Padres Rumors

Padres Avoid Arbitration With Heath Bell

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 16, 2010 at 12:38pm CDT

The Padres have officially avoided arbitration with their closer, agreeing to terms on a $4MM salary with Heath Bell, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock. It's a substantial raise over the $1.255 salary Bell made last year, but the righty had an All-Star season.

Brock tweets that the Padres don't have plans to offer Bell or Kevin Kouzmanoff multi-year deals. Both players could be trade bait this summer.

Odds & Ends: Draft, Kouzmanoff, Lincecum, Street

By Mike Axisa | January 16, 2010 at 12:22pm CDT

A few Saturday links…

Via Twitter, Bob Elliott of The Toronto Sun spoke to a scouting director who indicated that a committee was forming to work on instituting a world-wide draft and slotting system. "This time it has a chance," said the scouting director.
Athletics Nation gives A's fans four reasons why they should approve of the Kevin Kouzmanoff–Scott Hairston swap.
MLB.com's Doug Miller says that whispers of a $20MM arbitration award for Tim Lincecum have "echoed loudly throughout baseball." Obviously, that would be an unprecedented award and break every arbitration record known to man, but it would also make Lincecum the third highest paid pitcher in baseball next season, behind C.C. Sabathia and Johan Santana.
In a mailbag piece at MLB.com, Thomas Harding says that Huston Street could be a trade candidate if the Rockies drop out of the race and are unable to sign him to an extension. Colorado offered Street a three-year deal earlier this offseason.
The 30-day exclusive negotiating window between the Hicks Sports Group and the Chuck Greenberg/Nolan Ryan group expired yesterday without the Rangers being sold. Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball has the joint statement released by the two parties, which indicates that they are on the verge of an agreement.
Tommy Rancel at DRays Bay estimates some arbitration values for Tampa's four remaining arb-eligible players.

Odds & Ends: Hairston, Brewers, Reds, Salazar

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 15, 2010 at 9:31pm CDT

Some links for Friday…

In an interview with 619 Sports out of San Diego, Scott Hairston said he found out he got traded back to the Padres by reading MLBTR. Cool!
The Brewers will wait until next month before they consider making an offer to Mark Mulder, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer runs down the Reds' arbitration history.
The Orioles have signed outfielder Jeff Salazar to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training, reports Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun.
The Brewers are still in touch with Mark Mulder and Doug Davis, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The Yankees offered Jesus Montero straight up for Roy Halladay, according to Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star (Hat Tip: River Ave. Blues).
The Rockies watched Derrick Turnbow throw today, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
The Nationals are still in the mix to sign Orlando Hudson, who hopes to sign soon (MLB.com's Bill Ladson reporting).
Pete Caldera of NorthJersey.com hears of some mutual interest between the Yankees and Rocco Baldelli.
The Rangers avoided arbitration with Brandon McCarthy, agreeing to a $1.32MM deal for 2010, according to Anthony Andro of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Rangers GM Jon Daniels tells Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas that he'd like to add a catcher, but he's not about to rush. "We have some time," the GM said.
Ryan Theriot tells Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune that he'd like the Cubs to sign Ben Sheets.
The Mets signed Jolbert Cabrera to a minor league deal, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse (via Twitter).
Writing for FanGraphs, Patrick Newman explains what the Rangers can expect from new signing Colby Lewis.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweeted last night that the Mets contacted Jerry Hairston Jr..
ESPN.com's Buster Olney says some people within the Mets organization believe Omar Minaya will be fired the first time his club slumps badly.
Olney also notes that Adam LaRoche will be up against a crop of free agent first basemen that could include Carlos Pena, Lance Berkman and Derrek Lee after the season.
Troy Renck of the Denver Post says the Giants, Padres, Rangers and Mariners have all called about Yorvit Torrealba.
The Pirates aren't close to agreeing to terms with Zach Duke on his 2010 salary, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Duke made $2.2MM last year in his first season as an arbitration-eligible player.
The Cardinals will watch Derrick Turnbow throw today, according to Rob Rains of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
The Cards signed knuckleballer Charlie Zink to a minor league deal, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com. After eight years in the Red Sox organization, the 30-year-old will try to break camp with St. Louis.
Bill James tells Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe that he's curious to see how much better the Red Sox are on defense this season.

Five Teams Pursuing Jose Contreras

By Tim Dierkes | January 14, 2010 at 2:04pm CDT

At least five teams - the Cubs, Cardinals, Rockies, Phillies, and Padres - are named as suitors for free agent righty Jose Contreras in a tweet from Newsday's Ken Davidoff.

Perhaps Contreras' stuff will play up in the NL. The 38-year-old posted a 7.2 K/9, 3.6 BB/9, and 4.92 ERA in 131.6 innings for the White Sox and Rockies last year. He whiffed a batter per inning in his Rockies stint, though we shouldn't read into 17 innings. Contreras averaged 92 mph on his fastball last year, so it appears something is left in the tank. Swingman candidate D.J. Carrasco just got a $950K minor league deal with the Pirates; maybe Contreras will sign a similar deal.

Padres, Cubs Eyeing Jermaine Dye

By Tim Dierkes | January 14, 2010 at 8:06am CDT

THURSDAY, 8:06am: MLB.com's Corey Brock has a source saying a Dye deal is "low on likelihood" for the Padres. More likely would be Randy Winn or Jerry Hairston Jr., to whom the Padres have made offers. Another mild possibility for Dye is the Cubs. The Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan says they're looking at him for a platoon/backup/DH role.

WEDNESDAY, 11:02am: The Padres are showing interest in free agent outfielder Jermaine Dye, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. However, Morosi believes the Padres would have to trade a veteran to be able to afford him. He names Heath Bell and Kevin Kouzmanoff as trade candidates.

Dye isn't a great fit for a National League club, given his outfield defense. And he's not the type of free agent you make other moves to accomodate. Given the limited interest, I can't see him getting much more than $3MM.

Odds & Ends: Marlins, Chapman, Royals, Padres

By Tim Dierkes | January 12, 2010 at 3:58pm CDT

Links for Tuesday…

Talking to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, Rays manager Joe Maddon indicated he'd like to bring in additional players to compete at second base and in the bullpen.
Derek Lowe told David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the Braves' failed attempt to trade him is now an "absolute non-issue."
According to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald, MLB and the players' union expressed concern that the Marlins "have not been spending proceeds from revenue sharing on payroll as required in the Basic Agreement." Look for a slight payroll increase in 2010, and a much bigger one in 2012 when the new ballpark opens.
John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer passes along Aroldis Chapman contract details from the AP. There are scenarios where Chapman can choose to go to arbitration if he's eligible after the 2012 or 2013 seasons. Meanwhile, MLB.com's Mark Sheldon chronicles the Reds' involvement on Chapman dating back to March.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that the Mariners have thought about Jonny Gomes this winter, though he's no longer a great fit.
MLB.com's Corey Brock tweets/passes along an XX 1090 appearance by Padres GM Jed Hoyer. Hoyer said he has offers out to three free agents.
MLB.com's Adam McCalvy says Mark Mulder's sit-down with the Brewers is scheduled for Thursday. A minor league agreement is possible.
Jack Moore of FanGraphs says Aubrey Huff is not an upgrade for the Giants.

Padres Have $5-8MM Left To Spend

By Mike Axisa | January 9, 2010 at 11:43am CDT

A source has indicated that the Padres have about $5-8MM left to spend this offseason, according to Dan Hayes of The North County Times. The team is expected to enter 2010 with a payroll around $40MM.

"There's no question there's good value out there," said (GM Jed) Hoyer, who declined to comment on which players the Padres have targeted. "Certainly we have money to spend. We're going to spread it around to some of our needs. There's a lot of good players."

Hayes says the club's biggest needs are a veteran pitcher, a righty hitting outfielder, a utility player, and a veteran catcher. We've already seen them connected to Mike Redmond, Ramon Castro, Brad Ausmus, Jerry Hairston Jr., Randy Winn, and Reed Johnson, while Hayes throws Josh Fogg's name into the mix.

Odds & Ends: Padres, Greene, Dye, Giants

By Mike Axisa | January 8, 2010 at 9:26pm CDT

Here are some links to close out the week…

The Padres are one of several teams to request Noah Lowry's medical records, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock. In a tweet, Brock notes that the team isn't likely to bring Khalil Greene back, and instead will likely wait for an out-of-options player in Spring Training.
Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News tweets that Rangers are "still pushing" on Jermaine Dye, and team officials met with him last week.
Grant at McCovey Chronicles ranks the ten biggest "future free agent mistakes" for Giants' fans.
Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel mentions that Brewers' GM Doug Melvin and his staff are traveling to Phoenix next week to meet with Mark Mulder and decide if it makes sense to offer him a minor league deal with incentives. Haudricourt previously said we should "expect a signing," and earlier this week we learned that Milwaukee may not have enough payroll room left to add another starter.
MLB.com's Brian McTaggart looks at the Astros' rotation now that Brett Myers is on board.
Meanwhile, Alyson Footer of MLB.com tweets that Houston officially announced their deal with Josh Banks, and has renewed the contracts of pre-arbitration eligible players J.R. Towles and Chris Johnson.
Steve Gilbert of MLB.com has some more details on Bobby Howry's contract with Arizona. Howry can void the $3MM club option for 2011 if he's traded during the upcoming season.
Tigers' GM Dave Dombrowski said his team "did not really pursue" Scott Podsednik, according to MLB.com's Jason Beck. Scotty Pods had been connected to Detroit earlier this offseason.

Five Teams Interested In Jerry Hairston Jr.

By Mike Axisa | January 8, 2010 at 8:24pm CDT

Five teams have expressed interest in free agent utility man Jerry Hairston Jr., according to Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com (via Twitter). Among the interested teams are the Padres, A's (who employ his brother Scott), and the Yankees, with whom he won a World Series ring in 2009.

Rosenthal adds that Hairston would likely receive a $2-3MM salary on a one-year deal, however he's also received multi-year offers. The 34-year-old is a career .259/.328/.373 hitter, and is capable of playing pretty much anywhere on the field except pitcher and catcher.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Bay, Holliday, Front Offices

By Mike Axisa | January 8, 2010 at 5:24pm CDT

On this date nine years ago, the A's, Royals, and Devil Rays pulled off a three-team trade that included seven big leaguers. Oakland acquired Johnny Damon, Mark Ellis, and the late Cory Lidle while Kansas City received Angel Berroa, A.J. Hinch, and Roberto Hernandez. Tampa Bay picked up just Ben Grieve. Even though Berroa went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award in 2003, Billy Beane's club walked away as the clear winner of this blockbuster.

Let's take a look at what's being written around the baseball blogosphere as Spring Training inches closer…

Fenway Nation thinks the Red Sox made a mistake by not re-signing Jason Bay, and wants to see the club atone for it by trading for Adrian Gonzalez.
Simon On Sports interviewed a blogger from each team about their squad's offseason.
At Home Plate says the Cardinals overpaid for Matt Holliday not because he isn't worth the money, but because no one else was bidding for his services.
Athletics Nation graded the front offices of the last decade.
U.S.S. Mariner calls Franklin Gutierrez's contract extension a major bargain, and notes it's similarities to the deal Mike Cameron signed with Seattle a decade ago.
DRays Bay wonders if the Rays could use Alfredo Amezaga.
Phillies Nation takes a look at some of the cheaper free agent pitching options that could entice the two-time defending NL Champs.
Twins Overlook examines the progression of Delmon Young since arriving in Minnesota.
River Ave. Blues ranked the $100MM contracts given to position players.
More Hardball has some New Year's resolutions for various people and teams in the game.

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

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