Padres Rumors

Odds & Ends: Holliday, Kearns, Pirates, Padres

By Mike Axisa | July 17, 2009 at 8:05pm CDT

A few more Friday night links…

AOL Fanhouse's Jeff Fletcher tweets that the Braves are "not involved with the A's on Matt Holliday."
Bill Ladson of MLB.com mentions that there doesn't seem to be any takers for Austin Kearns, who has gotten just 17 plate appearances in the team's last 22 games.
Pirates GM Neal Huntington says that the contract extension talks with Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez need "to be resolved quickly, one way or the other," according to Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tibune-Review.
Andy Marks of The Star Banner notes that the Padres aren't close to signing fourth rounder Keyvius Sampson, who was a borderline first round talent in last month's amateur draft.
ESPN's Keith Law wrote about some players we'll see on Thursday's Cape Cod League All Star Game. The Cape is the nation's premier amateur summer league, and features some of the very best players available in next year's draft.

Odds & Ends: Escobar, Peavy, Mets, Cardinals

By Mike Axisa | July 16, 2009 at 9:18pm CDT

A gaggle of links for your Thursday evening reading pleasure…

In response to someone mentioning the Yunel Escobar–Matt Holliday rumors, MLB.com's Mark Bowman says "There is zero truth to those Escobar rumors. The Braves have NO and I repeat no intention to move him. Believe me, if they move him, it will simply be a deal that they simply can't refuse and that wouldn't include anything involving Holliday."
Tom Krasovic notes that Jake Peavy is out of his walking boot, and is ready to begin "ramping it up."
David Lennon of Newsday says that earlier today Mets GM Omar Minaya twice mentioned "that he talked with five or six teams today."
Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says that the Cardinals may search for starting pitching if Todd Wellemeyer doesn't show more consistency over his next 2-3 starts.
Scott Lauber of The News Journal notes that the Phillies promoted one of their best prospects, outfielder Michael Taylor, to Triple-A. He speculates that Taylor may best serve the club as trade bait, considering all three of their regular outfielders were All Stars.
When asked who the best prospect was if matched up head to head, Baseball America's Jim Callis said he'd go with Bryce Harper over Justin Upton, citing Harper's advantage in power.
MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports that the Reds gave Venezuelan shortstop Humberto Valor a $690k bonus. Valor signed with Cincinnati earlier this month.
David Villavicencio of MLB.com mentions that the Marlins have signed eight of their first ten draft picks. First rounder Chad James remains unsigned, however.

Towers Speaks About Possible Moves

By Mike Axisa | July 16, 2009 at 6:10pm CDT

Padres GM Kevin Towers spoke with Darren Smith of 1090 XX Sports Radio earlier today, touching on a variety of Padre related topics. You can download and listen to the interview by clicking here, but here's a roundup of the rumors…

Towers said he expects to get calls from contending teams about his "experienced players," mentioning David Eckstein, Brian Giles, Henry Blanco, Kevin Correia, Chad Gaudin, Cla Meredith and Mike Adams by name.
He also said it's doubtful that the team would take on salary in a deadline deal, but they might be able to during the offseason.
Depending on how he comes back from injury, there may be interest in Giles. Towers said it's doubtful anything happens before the deadline, but a waiver trade could be made in August. Giles, of course, has a full no-trade clause.
When asked why he wouldn't trade Adrian Gonzalez or Heath Bell before the deadline to bring back as much talent as possible, Towers said "it's not to say we won't." He then mentions that they first need to determine what young players they're committed to keeping here and what they need to bring in from outside the organization, but if someone approaches them about one of those guys "they need to listen."

Should The Pads Listen To Offers For Gonzalez?

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 15, 2009 at 12:19pm CDT

Adrian Gonzalez is not on the block. The Padres aren't contenders, but they want to keep their All-Star first baseman and they have many reasons to hold onto Gonzalez:

He's their best hitter, with 24 homers and a massive walk total (67).
He adds value on defense, according to FanGraphs.
He's just 27, playing in his prime.
They only have to pay him $3MM this year, $4.75MM next year and $5.6MM the year after that.
They let Trevor Hoffman walk and publicly tried to deal Jake Peavy, so their fans need to see the team commit to one of its stars.

But some of those same points would make Gonzalez incredibly appealing to other clubs. Here are some reasons the Padres could consider dealing him:

Their team isn't about to win now, or in the near future.
Gonzalez could command a Mark Teixeira-esque haul.
His slugging percentage is 115 points higher on the road this year.
He hinted that he'd like to play for a winner.

So what are your thoughts? Should the Padres entertain offers for their best player?

Odds And Ends: Chapman, Werth, Marlins

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 15, 2009 at 10:37am CDT

Odds And Ends: Holliday, Yabu, Bay, Latos

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 14, 2009 at 10:14am CDT

Some links to look through on the morning of the Midsummer Classic…

This week's chat will take place today at 2pm CST.
MLB.com's Mychael Urban keeps hearing about a possible deal that would send Matt Holliday, Orlando Cabrera and salary relief to the Braves for Yunel Escobar and prospects.
The Giants released Keiichi Yabu yesterday, according to the Kyodo News. He had been pitching in Triple A.
Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post says Albert Pujols belongs with the elite players in baseball history.
John Tomase of the Boston Herald says the Red Sox still aren't talking with Jason Bay about an extension, but there are indications they may revisit his contract before the end of the season.
It looks like the Padres will promote their top pitching prospect, Mat Latos, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock.
In the second part of my Q&A with NESN.com, I discuss Pedro Martinez, Clay Buchholz and the Mets.

Odds And Ends: Nats, Bruce, Padres, Halladay

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 13, 2009 at 11:24am CDT

Congrats to All-Star Game starters Roy Halladay and Tim Lincecum. What a matchup. Here are some more links to look through…

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Nationals "will remain an embarrassment" unless they give Mike Rizzo and Stan Kasten more power.
Jay Bruce will miss 6-8 weeks, according to Brian Kollars of the Dayton Daily News, but the young outfielder didn't suffer any ligament or tendon damage in his right wrist.
One talent evaluator told Tom Krasovic that it will be five years before the Padres are good again, so Krasovic creates a blueprint for the team.
Some of his suggestions: Make the most of every dollar, go after high upside pitching, find out how much Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell would bring in a trade.
WEEI.com's Alex Speier reports that Roy Halladay does not have a list of teams he would accept trades to. Last week Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal reported that Halladay had such a list, but it is not the case.

PTBNL In Scott Hairston Deal: Sean Gallagher

By Tim Dierkes | July 13, 2009 at 2:48am CDT

Sean Gallagher is headed to the Padres as part of the Scott Hairston deal, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Gallagher was the player to be named later, eight days after we learned the Padres acquired pitchers Ryan Webb and Craig Italiano for Hairston.

A year ago, Gallagher was regarded as the centerpiece of the package the Cubs sent to Oakland for Rich Harden. However, Gallagher's stock dropped shortly thereafter when a shoulder injury surfaced. He still has upside.

Odds And Ends: Rolen, Gonzalez, Buchholz

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 12, 2009 at 8:47pm CDT

Time for more links as we wrap up the weekend after a rain-shortened Futures Game. Well really a rain-prolonged Futures Game, but here are the links either way…

As Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com points out, there was a time when GMs made a point of attending All-Star Games. This week, many will spend time with their families and message one another from a distance.
Blue Jays Assistant GM Alex Anthopoulos says the Jays plan on keeping Scott Rolen around through the end of next season, when his contract's up, according to MLB.com's Brian Eller.
Yahoo's Tim Brown reports that Adrian Gonzalez will continue to be a Padres fan whether he plays in San Diego or not. Gonzalez seems to have confidence in the team's new CEO, Jeff Moorad.
Clay Buchholz told WEEI.com's Alex Katz that he'll focus on process, not results when he pitches for the Red Sox in Toronto after the break.

Padres Sign Russ Adams

By Mike Axisa | July 10, 2009 at 7:01pm CDT

MLB.com's Corey Brock tweets that the Padres have signed Russ Adams to a minor league deal. The Blue Jays designated the former first round pick for assignment last week. Adams has been assigned to Triple-A Portland.

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