Despite a disappointing 39-49 season thus far, the Padres aren’t planning a complete rebuild, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes. “We think we’re smarter to put all of our energy into competing year after year after year,” says Padres lead investor Peter Seidler. “We think that’s what the fans want, we think that’s what San Diego wants, and we know that’s what we want.” The Padres’ plans also won’t be dictated by the fact that they host next year’s All-Star Game either, however. “I think ultimately, we’re going to make decisions that are for the best of the franchise and not say, ’Hey, we have to be at this point because we have the All-Star Game in San Diego next year,'” says GM A.J. Preller. The Padres have a few key players set for free agency after the season, including Justin Upton, Ian Kennedy and Will Venable. Many of their other key players, though, including James Shields, Craig Kimbrel, Tyson Ross, Andrew Cashner, Derek Norris, Yonder Alonso, Wil Myers and Matt Kemp, are under control beyond this season, so they could conceivably make another run at contention next year. That could be tricky, however, given the talent they parted with to acquire many of those players. Here’s more out of San Diego.
- Some in the Padres organization believe the team should trade Shields this summer, promoting him as a lower-cost option than Cole Hamels, ESPN’s Buster Olney writes (subscription only). There’s also belief within the organization that they should consider trading Kimbrel as well. Olney suggests Shields (who will make $21MM in each of the next three seasons, plus a $2MM buyout or a $16MM option in 2019) could make sense for the Cubs, Blue Jays or Dodgers. If the Padres were to trade players like Shields and Kimbrel, though, the question would be how they would explain such an abrupt change of course to their fan base.
- Catcher Yasmani Grandal feels the Padres didn’t handle him well, Matt Calkins of the Union-Tribune writes. The team had Andrew Cashner, Tyson Ross and Ian Kennedy all pitch to Rene Rivera, leaving Grandal without enough playing time to find a rhythm at the plate. Grandal thought Padres pitchers should be throwing inside early in counts, and the pitchers disagreed. Also, his 2013 PED suspension might have led to further distrust in the Padres clubhouse. This season, Grandal has hit .276/.398/.519 and framed pitches well after heading to the Dodgers in the Kemp deal, while Padres pitchers have struggled.
I think the Kemp-Grandal trade is gonna sting the Padres for some time. I really don’t think Preller thought all of his moves through.
He cared more about the attention of the moves than the quality of them.
Basically. Preller was unable to make any trade/signing without making a big media circus about it. At least the baseball world stopped ignoring the Padres for a few weeks…
Grandal for Kemp is the new Napoli for Wells
Aren’t the Dodgers in the hook for most of Kemp?
This trade worked out better for the Dodgers than I expected (so far) but I would not count Kemp out just yet.
You’re probably right about that. I just find it mind boggling that Preller had to trade for three corner outfielders. I can understand the Kemp trade, but then he proceeded by trading for Upton and Myers too. Honestly, the Padres would look much better right now if they hadn’t traded for Kemp, which also would’ve made them not trade for Norris either. They still would’ve had a good team, and a good farm as well. I know that hindsight is always 20/20, but I don’t think anybody can be surprised by the poor outcome.
Better off without Shields, Kimbrel, Myers, and Kemp? I get the disappointment with the results so far, but if they were building up just to tear down again, that is where I’d be frustrated too. They are least talking a commitment to competing longterm, which should be good news. If I was a Padres fan I’d take ownership at their word, for now at least.
You wouldn’t count Kemp out?
How many games a year do you think he will be healthy for at a ridiculous salary. And even then he can’t play defense.
Is his health connected to his salary? I also wasn’t aware of him being injured this season. What did I miss?
Most that follow the sport realized that the day it was made.
Incredible trade……for the Dodgers.
I feel like it was just yesterday that everyone was proclaiming Preller was some kind of mastermind genius…oh wait it was. How’s that looking now?
I felt from the beginning that Preller was making a mistake. I was pretty outspoken on most of the offseason articles.
On the Padres website threads I laid out pretty specifically what I thought was going to happen. Kemp would regress. Grandal would hit for better average and more home runs than Kemp. Norris would hit about .240 with double digit home runs. The pitching staff would regress with Norris behind the plate. The defense would be horrendous. The lack of a shortstop would come back to bite the Padres. If they started Middlebrooks, that he would hit about .200 on the season. That Ross and Wisler would both start in the majors this year. That Myers would continue to be injured since he had not had surgery to repair the wrist problem. Shields would be Shields. Based on what I thought was going to happen. I sold 66 games of my season ticket package. Looks like i was right on the money across the board.
Preller killed any momentum the Padres had coming into the year.
There were a few moves needed… Upton has been pretty good, Shields has been great… but, boy, they really set themselves back by a lot… and now they have a lesser farm to build off of as well.
I kind of feel bad for Padres fans.
They had a poor farm system to begin with Brynes is in love with LA because he finally has ownerships pockets he barely had that in SD they have to rebuild internationaly and through the draft
Who needs defense?
That is pretty much what most of the baseball talking heads were saying about them.. And lets be honest.. With all of the moves Preller made fans in San Diego were excited about baseball again.. You sold those tickets to make money.. Because there is no way you or anyone else thought the team would be worse than last year.. “I predicted all of this so I scalped my tickets for profit..” smh
halfway into his first season, not very good. Its still well to early to judge, and he’ll likely get a lot back for Upton as well
Upton is hitting under .260 and has hit .180 since the beginning of June. Not sure a playoff team is going to give up much for him right now.
Not to mention that he’s a FA after the season. Teams don’t pay handsomely for a 2 month rental that hits .250. There is upside there still……I guess. Is it possible that he was on roids when he was younger and quit several years ago?
I’d say the comments around mlbtr last winter were about 50% chemistry/defense concern, 25% chatter about the activity in general, and 25% gung-ho boosterism.
I saw 90% that were about what a wonder Preller was.
I had a number of posts of mine deleted that questioned his moves and saying that what he was doing was reckless.
It was reckless but all I can say is at least he had the guts to do it.. I am still a Preller fan.. Mainly because he actually took a losing team and did his absolute best to shape it into what he thought would be a winner.. He did it by not subtracting from the one thing that worked well last season, the pitching staff.. I am sure he thought by taking a strength like that and adding players like Kimbrel and Shields he would be vastly improving it.. It is not his fault that most of the rotation decided to take the year off.. Kemp was pretty much only a second half player last year.. So, everyone is assuming that there is no way that could happen this year? Lets judge the team after the season is over and not half way through it..
I saw the moves as a sign to say to the Latin market and free.agents that San Diego was going to be relevant. I can’t imagine that the Preller team didn’t know this was.a gamble…most amatuers GMs here saw that much. It’s one half season…he needs several seasons before he goes the way of Toronto
You actually had posts deleted? That’s extreme….I’d think a comment would have to be very personally insulting to be removed…the moderation controls have been very tight.
I don’t know why people put new GMs who decide to clean house under the microscope. All Preller did was go with getting established talent in walk years so they could have what looked like a contending, competitive team on opening day. Its kind of what the A’s do every year. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesnt. If Preller had traded everyone for prospects, would you not be on a high horse right now?
I’m not a Billy Beane fan, but most trades he makes are for younger players. Typically he’ll take 3-4 players he’s developed over the past year or two, and get 7-9 younger players back for them. When he has a core to contend after doing this for 3 or 4 years, then he’ll take on some guys in walk year to get over the top.
What Preller did was what George Steinbrenner did in the 80’s and 90’s, in which his team didn’t make the playoffs until he was suspended from baseball. Then people like Gene Michaels and others made the moves that led to Jeter, Mariano, Petiite, Bernie Williams and others which brought in the Yankee resurgence.
Preach on brother CJ.. I couldn’t agree more..
I looked at it as stocking the cupboard… Not everything was likely to work…the defense was certainly questionable…to me.it was just a statement of being relative again.
I wasn’t. I thought from day one that what he was doing did not fit a team playing in that ballpark and in the NL. And the money he spent was obscene.
The managerial change sure helped though. Black must have been the problem.
The Dodgers, paid Kemp to go away, and Shields was within their budget
I don’t think any team is interested in trading for James Shields. He has negative trade value.
Shields will be traded. Kimbrel will be traded. Kennedy will be traded. Shawn Kelley will be traded. Venable will be traded. Justin Upton will be traded. Norris cant be traded because the Padres dont have anyone to take his place. The Padres will be stuck with Kemp and BJ Upton. Did I leave anyone out? Let the fire sale commence.
Will Ross be traded?
Cashner and Ross.
They’d be selling low on Cashner. Ross would fetch a nice prize.
No Shields will not be traded.
Ownership says this is not the plan, but you are convinced otherwise?
The situation with the Padres reminds me of the Dodgers just a couple of years ago. New ownership trying reverse years of neglect, promising to actually spend money on fielding a competitive team, promising not to be putting the fans through the agony of constant rebuilding. Not all of Preller’s moves have been stellar obviously — but do Padres fans really want the old way back?
How’s about bringing back the brown? That’s also what San Diego wants.
Brown and Yellow in San Diego… Purple in Arizona.
They owe it to baseball.
That Arizona purple needs to be locked in an underground atomic test site and sealed….sorry
Since no one else offered Shields as much money as we did, I doubt they would be willing to give up a bunch of prospects in order to do EXACTLY THAT.
I have to ask you a question.. What does it feel like writing checks that large? I always wondered how you do it..
How does that have to do with anything?
One simple question is why the Padres won’t just get rid of the failed Middlebrooks, who still cannot hit with his sub .250 OPS. Just call up Wallace, who is tearing up El Paso.
Anybody that can get a good return.
Wallace is up already. But he’s strictly used as a lefty bench bat.
Would the Padres want Peter Bourjos at all? Maybe him for Kennedy could form the base of a deal, with the Cards throwing in a bit more. He could really help a poor defensive team. Cards need innings.
With Upton probably heading out of town and Myers constantly hurt that trade just makes too much sense…
Prior to last night’s awful situation in the Phillies game, Cole Hamels had a 3.02 ERA. Shields has had an ERA over 4 since May 1st.
Shields definitely might be cheaper in terms of prospects, but he certainly isn’t better. Plus hes pitching in a much better pitching park. They are owed similar money as well.
Why go after James Shields when their are multiple cheaper nd better options.
Shields also has an opt out after next season
Because Shields has proven himself in the American League and won’t cost a team their entire top ten prospect list..
Would the Padres want Bourjos from the Cards? The outfield defense is pretty bad. Maybe work out a trade of him and a decent prospect for Kennedy.
padres should be buyers not sellers only if they get a good offer for a player trade em
Way to early put a grade on these trades.Plenty more baseball left in Myers,Norris,Kemp,Kimbril,Shields,Maurer,Kelly,Middlebrocks and Melvin Upton.Look for trades of Kennedy,Venable,Beniot,and Justin Upton.The team has a good core of players just need to a couple small upgades next season.Have dealt with injuries to key players all season.