko Calero to their Triple-A affiliate, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter). Calero's deal – which he signed in early March – does not allow Calero to opt-out upon being assigned to the minors.
Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun write that O's outfielder Nolan Reimold took ground balls at first base yesterday. Orioles GM Andy MacPhail told the Sun not to read too much into it, as they were only seeking to increase the 26-year-old's versatility. However, an item on ESPN's rumor page wonders aloud if the fielding practice could be about the club's future plans at the position without Luke Scott and Garrett Atkins.
A major league insider told Jordan Bastian of MLB.com that the extension given to Adam Lind is a good deal for both parties. The Blue Jays signed Lind to a four-year, $18MM pact yesterday morning.
Ken Gurnick of MLB.com points out that Carlos Monasterios is just the fourth Rule 5 draftee to make a Dodgers Opening Day roster.

Third Team Pursuing Rafael DePaula

By Mike Axisa | April 4, 2010 at 12:08pm CDT

A third team has joined the Yankees and Mariners in pursuit of 17-year-old Dominican righty Rafael DePaula according to MLBTR contributor Blake Bentley. He reports that DePaula is scheduled to pitch in front of Padres' scouts and senior executives next week.

DePaula worked in the 92-93 mph range during a workout a few weeks ago, and reportedly has an offer from the Mariners in hand. Standing 6-foot-3, he is considered the equivalent of a first round draft pick and is in line for a seven-figure deal.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Hendry, Lugo, Towers

By Mike Axisa | April 2, 2010 at 10:00am CDT

On this day back in 2003, the Tigers became the first team in baseball history to have four pitchers make their Major League debut in the same game. The starter was 20-year-old Jeremy Bonderman, who gave way to 22-year-old Wil Ledezma, 25-year-old Chris Spurling, and 23-year-old Matt Roney before "veteran" closer Matt Anderson entered the game. Anderson was just 25-years-old at the time, but the first overall pick of the 1997 draft already had 210 big league appearances to his name.

The Tigers went on the finish the season 43-119, and were rewarded by selecting Justin Verlander with the second overall pick the following season. Here's this week's set of links from around the web…

A Cubbies Consilience throws some kudos Jim Hendry's way for his offseason.
Camden Crazies calls the O's trade for Julio Lugo an okay one.
The Kept Faith finds some players Kevin Towers passed on while he was the Padres' GM.
1 Blue Jays Way remembers Roy Halladay's time in Toronto.
Meanwhile, Around The BasePath looks at some expectations for Halladay's first year in Philadelphia.
Drunk Jays Fans wonders why Lyle Overbay was named the team's every day first baseman when he can't hit lefties.
Lookout Landing compares Eric Byrnes and Ryan Langerhans with regards to the Mariners' spare outfielder's job.
Bronx Bombers Beat examines the Yankees' plan for Phil Hughes.
More Hardball lists the players who will begin the season on the disabled list.
Capitol Avenue Club rounds out the Braves' roster.
Crashburn Alley looks at the Phillies' winners and losers from Spring Training.

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

Odds & Ends: Paxton, Darvish, D’Backs

By Tim Dierkes | April 1, 2010 at 1:57pm CDT

Links for Thursday…

Rays infielder Elliot Johnson is the latest out of options player to hit the waiver wire, reports Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
Lefty James Paxton signed with the American Association's Grand Prairie AirHogs in advance of re-entering the draft, reports Baseball America's J.J. Cooper. Cooper says the AirHogs' schedule should allow for three weeks of playing time for Paxton before the draft. The Blue Jays drafted the Scott Boras client 37th overall as an A.J. Burnett compensation pick, but were not able to sign him. Paxton was involved in some drama with the NCAA and eventually decided to withdraw from the University of Kentucky.
Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a clarification from Yu Darvish, who says his recent comments did not refer to moving to MLB.
Forced to make a pick, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports takes the White Sox as his World Series champions.
Rosenthal says that with Brandon Webb's return date uncertain, the Diamondbacks are trying to trade for a starter.
Aaron Gleeman suggests the Twins' new stat guy might have a hard time having his voice heard.
WEEI's Alex Speier notes that a Josh Beckett extension would give the Red Sox four pitchers with contracts of at least four years, more than any other team. Still, Jon Lester's contract is quite team-friendly.
The Red Sox are positioned as long-term contenders, writes Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe.
Baseball Prospectus' Jeff Euston looks at the concept of contract renewals for zero-to-three players. Tom Tango responds, saying "the inequity in the front-end helps to drive the salaries on the back-end in free agency."
Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press feels that Ben Revere would be the most expendable Twins' prospect if they are to go after Padres closer Heath Bell.
Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets that the Brewers released outfielder Tike Redman.

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.

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