A couple of Padres rumors this morning from Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune…
- Reliever Heath Bell says talks on a multiyear deal didn’t get very far and he’s content using the arbitration process for the first time. Bell stands to earn a million or two in ’09.
- The Reds are interested in Padres pitcher Clay Hensley. Hensley, 29, posted a 5.31 ERA in 39 big league innings. He pitched another 48 innings in Triple A. His strong groundball rate could make a nice fit for the Reds. Jeff from Cot’s Baseball Contracts told me Hensley has enough service time to qualify as a Super Two, meaning he’ll be arbitration-eligible this winter.
- Tim Sullivan of the U-T says Brian Giles is the Padres’ primary offseason issue. In my opinion, it’d be embarrassingly cheap for the Padres to choose the $3MM buyout over the $9MM option.
- Nothing imminent on the Trevor Hoffman front.
