Spurned in his attempts to trade for Adam Eaton, new Rangers GM settled for right-handed starter Vicente Padilla to fill in the back end of his rotation. Padilla was going to be nontendered by the Phillies anyway, so Daniels only had to give up a player to be named later, likely a C level prospect.
At his best, Padilla went 14-11 with a 3.28 ERA for the 2002 Phillies. That year was marked by low home run and walk rates for Padilla. He’s still only 28, and 2005 was an injury-plagued year. Triceps tendonitis and other maladies may have contributed to Padilla’s worst walk rate since 2000. Ameriquest Field will not be a better pitching environment than Citizens Bank Park; in fact both parks inflate home runs about 20%.
Padilla will probably post an ERA a bit worse than league average (league average is 4.35) and could provide 200 innings for the Rangers. At $4MM or so, that’s quite a bargain. Scott Elarton will be at least that bad and is looking for a three-year deal. Padilla marks a second solid acquisition by Daniels after his fleecing of Jim Bowden for Brad Wilkerson.