Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Padres Rumors

D’Backs CEO Resigns, Will Attempt To Buy Padres

By | at

The Arizona Republic reports that Jeff Moorad has resigned from his post as CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks in an attempt to acquire the San Diego Padres with a "small but significant" group of investors. Moorad has reached an "agreement in principle" to buy the Padres.

Team president Derrick Hall was promoted to President and CEO in Arizona.  Padres fans will hope that Moorad and his group’s purchase of the team might put a halt to all of the cost-cutting. Current Padres owner John Moores is going through a pricey divorce that is seemingly dragging down the entire franchise.

Peavy To Cubs Unlikely

By | at

Yahoo’s Tim Brown asked Padres GM Kevin Towers whether the Cubs’ talks for Jake Peavy might reopen now that they’ve freed up cash.  Towers’ reply: "Doubtful."  To Tom Krasovic, Towers said, "The Cubs’ most recent trades have no bearing or connections with us and the Cubs in a potential Peavy deal."  Krasovic notes that one big factor for the Cubs remains getting approval from new ownership to add Peavy’s $16MM salary to the 2010 payroll.

Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times agrees that the team’s trade of Mark DeRosa "was made independent of Peavy considerations."  Brown says the $8MM or so the Cubs cleared from the ’09 payroll is to pay for Milton Bradley, their top right field target.  Bradley wants three years and $30MM and the Cubs will approach that.

Bruce Levine of ESPN Radio considers the Cubs signing Bradley a "done deal," though the Nationals were reported yesterday to have serious interest.  Wittenmyer says the Cubs still "appear confident" about signing Bradley.  It could be something they try to announce at the Cubs Convention, which begins January 16th.  Paul Sullivan says the Cubs have been Bradley’s "preferred choice since Day One of the offseason."

DeRosa Traded To Indians

By | at

12:44pm: Levine says the three minor league pitchers coming to Chicago for DeRosa are Jeff Stevens, Chris Archer, and John Gaub.  The move feels like a salary dump – of a player whose production was worth $19.4MM this year.

A note from Bruce Miles: the Cubs’ ownership situation will have to be settled before the Cubs are able to complete a Peavy trade.  Levine says the same in his post.

12:25pm: Levine and Buster Olney are saying it’s a done deal – DeRosa to the Tribe for three minor league pitchers.  The Cubs have trimmed roughly $9MM from the 2009 payroll with their recent moves.  Coming in: $3.5MM for Luis Vizcaino (plus another million sent in salary relief) and $2.2MM for Aaron Miles.  Going out: $5.5MM for DeRosa and $9.875MM for Jason Marquis.

11:27am: According to Bruce Levine of ESPN Radio, the Indians are getting close to a deal for Mark DeRosa that would send two or three young pitchers to the Cubs.  At least, that statement was attributed to him in the station’s recent SportsCenter update.  Levine recently scooped the Cubs’ signing of Aaron Miles.

In his blog, Levine suggests a DeRosa match with Cleveland but does not say a deal is close.  Levine considers the Cubs’ Milton Bradley signing "a done deal" and says they’ve back in the mix for Jake Peavy.  Jon Heyman says Bradley seeks a three-year deal.

Red Sox Reach Deals With Bard, Penny

By | at

9:59pm: Ian Browne of MLB.com weighs in on Bard. He discusses the catching situation, and in particular, how the Red Sox will use Bard if free-agent Jason Varitek returns to the franchise.

SI.com points out Penny’s Interleague numbers: 7-11 with a 5.08 ERA in 24 appearances against American League opponents. Penny has spent his entire career in the National League.

8:41pm: Rob Bradford of WEEI.com spoke with Brad Penny, who confirmed his deal with the Boston Red Sox.

From Bradford:

“There were a lot of teams involved,” said Penny in a phone conversation. “But I wanted to go somewhere where I knew we had a great chance at winning, and Boston is that place.”

Bradford adds that Penny will be in Boston on Jan. 7 to take his physical and will begin his throwing program next week.

Bradford also updates the status of Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett, who has started exercises on his throwing shoulder, which is earlier than in years past. Bradford’s post states that the injury that plagued Beckett at the end of the 2008 season has subsided. The injury centered around the intercostal muscles near the ribs and not the oblique as previously thought.

7:33pm: Free-agent catcher Josh Bard has reached a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox, Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald and Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe are reporting.

The Bard agreement is a nonguaranteed major-league deal worth $1.6MM. According to McAdam, Bard is viewed as a backup, but he could see more time depending upon what Boston decides to do at catcher.

Bard, 31 in March, spent seven games with the Red Sox in 2006 before Boston traded him to the Padres. He hit .202 in 57 games with San Diego in 2008.

McAdam has more on the Brad Penny deal, too. The agreement, a one-year deal with a base salary of $5MM, will be finalized Monday. Incentives and performance bonuses can increase the total deal another $3MM if Penny pitches more than 160 innings, McAdam reports.

Penny, 31 in May, went 6-9 with a 6.27 ERA in 17 starts and two relief appearances in 2008 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The right-hander played 4.5 seasons for the Dodgers. He played with the Florida Marlins from 2000 until he was traded in 2004.

With the addition of Penny, the Boston rotation now consists of Penny, Josh Beckett, Tim Wakefield, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jon Lester.

The move also allows righty Justin Masterson to remain in a setup role for closer Jonathan Papelbon.

Peavy Trade Not Probable, But Padres Listening

By | at

Former Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy is likely to remain a San Diego Padre, this despite numerous trade rumors during the offseason, Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Krasovic wrote that Padres general manager Kevin Towers will continue to listen to offers, though. A potential deal with the Chicago Cubs has fallen through, Krasovic added.

Odds And Ends: Otsuka, Orioles, Johnson

By | at

I’ll keep this updated as more comes in, but for now these are your Saturday links…

  • Patrick Newman found that Akinori Otsuka will work out in front of reps from all MLB teams next month. Apparently Padres GM Kevin Towers is interested if Otsuka’s healthy.
  • Roch Kubatko knows there’s pitching talent coming from the minors, but he doesn’t love the current Orioles rotation and expects them to add two more starters.
  • The difference between 69 and 72 in 2009 wins isn’t worth much to the Orioles, Peter Schmuck writes.
  • The Red Sox move on after missing out on Mark Teixeira.
  • Eric Wedge doesn’t seem bothered by the Yankees’ big acquisitions.
  • Vernon Wells knows how hard it will be to compete now that former-teammate A.J. Burnett’s in pinstripes along with a couple other big names.
  • Keith Law says the Randy Johnson signing moves the Giants "toward 2009 respectability, if not outright contention."
  • Vlae Kershner doesn’t like the possibility of Garret Anderson on the A’s.
  • Bleed Cubbie Blue argues that Adam Dunn’s patience-power combination would work well for the Cubs. Last week Dunn said he thinks so too.
  • Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi revealed his favorite meal and dream date in a Q&A with the Sporting News.

Odds & Ends: Lowe, Penny, Padres, Red Sox

By | at

A couple of links from around the baseball world on a slow Christmas Eve…

Padres Sign Luis Rodriguez, Oneli Perez

By | at

The Padres made a few more cost-effective moves Wednesday.  Corey Brock of MLB.com breaks it down:

  • San Diego signed right-handed pitcher Oneli Perez to a minor league deal. Perez, 25, hasn’t thrown a pitch in the majors, but sports a 2.72 ERA in 185 minor league appearances.  There’s an outside chance he could pitch his way into the Padres’ bullpen this spring.
  • The Padres avoided arbitration with switch-hitting infielder Luis Rodriguez, signing him to a one-year deal.  He hit .287 in 64 games last season while Khalil Greene was sidelined with a broken bone in his left hand.  Rodriguez, 28, is likely to open 2009 as the Padres’ starting shortstop.  Greene, you’ll remember, was dealt to the Cardinals in early December.

Correia, Padres Reach Minor-League Deal

By | at

Kevin Correia will compete for a starting job with the San Diego Padres, Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes.

Correia, a righty, was previously with the San Francisco Giants. He agreed to terms on a minor-league contact with an invitation to spring training. If he makes the 25-man roster, Correia could earn $750,000, according to his agent. Krasovic notes that Correia is from San Diego.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Bradley, Burrell, Dunn

By | at

Ken Rosenthal filed a new column earlier today.

  • The Angels are lukewarm on Manny Ramirez, and for now are talking about filling their lineup with internal candidates.
  • Kevin Towers says that if the Jake Peavy sweepstakes heats back up, "nobody is going to know it."  Rosenthal discusses the chances of the Angels or Cubs.
  • Mark Teixeira is "almost certain" to get an escape clause in his deal.
  • The Cubs are confident about signing Milton Bradley, but the Rays, Yankees, and Nationals are interested too.
  • Rosenthal looks at possibilities for Pat Burrell, discussing the Rays, Mariners, Rangers, and Reds.
  • The Brewers expressed interest in Adam Dunn as they were mulling a Mike Cameron trade (Corey Hart would’ve played center).
  • Bobby Abreu "remains in touch with the Yankees."  Surprisingly to hear, as the two sides reportedly had not spoken for quite a while.
  • The Rangers would like to move some salary, with Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, and Hank Blalock the candidates.
  • The Royals like Jerry Hairston Jr., but don’t have the money to sign him.
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top