It was on this day in 1982 that the Padres made a trade with the Cardinals that brought shortstop Garry Templeton to town. Though Templeton spent the next 10 seasons in San Diego, it's still a trade that Padres fans shake their heads over. The centerpiece of the package that went to the Cards was another shortstop — future Hall-of-Famer Ozzie Smith.
Here are some notes from the modern-day Padres….
- The Padres will have about a 20% ownership stake in the new FOX regional TV network that will air their games, reports Tom Krasovic of Inside The Padres. The ownership stake is part of the pending 20-year broadcasting contract between the club and the new cable outlet. The Padres would get $30MM in the first year and that total would gradually increase to $65-70MM by the final year of the contract.
- Based on these ownership shares, Krasovic reports the Padres could receive around $1.5 billion from the contract, close to the $75MM annual payout that USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported on Thursday. Krasovic notes the $1.5 billion figure is "a best-case scenario" for the team, which may explain why club president Tom Garfinkel said yesterday that Nightengale's reported terms were too high.
- Andrew Cashner tells MLB.com's Corey Brock (via Twitter) that the Padres have promised him a chance to start again after this season. Cashner made his first Major League start in 2011 but pitched in just seven games due to a strained right rotator cuff.
- Josh Byrnes seems to have more room to operate than did former GM Jed Hoyer, writes Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune as part of his weekly fan chat. Byrnes has already convinced owner Jeff Moorad to spend an extra $7MM on payroll this winter and Center doesn't "think Hoyer would have had the freedom to pull the trigger on the Carlos Quentin trade."
These TV deals are paying a ridiculous amount. I can’t see what the Reds can get in 2016 when they get a new deal. $30M is a big boost for the Pads considering there payroll was in the $40M range not too long ago.
I have doubts that Cahsner can hold up as a starter
Cashner has all the tools to be a good pitcher. The Padres have enough pitchers waiting in the wings and a very good pitching coach that the Padres should be able to play it smart with Cashner. He could be a very valuable commodity if not rushed.
Just an FYI Cashner had his first major league start in April, not September.
Let’s see if the Padres re-invest that money into their players.
With guys like Brach, Mikolas, Vincent, Quackenbush, Reyes and Boxberger in the minors likely contibuting to the bullpen in the future, it would be in the Padres best interest to move Cashner into the rotation if they think his shoulder can hold up. If it is just a mechanics thing I would think Balsley and Black could straighten things out for Cashner, they’ve worked miracles with guys with a lot less talent than he has. I also can’t wait to see how Volquez reacts to Balsleys’ tutelage.
At the time of the Ozzie Smith/Garry Templeton trade, it actually seemed to greatly favor the Padres.
At the time of the trade Templeton was a .300 hitter who had a couple of 200 hit seasons to his credit. Ozzie, while better defensively than Templeton, was a very poor hitter.
Post-trade, Ozzie Smith’s bat vastly improved, out of nowhere, at age 26 or 27. That never, ever happens. And it turned out Templeton’s knees had been damaged by playing on the rock-hard turf in St. Louis.
And Templeton was a bit of a punk. He’s the guy who refused to go to the All Star game because he wasn’t voted in as a starter. “If I ain’t startin’, I ain’t departin’.”
St. Louis was getting rid of a problem and taking whatever they could get. Funny how it turned out.
Garfinkel says the reported terms were too high because unless the Padres invest in some better players that 20% share of FSSD will be worth less at the end of the contract than right now.