Padres Rumors

Odds And Ends: Tate, Draft, Tejada, Jays

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 12, 2009 at 4:19pm CDT

Some afternoon links…

Jason Jennings of 99.9 The Fan reports that Donavan Tate left the UNC football program and appears likely to sign with the Padres.
The Orioles expect to know within two days whether they'll sign second rounder Michal Givens, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.
The Mets expect to sign their top pick, Steven Matz, according to Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News. The lefty could command a seven figure bonus.
Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle says the Astros could bring Miguel Tejada back next year, though they haven't decided what they'll do.
MLB.com's Jordan Bastian reports that Jays manager Cito Gaston isn't sure he wants to manage after his contract expires at the end of next season.
Joe Posnanski says Alex Rios has the seventh worst contract in the game. Rob Neyer's take: Ricciardi has signed players to lousy contracts, but he may be the right guy in the wrong place at this point. My take: Posnanski's too hard on the deal.

Odds And Ends: Milledge, Tate, Royals

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 12, 2009 at 8:54am CDT

Links for the morning…

As much as Nyjer Morgan has helped the Nationals, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes that Lastings Milledge has been a complete pro so far with the Pirates.
MLB.com's Corey Brock hears that the Padres are "making progress" towards signing first rounder Donavan Tate.
MLB.com's Steve Gilbert reports that the D'Backs are making progress with first rounder Bobby Borchering.
Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star wonders how much the Royals would improve with a cast of strong fielders.
We heard on Sunday that Troy Percival was leaning towards retirement. Now, as MLB.com's Bill Chastain reports, Percival says he's done unless something "miraculous" happens.

Odds And Ends: O’s, Jays, Greene, Brewers

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 11, 2009 at 3:41pm CDT

More links on the 80th anniversary of Babe Ruth's 500th career homer:

Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun says the Orioles are well-positioned in case teams start shedding high-salaried corner infielders.
MLB.com's Jordan Bastian says the Jays called up Randy Ruiz. Why didn't Travis Snider get the call? His service time probably has something to do with it.
The Padres filed a grievance after they had to pay Khalil Greene to recover from a self-inflicted hand injury when he was on their roster last year. Now, Tom Krasovic reports that the two sides have come to an agreement, so there will be no grievance hearing.
Via Twitter, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the Brewers designated minor league righty Nick Green for assignment to make room for David Weathers.
Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports that the Royals claimed minor leaguer John Bannister from the Rangers and assigned him to AA.
Via Twitter, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says he doubts the Yankees will trade for Bronson Arroyo.

Rosenthal On Bell, Mets, Padilla, Braves

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 11, 2009 at 9:26am CDT

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears that the Dodgers were on the brink of acquiring Heath Bell before the July 31st trade deadline. The Padres will listen to offers for Bell and Adrian Gonzalez again after the season, but they're under less pressure to deal those players with Jake Peavy's contract off the books. Here are the rest of Rosenthal's rumors:

The Mets are not considering replacing Omar Minaya with assistant GM John Ricco right now, but we could see Ricco deal with the media more.
A pair of NL teams, possibly the Dodgers and Brewers, are "kicking the tires" on Vicente Padilla. Teams are more likely to wait for him to clear waivers than strike a deal now, however.
The Braves offered Casey Kotchman to the Pirates for Adam LaRoche before acquiring LaRoche from the Red Sox.
The Rays and Rangers have been claiming players off of waivers aggressively.
Rosenthal notes that the Rockies' revamped 'pen has pitched well so far.

Arangure Jr. On Chapman, Sano, Padres

By Eddie Schmid | August 10, 2009 at 7:01pm CDT

ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. has some good inside info on the international free agent market, as always. Let's scope out his latest:

Despite reports that the Padres had been interested in top talent Miguel Angel Sano, a Padres executive "assured" Arangure that the team would not be signing Sano. Investigation into Sano's age is ongoing.
Arangure believes that the recent acquisition of Alex Rios by the White Sox takes them out of the running for top Cuban pitching talent Aroldis Chapman. It had been rumored that the White Sox were one of the top suitors for Chapman, as the Sox already field Cuban stars like Jose Contreras and Alexei Ramirez.
The Padres are said to be scouting Edgar Ferreira, who Arangure says is the top Dominican amateur pitcher still unsigned. They'll watch him pitch tomorrow. Ben Badler at Baseball America ranked Ferreira the 11th overall best international free agent this season.

What To Expect Before The Signing Deadline

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 10, 2009 at 2:39pm CDT

ESPN.com's Keith Law reminds us that the Reds seemed unlikely to sign Yonder Alonso until hours before the deadline to sign draft picks last summer. It shouldn't be any different this year; here are the details:

We'll hear that teams aren't close to signing their picks, but that doesn't mean the two sides won't agree to last-minute deals.
Don't expect Stephen Strasburg, Dustin Ackley or Donavan Tate (all Scott Boras clients) to sign much before next Monday at midnight.
Law expects Strasburg to sign for about $18-20MM.
The commissioner's office will try to limit the number of over-slot signings, but teams can offer whatever they like, so MLB's efforts to hold teams to recommended bonuses may be quixotic in the end.

Eckstein Preferred To Stay In San Diego

By Steve Adams | August 9, 2009 at 4:07pm CDT

Corey Brock from MLB.com writes that David Eckstein told general manager Kevin Towers he'd prefer to remain in San Diego when the Twins called to ask about his availability, prior to the July 31 deadline.

According to Brock, Towers didn't want to move Eckstein but thought he owed Eckstein the chance to go to a team with some playoff hopes if he desired. Eckstein didn't:

"I want to be a guy who can help these young guys out. I don't think this club is as far off as some people think. They've got to learn how to play the game the right way, because next year, there's not going to be any excuses. These guys are starting to step up."

San Diego is in rebuild mode, with lots of young players such as Kyle Blanks, Chase Headley, and Eckstein's partner up the middle, Everth Cabrera, whom Eckstein enjoys playing with:

"Playing alongside a guy like Everth, that inspires you."

Eckstein signed a one-year deal with the Padres this offseason worth $850K, but Towers says that he'd like to talk with Eckstein about extending his contract before season's end.

Odds & Ends: Tate, Phillies, Pirates, Indians

By Mike Axisa | August 8, 2009 at 8:24pm CDT

Links? You can't handle the links!

ESPN's Jason Churchill notes that third overall pick Donovan Tate was expected to report to UNC's football camp today, and that the Padres are "mum on the negotiations between Tate's adviser, Scott Boras, and the club." If he doesn't sign, Tate will play both football and baseball for the Tar Heels.
Peter Gammons of ESPN writes about the Phillies and the rotation depth they've build this year. It seems like whenever we hear a team has pitching depth, it disappears. It's like the Madden cover curse, but crueler.
Pirates skipper John Russell admits that his club will "have to look to find a left-hander to solidify [the bullpen], either this season or in time for next season," reports John Perrotto of PiratesReport.com. The Bucs haven't had a southpaw in the pen since trading John Grabow to the Cubs at the deadline.
Terry Pluto of The Cleveland Plain Dealer writes that even though the Indians recent moves were driven by money, they still made sense for the organization.

Olney On Gonzalez, Draft, Strasburg

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 7, 2009 at 11:58am CDT

Two prominent baseball figures inched closer to retirement yesterday and ESPN.com's Buster Olney recognizes both of them. John Smoltz's fading repertoire brings him closer to retirement than ever and the faltering newspaper industry will push longtime Reds writer Hal McCoy to call it a career after the season. Here are Olney's rumors:

Olney hears that the Mariners came closer to obtaining Adrian Gonzalez than the Red Sox ever did.
Many teams are believed to have struck deals with their top picks. So why haven't we heard about them? Teams will announce over-slot deals at the last minute so it seems like they're respecting the commissioner's recommended bonuses.
Real doubts are beginning to emerge that the Nats will be able to sign Stephen Strasburg.

Odds And Ends: Wagner, Red Sox, Scherzer

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 7, 2009 at 9:48am CDT

An assortment of links to get the day started…

Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News hears that one AL contender has at least some interest in adding Billy Wagner for the stretch run. The lefty makes $10.5MM this year and has a $1MM buyout for 2010, so Wagner seems likely to clear waivers.
Rubin says the Mets won't likely offer Wagner or Carlos Delgado arbitration after the season.
As Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports, Max Scherzer uses some pretty advanced stats to judge his performances.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post hears that the Yanks and Padres almost completed the Chad Gaudin trade before the deadline. When Kenny Williams called about the Jake Peavy deal, Towers had to ignore Cashman, but the teams struck a deal in the end.
Danny Knobler of CBS Sports says one look at John Smoltz's face suggests he may be done.
Yahoo's Gordon Edes says Smoltz looked like a "pitcher turned pinata" last night.
Sam Donnellon of the Philadelphia Inquirer says Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. looks pretty smart right now.

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