Padres Promote Headley
According to MLB.com’s Corey Brock, San Diego general manager Kevin Towers said on Saturday that Chase Headley, regarded as the top prospect in the Padres’ Minor League system, will join the team this weekend in Cleveland. "He’s on his way," Towers said.
Headley, the converted third baseman who is in his first season playing the outfield, was hitting .305 with 13 home runs and 40 RBIs in 65 games for Triple-A Portland.
Headley got off to a slow start at Triple-A this season, but has since heated up. Frankly, what does San Diego have to lose? The Padres are 7.5 games back. Their outfield is a major weakness. This promotion was beyond due. If you own Headley in your keeper fantasy league, today is a happy day.
Coley Ward writes for Umpbump.com. He can be reached here.
Padres Sign First Round Pick Dykstra
The Padres have signed their first and second round draft picks, Allan Dykstra and Jaff Decker. Dykstra will get around $1.4MM and Decker about $890K.
Dykstra (no relation to Lenny) is a college first baseman with great raw power, according to Baseball America. He was the 23rd overall pick; Paul DePodesta compared him to Jim Thome. Decker is a high school outfielder, chosen 42nd overall.
Odds and Ends: Broussard, Ledezma, Cooper
More random linkage.
- The Yankees have released first baseman Ben Broussard.
- The Padres designated Wil Ledezma for assignment. The 27 year-old could help someone as a reliever.
- The first first-rounder of ’08 has signed: David Cooper of the Blue Jays. He could be in High-A ball by year’s end. Last year’s 17th pick, Blake Beavan, got about $1.5MM. By the way, only 26% of readers thought the Jays made the right choice with Cooper (according to our in-draft poll).
- Funny Mike Mussina quote from John Feinstein’s new book.
Odds and Ends: Wolf, Indians, Ensberg
Random items for today…
- MLBTR live chat, today at 2pm CST. Right after I finish my corned beef sandwich.
- RotoAuthority takes a look at the fantasy value of Randy Wolf.
- On Sunday I joined the guys from Drunk Jays Fans for part of their podcast. A button to listen to the show can be found here.
- Paul Hoynes says the Indians’ Mark Shapiro will need "at least a month to narrow the field of suitors for players such as C.C. Sabathia and Paul Byrd to see if he really wants to trade them."
- RotoWorld says the Yankees have released Morgan Ensberg.
Draft Roundup
Today’s draft links.
- Rany Jazayerli looks at possibilities for the Royals at #3. He hopes they don’t take Eric Hosmer.
- MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo has new projections for the top 30. He’s switched the Orioles from Brian Matusz to Aaron Crow at #4, among other changes.
- Keith Law has tons of good stuff…the Giants are eyeing Gordon Beckham, the Reds are considering Brett Lawrie, Jason Castro could go to the White Sox, the Dodgers like Zach Collier, and much more.
- Ken Davidoff is hearing that the Padres are in on Brett Wallace and the Twins like Christian Friedrich.
- Pedro Alvarez would be honored to be picked by the Pirates. Dejan Kovacevic continues to say they’re leaning that way.
- I am considering live-blogging Thursday’s draft, posting each pick here as soon as it’s announced (you would not have to refresh). Would that be helpful?
Davidoff’s Latest: Padres, Garcia, Lofton
Newsday’s Ken Davidoff posted a new column yesterday.
- Davidoff spoke to Padres GM Kevin Towers, who is not ready to throw in the towel. Realistically Towers could let all of June play out before shopping his veterans.
- If all goes according to plan, Freddy Garcia might appear in the Majors in late August. If so, he’d be eligible for the postseason.
- Davidoff implies that Kenny Lofton is asking for the same $6MM he earned last year. No wonder he’s still sitting at home.
Season-Ending Surgery For Prior
MLB.com’s Corey Brock reports that San Diego Padres pitcher Mark Prior will have season-ending surgery to repair a torn muscle in his shoulder. The Padres signed the injury-plagued starter to a $1MM contract this offseason.
While the news of Prior having to miss a season due to surgery doesn’t come as much of a surprise, a healthy rebound would have been a bright spot in what has otherwise been a tough season for the Padres. The team saw Jake Peavy, Chris Young, and Josh Bard all hit the DL in May.
It’s unfortunate, but it seems like this will make teams even more hesitant to look at Prior this offseason. The right-hander undoubtedly has great talent, but has pitched just 43.2 innings since the beginning of the 2006 season.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Sabathia, Bay, Wolf
Hot stove guru Ken Rosenthal has a new column up.
- Rosenthal tosses around some fun ideas in case the Indians want to trade C.C. Sabathia for another free-agent-to-be. Presumably they’d target a slugger in return.
- Rosenthal applauds the Pirates’ decision not to sell low on Jason Bay this winter. Signed cheaply through ’09, Bay may have more trade value than Adam Dunn (in my opinion).
- Randy Wolf is expected to be "among the most available Padres." The 31 year-old southpaw sports an 8.2 K/9. A strong, healthy June would give Wolf’s trade value a boost.
Gammons On Available Pitchers
ESPN’s Peter Gammons names ten starting pitchers who could be available in the coming months. We’ll try to devise a comprehensive list when we get to the position in our Trade Market series.
Gammons’ trade possibilities: Paul Byrd, Jeremy Sowers, Derek Lowe, Rich Harden, Odalis Perez, Brett Tomko, Jarrod Washburn, Zach Duke, Vicente Padilla, and Kevin Millwood. Byrd, Lowe, Perez, and Tomko will be free agents after the season. Sowers and Duke are the kids. Harden is the oft-injured ace. Washburn, Padilla, and Millwood bring burdensome contracts.
Gammons also five "unlikely, but not impossible" scenarios. He suggests A.J. Burnett, Bartolo Colon, Joe Blanton, Greg Maddux, and Ben Sheets could be moved under the right circumstances.
Padres Acquire Baek
The Padres and Mariners worked out a minor trade, as they have many times in the past. The Padres acquired Cha Seung Baek for Jared Wells. Baek was in the 10-day limbo period after being designated for assignment. Paul DePodesta explains that the Padres have been eyeing Baek for some time.
Baek, 28, has a 4.96 ERA in 168.2 career innings for the Mariners. His best asset has been respectable control. The Ms signed Baek out of Korea for $1.3MM in ’98. Baseball America said back in ’05 that Baek succeeds by locating a full five-pitch repertoire. He had Tommy John surgery back in ’01.
Wells, 26, was shifted to relief at Triple A last year and picked up nine saves. His numbers have been ugly – tons of hits, poor control, mediocre strikeout rate. Baseball America notes his average slider and decent two-seam fastball.