Chris Britton Won’t Make Padres
According to MLB.com’s Corey Brock, reliever Chris Britton has been told he won’t make the Padres. He’s in camp on a minor league deal. Brock says the Padres are talking to Britton’s agent about whether he’ll head to Triple A or be allowed to talk to other teams. The Padres crave hard-throwing bullpen arms, and Britton fits their previous mold of soft-tossers with good control.
Padres Sign Duaner Sanchez
Corey Brock of MLB.com reports that the Padres have signed Duaner Sanchez to a minor league deal.
Sanchez, 29, was released by the Mets on March 10, a move that saved them roughly $1.4MM of Sanchez’s $1.6875MM contract. He has a career record of 18-10 with a 3.91 ERA, but his fastball velocity has dropped off from the mid-90s to 87mph right now.
Sanchez maintains that he can still throw hard when needed:
"I know I have it," Sanchez told the New York Times on Monday of his velocity. "I’ve got no problem with that. I just don’t want to come out of the chute throwing hard. That’s not me. I want to make sure that when I reach back, I know I have it there."
Beimel Close To Choosing An Offer
3:44pm: Corey Brock of MLB.com spoke Saturday with Padres GM Kevin Towers, who said plainly that the Friars "are not in the mix" for Beimel. Brock surmises that it’s all "about money."
1:25pm: MLB.com’s Ed Eagle adds the Rockies to the mix of interested teams.
11:15am: According to Buster Olney of ESPN.com Joe Beimel is close to choosing between offers. Oakland and San Diego are apparently in the running for the lefty reliever. The Dodgers were still interested a week ago.
Dennys Reyes, who held lefties to a lower average than Beimel last year, signed a two-year deal worth $3MM with the Cardinals that will likely be comparable to the deal Beimel eventually gets.
Padres Ink Chris Snelling
According to MLB.com’s Corey Brock, the Padres have agreed to terms with outfielder Chris Snelling on a minor league contract.
Snelling will take a physical then head to Padres camp in Arizona. The 27-year-old Australian has been plagued by injuries for much of his career. He managed just four at-bats with the Phillies last season, but hit .385 with two homers for Team Australia in the first round of the World Baseball Classic.
Padres Hoping For Will Ohman?
What’s up with free agent lefty Will Ohman? According to Dan Hayes of the North County Times, the Padres are hoping Ohman drops down to the $1MM range. You may recall that the Cardinals recently signed Dennys Reyes for $3MM over two years. The Padres see Ohman as more than a lefty specialist though.
At any rate, Padres GM Kevin Towers told Hayes, "There could be new faces coming in over the next couple of weeks."
Odds & Ends: Manny, Papelbon, Pudge, Peavy
Links for Thursday…
- The Nationals remain interested in Duaner Sanchez, says Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post.
- Yahoo’s Jeff Passan talked to Mark Prior.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post heard Manny Ramirez and Scott Boras consider the contract with the Dodgers a one-year deal with a safety net. Sherman wonders if the Yankees and/or Mets could get involved depending on how Manny’s 2009 season plays out.
- Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon commented about Manny to Chris Jones in the April issue of Esquire. It’s a good article and there’s a lot more to it than the Manny comments.
- Free agent catcher Ivan Rodriguez is working out at first base, according to Will Gonzalez of MLB.com.
- The Padres have the third pick in the June draft. Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune asks whether they’ll finally take a player with big upside.
- Jake Peavy‘s agent Barry Axelrod seems to be writing off the Padres, in comments to Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune: "It’s tough with the Padres’ situation. They are not very good and it looks like it is going to be another long year for them."
- Marlins shortstop Robert Andino is out of options, so Mike Phillips of the Miami Herald says this is his audition.
- ESPN’s Buster Olney says Mark Mulder‘s audition is drawing closer and he’s throwing well. Olney also says Luis Gonzalez is waiting by the phone. For a look at the other remaining free agents, click here.
Odds & Ends: Strasburg, Pedro, A’s, Padres
Links for Wednesday…
- Orioles president Andy MacPhail doesn’t seem interested, but Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun quizzed various players on the team about the possibility of signing Pedro Martinez.
- MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone says Pedro was hitting 92 yesterday and his fastball had the old-school tail on it.
- The AP reports that MLB is investigating the ages of 42 Dominican prospects.
- RotoAuthority names 20 undervalued hitters for 2009 fantasy drafts.
- Nationals acting GM Mike Rizzo spoke highly of Stephen Strasburg, talking to Ben Goessling of the Washington Times.
- ESPN’s Buster Olney learned that the A’s are open-minded to Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, and/or Vin Mazzaro cracking the Opening Day rotation. Jerry Crasnick has more on Oakland’s next Big Three.
- Olney also says the Padres will be "scouring the earth for pitching" over the next few weeks. This jives with Tom Krasovic’s recent article.
Padres Looking For Pitching
Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes about the Padres’ intention to add pitching to the organization. He learned that the Nationals inquired about Padres first base prospect Kyle Blanks, but were not willing to trade their own top prospect Jordan Zimmermann. Would’ve been interesting to see.
Krasovic says the Padres are focused on out of options pitchers, and in particular inquired on Arizona’s Juan Gutierrez. Krasovic tosses out names of other out of options hurlers on the D’Backs and Angels: Jason Bulger, Shane Loux, Dustin Moseley, Yusmeiro Petit, and Travis Blackley. Two more possibilities: Giants Rule 5 pick Luis Perdomo and Rangers veteran Jason Jennings. I don’t know whether the Padres are interested, but a few more out of options pitchers include David Pauley, Hayden Penn, Dustin Nippert, Jeff Niemann, and Jason Hammel.
According to Krasovic, GM Kevin Towers is focused exclusively on pitching this month. Krasovic adds:
Some Padres evaluators have become dismayed, according to other clubs, by a perceived dearth of power arms high in the organization and are wondering if the club’s four-year emphasis on “pitchability” got overdone.
Peavy Was Willing To Pitch In Boston
Rob Bradford of WEEI has a quote from Padres pitcher Jake Peavy:
"Boston was a place that I told the Padres I would certainly be interested in playing. I don’t know if there were any talks. I gave the Padres a list and Boston was on that list. Boston was a place I told the Padres I would be interested in playing at. Set that straight for sure."
At various times during the offseason, Peavy also expressed a willingness to play for the Braves, Astros, Cubs, Dodgers, Cardinals, Yankees, and Angels (based on previous WEEI reports). If the Padres do re-engage in trade talks for Peavy this summer, it’ll of course be on his terms given his full no-trade clause.
Padres Seek Bullpen Help
MLB.com’s Corey Brock talked to Padres GM Kevin Towers, who said he’s "actively looking" for relief help. Towers is uncertain how his bullpen will shake out beyond Heath Bell in the ninth, and would like to add someone who can miss bats. Towers doesn’t have much to spend on the free agent market, so a trade may be more likely.
Brock finds Joe Beimel unlikely, but notes that the Padres have expressed interest in Will Ohman. On the trade front, Towers specifically mentioned pitchers who are out of options.