This is the sixth entry in MLBTR’s Taking Inventory series. Click for entries on the White Sox, Royals, Phillies, Pirates and Giants.
After trading Derek Norris this past offseason, the part of the Padres’ rebuild that involved trading away veterans to shed salary and/or make room for younger players had come to an end. But that didn’t close the door on general manager A.J. Preller’s ability to wheel and deal during the 2017 season. By signing a quartet of free agent starting pitchers to help bridge the gap until the team’s younger pitchers were ready to contribute—Trevor Cahill, Jhoulys Chacin, Clayton Richard and Jered Weaver were each signed to one-year deals for a combined total of $8.25MM— they also added some potential trade chips to go along with any other players on the roster with less than three years of club control.
With three of the four veteran starters having established some trade value and several other players expected to draw strong interest, the only question is how long Preller waits before pulling the trigger on his first trade of 2017. Let’s break down who could become available…
Rentals
Clayton Richard, LHP (starter) | Salary: $1.75MM
Richard has had a career resurgence since joining the Padres last August, posting a 3.64 ERA over 141.2 innings. The 33-year-old was one out away from a complete game shutout on Tuesday before allowing a 2-run double on his 127th pitch of the game. It was the third time this season he’s flirted with that rare feat. He allowed one earned run in a complete game win against the D’backs on May 21st and pitched eight shutout innings against the Dodgers in his 2017 debut in April. He’s also completed at least six innings in nine of his 14 starts. A reliable lefty starter who can pitch deep into games can be very useful on a playoff contender.
Jhoulys Chacin, RHP (starter) | Salary: $1.75MM
Aside from three disastrous starts, which account for 23 earned runs over 10 innings, Chacin has been pretty good for the Padres. The 29-year-old hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs in his other 10 starts and has completed at least six innings on eight different occasions. A reunion with the Rockies would make a lot of sense as their young pitching staff will need some help down the stretch.
Trevor Cahill, RHP (starter) | Salary: $1.75MM
A pair of disabled list stints due to back and shoulder injuries will likely keep Cahill’s trade value to a minimum, but he’s been impressive in a seven-start sample with a 3.27 ERA and 11.1 K/9 in 41.1 innings pitched. If he can return to health—he’s on track to be activated in the next few weeks—the 29-year-old should have at least 4 or 5 starts to showcase his talent to a contending team. He could also draw interest as a reliever based on his strong 2016 season out of the bullpen for the World Champion Cubs.
Erick Aybar, SS | Salary: $1.5MM
There’s not much of a market for shortstops and Aybar has been a disappointment, anyways, with a .215/.282/.328 slash line in 196 plate appearances. Nevertheless, he can be had for very little if a team is looking to add some veteran infield depth. At this rate, he’s more likely to be released than traded.
Craig Stammen, RHP (reliever) | Salary: $900K
Stammen’s ERA is a bit inflated (4.25) due to a three-appearance stretch in April when he allowed 10 earned runs in three innings. Aside from that, his numbers (36 IP, 2.8 BB/9, 9.0 K/9) look very similar to his those he posted as a very effective multi-inning reliever with the Washington Nationals from 2012-2014. The 33-year-old has pitched at least two innings in 10 of his 22 appearances and has held right-handed hitters to a .610 OPS.
Controlled Through 2019
Brad Hand, LHP (reliever) | Salary: $1.375MM (arbitration-eligible this winter)
While there was some early-season trade buzz surrounding Hand after a dominant first month, his more recent struggles—he has a 4.57 ERA over his last 18 appearances with two blown saves and four losses—have most likely scared off any suitors who would’ve been willing to strike early and meet what would’ve been a very high asking price. Still, the 27-year-old has emerged as one of the better lefty setup men in baseball over the past year. The Red Sox were able to flip two-and-a-half months of Andrew Miller for a Top 100 prospect (Eduardo Rodriguez) at the 2014 trade deadline. Hand isn’t Miller, but he’s under team control for two-and-a-half years so it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Padres could net a fairly significant return.
Brandon Maurer, RHP (reliever) | Salary: $1.9MM in 2017, (arbitration-eligible this winter)
Maurer could be a tough sell with his 6.15 ERA, but he’s saved 12 of 14 games, throws a sinking fastball that reaches the upper 90s and is averaging 9.6 K/9. He was also very good after taking over as the Padres’ closer last July, converting 13 of 15 save chances while posting a 3.09 ERA. A team would have to be willing to pay the price for what Maurer has been aside from a handful of bad games—he has a 2.45 ERA if you throw out three awful appearances. Otherwise, the Padres will be happy to hold on to him until at least the upcoming offseason.
Yangervis Solarte, 2B/3B | Salary: $2.625MM in 2017, $4.125MM in 2018, $5.5MM club option for 2019, not eligible for free agency if declined (plus $750K buyout of $8MM club option for 2020)
The 29-year-old, who was rewarded with a two-year contract extension after a breakout season in 2016, has finally heated up after struggling through the first month-and-a-half of 2017. As a result—Solarte is slashing .333/.429/.474 over his last 21 games—trade interest could soon pick up for the switch-hitting infielder. His team-friendly contract, defensive versatility and ability to come through in the clutch—he has a .956 OPS with runners in scoring position—could make him a nice under-the-radar acquisition for a contending team.
Longer-Term Assets
Wil Myers, 1B (starter) | Salary: $4.5MM in 2017, $4.5MM in 2018, $5.5MM in 2019, $22.5MM in 2020, 2021 and 2022 (plus $1MM buyout of $20MM club option for 2023)
The Padres made it clear that Myers was a player they wanted to build around when they gave him a franchise-record $83MM contract extension in January. That doesn’t mean they’re not willing to listen if a team was interested in trading for the 26-year-old All-Star, who had 29 homers and 28 stolen bases in 2016. Teams probably won’t be willing to take on that big contract, however, until he’s proven that he can be an MVP-caliber player since he’ll be paid like one in a few years. Based on his current slump (.547 OPS, HR, 37 strikeouts in 97 plate appearances), I’m guessing that he’s not quite ready to make the jump from “very good” player to “great” player.
Man, the Padres pitchers are pretty good if you throw out all their bad games…
LOL… Gotta love it!
Omitted from the list were Ryan Buchter and Kirby Yates. Buchter has been a bit homer prone this season but can miss bats. Yates was another strong waiver find who also misses bats. These 2 won’t bring a big haul but could be nice bridge relievers for contending teams.
Pitching estimators disagree with the worry over hand. Literally according to fan graphs hes got a 6.13 FIP and a 2.86 xfip in june. The bullpen has been taxed heavily for the padres this season, especially hand. The last 18 appearences hes pitched 23 innings. Also of those 18 appearences the 0.2 innings where he gave up 4 runs to KC skew that drastically. Over his last 17 appearences excluding that one hes pitched 22 innings and yielded 7 runs which drops his ERA under 3. Hed have to pitch 12 innings no runs just to account for the bad game against kc
Hes maintaining his k numbers and walking less in june.
Preller will get a good package for him.
You won’t get a good package for him. He does not have a track record and you can’t throw out his bad outing this year.
Padres fans I do feel sorry that your only joy comes from flipping some scrubs for a little bit more later.
Ummm Drew Pomeranz had even less of a track record as a starter and Preller got a top 20 arm in Anderson Espinoza for him. So yah I think he is going to get something solid for Hand who was very impressive last year and has been very solid this year, and has 2.5 years of control left. My bet is he gets at least a top 100 or two, maybe a top 50.
2 months of andrew miller netted the redsox a top 100 prospect. At the time miller had the same career trajectory- 1 to 2 years of being a reliever. Hand comes with 2 1/2 years of service time not 2 months.
Padres dont have to trade hand this year and can wait till the offseason to deal him like kimbrel cause hand will have 2 years of control remaining.
Also, yes you can throw out 1 bad outing for a reliever when the body of work proves it was just a bad outing.
0.2 4 runs
22 innings 7 runs
Huh 1 bad outing vs 17 others where hes been good
Bleh – the Pads MLB roster is…not pretty, to put it mildly. Remember when MLBTR was crawling with Pads fans who believed Preller was the second coming of Jesus, and they were going to make a run in the NL West? Yikes.
Well they essentially did try to make a run at the NL west in 2015 but weren’t good enough, so when they were .500 halfway through the year they fired their manager and realized they were going to have to tear it all to the ground and start rebuilding.
A lot of Padres fans think Mike Dee pushed Preller into that sloppy 2015 run and now that he can build through developing his own players he’ll eventually turn it around. Only time will tell because they basically have no shot at being good the next couple years. Either way at least they’re committing to the re-build.
As for why their MLB roster is “not pretty” its not supposed to be… they’ve been very up front with their fans that they’re not going to be good and are practically tanking.
Yes, they did try and make a run, which was ill-fated. I was pointing out the fact that this place swarmed with Padre fans with expectations they they would compete. Sanity prevailed for people without rose-tinted glasses, and the results backed that sanity up.
This is an article about assets they have at the Major League level that could recoup value. There isn’t much, and I’m pointing out how terrible it is. How the Padres Management and Ownership go about communicating reasoning for their team being poor, is beside the point – the MLB team is a disaster, and their rebuilding effort is slowed down by the fact that they have very little players that would bring back decent prospects.
Kudos to them for putting resource into international scouting and recruitment, at least.
What? What Padres fans said they would compete this year? You seem very misinformed. Carrying 3 rule 5 picks isn’t an attempt to compete.
1. There isn’t much at the major level because margot, cordero, renfoe, hedges, cordoba, spangenberg, torres, possibly myers arent for sale. Literally 7 out of 8 possible position players aren’t available in trade because of their long term team control. The only position player available is Solarte.
2. Recoup value? What do they recoup value on exactly? Hand was claimed off waivers, mauer was swapped 1-1 for seth smith, solarte was part of the headley deal, chacin/richard/cahill signed for cheap in the off season. Literally their assets were free except for mauer but they practically got him for free. Stammen signed as a FA and Yates was a claim.
3. All the talent preller traded away he has replaced 10 fold between the 2015, 2016, 2017 drafts and the 2015 and 2016 international free agent signings. He has also picked up talent via trade in Espinoza, Tatis Jr, Margot, Paddack, and Naylor. The rebuilding process is already fueled enough. What he gets from the 2017 trade deadline isnt going to make or break the long term outlook of the Padres. It’d be nice to get an MLB ready ss for Hand but thats about it as far as need goes.
4. Everyone except you seems to know the padres are building for 2019+ – with how theyve drafted, people they traded for, and the decision to go all in on the 2016 IFA not 2015 or 2017
Nobody is trading a MLB ready SS for Hand, unless that MLB ready SS is an older AAA guy with an extremely low ceiling.
That’s because they traded almost everyone with value already.
I guess thats the biggest issue with a “taking inventory” piece about the Padres. In terms of tradable assets they purposefully left the cupboard bare except for the cheap starting pitching they signed to 1 year deals.
If you’re buying into the rebuild, the 2017 trade deadline is really inconsequential. At this point they’re just waiting for the 2016 IFA class and for the low minors pitching (Espinoza/Quantril/Morejon) to develop.
They have 6 impending Free Agents, 2 who might get straight up released before the year is over and literally no one on their MLB roster is slated to make more than 3 mil this year. They’re not built to be the classic “Seller”, all the value is already gone.
First things first – MathTeacherSDSUAlumni619 – were you here when Preller decided to “go for it”? That’s the time I was referring to.
Second, I’m well aware that the Padres aren’t looking to compete for a few years, rebuilding this shambles takes time.
Obviously it’s a bit hard to comprehend for some, but I was commenting on the state of the MLB roster, and how there is very little on there to flip into young talent – on an article that’s about the state of their MLB roster and what they may get back for it. Stay with me, I’m trying not to lose you through this..
There are actually articles on this site, not just comment sections.
There is a thing called “surplus” Priggs- you know when a team has an abundance of a position they can deal from? Ok, maybe you haven’t heard of the idea. I’ll give you some examples.
The Yankees have Glebyer Torres, Jorge Mateo, Tyler Wade, and Thairo Estrada in their top 30- all capable of playing SS. Torres is the SS of the future making Wade and Mateo expendable for the right price. Wade is MLB ready.
The Mets have Amed Rosario, Gavin Cecchini, Luis Guillorme- Rosario is the future which could make Cecchini and Guillorme available in a deal. Both are near MLB ready by next year.
The Cubs have Addison Russel which could make someone like Chesny Young available. Young is close to MLB ready by next year.
The Cardinals have Diaz entrenched which could make Dalvin Perez and Paul Dejong available. Dejong is MLB ready.
There’s very little to flip because the most talented pieces aren’t for sale.
Renfoe Cordoba Cordero Margot Torres Hedges Spangenberg Maton Myers
You’re talking about:
Low key free agent signings in Cahill, Richard, Weaver, Chacin Aybar Stammen and I mean less than probably 10 mill combined.
Rule 5 talents like Diaz Torrens Perdomo
DFA waiver claims like Yates and Valdez and D’Arnaud and Sczur
I don’t really think you fully understand how this roster was constructed given your assertion of there being very little to flip into young talent. When you actually look at where the guys came from on this roster there wasn’t going to be much flipping them for young talent to begin with unless Preller struck lightning in the bottle.
Sdsu is mostly hot air
I ignore it
Whoa. I have never heard of that concept before. Thank you for enlightening me.
Now a question for you – Are you aware that teams stockpile shortstops for a reason? That reason being that the good ones are talented/athletic enough to play well at pretty much any position on the field, assuming they have some sort of bat to back up the move… When you’re looking at teams with these prospects, you can’t just say, “Oh they have a ton of SS prospects; they can move some.” You also have to look at what kind of prospects they have at 2B, 3B, SS, CF, LF, etc…
Want a couple quick examples?
– Trea Turner played 232 out of his 239 career minor league games at SS (other 7 at 2B). When the Nationals thought he was ready to be called up, they started him almost exclusively at CF and 2B until this year.
– Alex Bregman played 128 out of his 141 career minor league games at SS. He was called up as a third baseman, and he wont be moving back to short any time soon.
– Javier Baez played 331 of his career 379 minor league games at SS. He’s now a “utility” guy who has played almost twice as many games at second as short (and almost as many games at third as short). He’s going to be a full time second baseman in the very near future.
The point being that these prospects were exclusively SS prospects in the minors before being moved at the major league level. This happens ALL the time. Shortstop prospects are favored for a reason…
Now, onto your lists.
1) Yankees – Torres is close to MLB-ready, but he DEFINITELY isn’t being traded for someone like Brad Hand. He’s also being transitioned to take over 3B in the near future (adding to my point from above); and there have always been questions about him potentially being better suited for 3B instead of SS, so I don’t think it’d surprise anyone if they left him there. Tyler Wade also looks like he’s MLB-ready. Again, they probably aren’t trading him for someone like Brad Hand. He has more value to the team as a utility man, which they apparently are attempting to groom him into at the AAA level. He could also stick at short if they decide to keep Torres at third. Jorge Mateo is a 22 year old that looks overmatched in his third stint at high-A. He has a ton of tools, but he’s far from reaching them, and he’s far from MLB-ready. I HIGHLY doubt they are counting on him for much of anything right now. Estrada is a guy that could make sense, but he has a limited ceiling, and he’s probably not “MLB-ready.”
2) Mets – We know Rosario is going nowhere. Cecchini is already being groomed as a 2B/utility player (again, goes back to my point above – see the common theme?). They could move him though. Guillorme’s ceiling is a defensive replacement. I guess you win in the sense that he’s not an “old AAA guy,” but he has a very low ceiling.
3) Cubs – Chesny Young isn’t an MLB-ready SS. At best, he’s a 2B or utility guy that can occasionally spell the starting SS. If he’s your everyday SS going forward, the Padres are going to be in the same spot they’re currently in – BAD.
4) Cardinals – Perez is a toolsy 18 year old playing rookie ball. They aren’t going to make any immediate decisions based on him maybe panning out in 3-4 years (optimistically). DeJong absolutely looks MLB-ready. That being said, there are questions about whether he can stick at SS or not. They’re already working him heavily at 3B in the minors – 177 games (115 starts) compared to 50 at SS (48 starts). He also was promoted as a 2B when Wong went down – a position he hasn’t played as a pro (again, going back to my original point).
Generally speaking, worthwhile MLB-ready shortstops are NOT moved very frequently, especially for non-elite relievers. If they’re that good AND MLB-ready, they’re more likely to change positions than be traded. If they are traded, they likely have a lot of question marks (either about their bat or ability to stick at short). If you want a good SS prospect for someone like Hand, it’ll most likely be someone that is at least a few years away from being MLB-ready (Mateo-type). If you want someone that’s MLB-ready, it’ll most likely be someone with question marks or a much lower ceiling (like a Guillorme or Chesny Young).
You are insane, they are not getting any prospects close like that for Hand. When Hand does get traded the first place I am coming to is here. I can’t wait to hear your spin crazy math teacher.
Thanks for the heads up. I will for now on.
What crazy spin? Dont trade hand unless you get an offer you like. Plain and simple. ID like them to get a long term ss out of a hand deal, but preller has shown hes willing to take best available deal on the table- that could or could not include a ss. The best deal available could be pitching 2B 3B OF whatever.
As for if they dont trade him thats fine. He’s got 2 and a half years of team control. They could trade him during the 2018 off season 2018 deadline 2019 off season 2019 deadline. Theres literally 4 different points they could trade him. Preller was in a similar situation with kimbrel- didnt get a package he liked at the deadline traded during the off season. Got a better package in doing so.
Yeah, 100% guaranteed when preller trades hand you wont be coming back. Padres will get a good package- note good =/=elite. Im not expecting a miller chapman deal like yanks got. But a top 100 prospect and another low guy swap or 3 players in top 15 of the organization.
If most Padres fans are like me, they’re glad the organization took a shot at it in 2015 and they’re glad to see the full commitment to a rebuild now.
And, I’d rather see the MLBTR message board crawling with them than people who think their obvious hindsight actually contributes something. That hindsight GM can go back to focusing on their large-market team — the one that wins more only because they can buy their way out of every mistake.
No. We’re not glad they took a shot at it in 2015. By doing that, they lost one of the better shortstops in baseball, controlled through 2022, are stuck paying tens of millions to players who don’t play for them and failed to recoup value for expiring contracts two years ago. Was finishing the 2015 season strong really worth not getting Michael Fulmer and whoever they could have gotten for Shawn Kelley?
But you’re making the argument in hindsight, TheWestCoastRyan. Of course it would be great to have Turner now that we know how good he is. (And now that we know the win-now push didn’t work.) I still maintain that it’s better to be aggressive as you try to “win now” or if you try to “build for the future.” Preller’s done both. It will be fantastic or tragic, but at least it won’t be mediocre.
Nope. Not hindsight. I said at the time that Turner would be an All Star and that the Padres wouldn’t contend in 2015. Either way, there was still no excuse for giving up Yasmani Grandal in order to take on Matt Kemp’s toxic contract and not trading away pending free agents like Justin Upton and Shawn Kelley at the deadline when the Padres were CLEARLY out of the race.
Should I add this to the number of trea turner references you claimed you will not make?
I couldn’t agree more Myers for Turner bad trade
I remember a lot of people being excited and buying into the hype of the 2015 Padres. It was cute, but after doing a little homework, one would have realized that it was a recipe for disaster (which it certainly turned out being so). At least they sold a lot of ticket and generated fan interest.. Hence, why I’m one of those who believe that tool Mike Dee had a hand in what they did.
However, what they are doing now is the right thing to do. By rebuilding from the ground up, they’re doing what they should have done all along, while also trying to make up for the mistakes of that ill-fated endeavor. I embrace the rebuild, and I think more people should. Let Preller and the rest of the front office do their thing and see what happens. They’re going to find takers for guys like Hand, and they’re more than likely getting another top pick in next year’s draft. Cool. But overall, this is how it has to work if they really want to become a strong team in the future.
Dumbest off season in baseball history yea very happy
I didn’t know we were talking about the 2015-16 Diamondbacks offseason
Padres picked up a half game on the Phillies tonight as the Red Sox couldn’t generate a run.
This is going to be a titanic battle for the first pick of the 2018 MLB Draft. First head-to-head collision is on July 7th.
i think the padres run away with the worst record. that roster is awful
I think Padres are currently also ahead of the Giants, too. And the 2018 draft isn’t looking particularly special so far.
Other than Bryce Harper no draft looked particularly special the year before.
Mike Trout? Some kid from the northeast. Will never amount to anything.
Carlos Correa wasn’t the one-one in the mocks for some reason. Not a special draft.
I loved Kyle Tucker in 2014. The Phillies didn’t try to tank in 2013 so they picked tenth and Tucker went fifth.
I also wanted Michael Chavis instead of Aaron Nola and what do you know, that could have happened except I was here instead of running the Phillies.
I’m pretty sure Correa only went first because he would sign underslot. Turned out pretty good for Houston
Trout was a fluke and isn’t relevant to the whole notion of “tanking” anyway, as he was picked 25th overall. The MLB draft is, unfortunately, generally a crapshoot. In that 2009 draft – the one in which Trout was picked 25th – the Padres had the third pick and wasted it – and a huge bonus – on a guy who never got out of A-ball.
In 2007 the Padres had six first-round draft picks. Exactly one of them had anything resembling a major-league career (Cory Luebke).
As far as the Padres go, I’d rather them play the kids and get them some experience, rather than running out the Erick Aybars and Jered Weavers of the world. It would at least be a lot more fun to watch.
Nick Schmidt was victim of TJS and Drew Cumberland retired cause of a rare neurological condition that hindered his balance/vision. Kellen kulbacki was a legit prospect that had a promising career derailed by leg and shoulder injuries.
Not much the padres can do about that type of stuff when issues derail a promising career.
Not 100% sure what happened to canham he seemed to moving up the minors quickly and hitting.
Its not like all 5 were failed prospects that ability hindered them. 3 of the 5 had promising careers derailed by issues outside of ability.
This doesn’t disprove my point; a lot of draft picks flame out because of injury. What happened to Cumberland is unfortunate, but it’s not much different than having a pitcher’s career end from a bum shoulder. Canham’s last season in the Padres system he hit 209/295/308 at AA. That’s the point when most non-prospects fade away. He was obviously never going to make it.
Injuries happen but too often prospects just break, and that’s another reason why the draft is so hit-and-miss. 14% of draft picks reach the majors, and first-round draft picks make the majors a little more than 60%.
You’re right. We should just trade Cal Quantrill and MacKenzie Gore NOW because we know they’re gonna end up as busts right?
Nobody has disagreed with you saying the draft is a crap shoot. Every sport you are hedging bets on unproven talent. MLB NFL NHL NBA.
What people have disagreed with you on is that tanking has no benefits- actually it does because picks 1-5 produce on average more WAR than any other point in the draft. Also the 1st overall pick is desirable because you get 1st shot at the player you want instead of waiting for them to fall, if they do. Im sure the padres would of liked the 1st pick and gone w greene atop the rotation with quantril/espinoza.
One thing the MLB doesnt have that it should is trading picks rounds 1-10 should be tradeable. Then getting the 1st overall pick becomes even more valuable cause its tradeable and teams that rely on young talent can add more picks and money to their pool to take risks on players by trading assets they wouldnt keep.
MacKenzie Gore has not signed with the Padres yet and therefore cannot be traded.
Fine. We should trade him once this season is over. Because we all know that every draft pick ever will turn out to be a bust. We might as well just give up on this rebuild now and trade all of our prospects before they flame out. It’s all over Padres fans!
Maybe it will end up being up being a fight for the first pick towards the end of the season. Of course, once Jered Weaver comes back and some of the bullpen pieces are traded, I think the losses will start adding up even more
It’s going to take a while for hand to bring his era back down, but green shouldn’t have put him out there for a 2nd inning after several days of work
It’s Green’s fault
Advice for Pads , Trade , Trade and Trade some more !
After Hand and Buchter, I don’t see much in the way of trade assets. Maybe Richard, but leaving a super injury-prone guy out for 127 pitches the other night in order to try to throw a shutout was dumb.
Buchter and Hand are valuable, but Hand has definitely been shaky recently and Buchter is just a loogy. I douby Maurer brings back a lot.
Spangenberg doesn’t have much value. A singles hitting utility guy who can’t play short. The other starting pitchers are hurt, and the ones who aren’t, like Perdomo, are part of the future hopefully. It’s a measured rebuild, of course. I truly wish the Padres still had Grandal to trade. He would bring back a pretty good haul. But, alas, they traded him away so they could flush 30 million dollars down the toilet.
Buchter isn’t just a LOOGY
2017 so far righties are batting- .211/.308/.386- He’s actually pitched more against righties than lefties this year (15 innings vs. 9)
2016- righties batted .167/.290/.307 and he pitched more against righties than lefties again (39.1 vs. 23.2)
Those aren’t LOOGY type numbers. You wanna see a LOOGY go look at Oliver Perez- .172/.273/.276 against lefties .364/.391/.762 against righties.
fangraphs.com/statsplits.aspx?playerid=9456&p…
I’m guessing that he’s not quite ready to make the jump from “very good” player to “great” player. Lol
Myers is joke bad contract to say least
We’re still waiting for you to tell us who you think Preller should have traded last offseason but didn’t.
I could see Richard re-signing a short term deal to help eat innings during the rebuild.
He’s a team leader, might be nice to have a little continuity in terms of veterans while they bring up the youngsters.
Trading him doesn’t bar the Padres from doing that. So how about they trade Richard and then sign him this offseason so he can eat innings for the Padres during their rebuild?
No complaints from me on that one lol
Preller is joke of GM
And you still fail to tell us who Preller should have traded last offseason but didn’t. Pathetic, but expected.
Who cares about who he should of traded I just know most of Preller moves have been disaster
I care because you keep saying no one wants to trade with Preller and citing a lack of significant trades made by Preller last offseason as evidence. Then when I ask you what significant trades he should have made but didn’t make, you have no answer. The truth of the matter is, the Padres had very little in terms of obvious trade candidates last offseason. Derek Norris (who was traded), anyone else?
Not a great idea to trade Solarte. Wouldn’t get much in return, plus he’s a very popular player with the fanbase, and inside the clubhouse.
Same with Richard and Chacin.. Both are more valuable to the Padres as innings-eaters.
Hand is valuable to a contender, and Preller will probably wait until the last minute to trade him, hoping that a team will overpay in desperation.
On Solarte, it depends if Preller gets an offer he likes. There is no urgency to trade him. Preller has to trade Richard and Chacin. The alternative is to just let them walk at the end of the season (and don’t say “Preller can re-sign them” because trading them doesn’t bar him from doing that)
Richard and Chacin will be more likely to re-sign if we don’t trade them.
It’s largely an academic question, because neither will fetch anything of value in the trade market. Their primary value is to a rebuilding team like the Padres that need innings eaters.
That’s not true. If they like pitching for the Padres and we trade them then offer them the most money they’re not going to punish us for trading then by refusing to sign and if they are willing to take a discount, trading them won’t change that. Sure, they might not net us any blue chip prospects, but they should get us something with some upside and that is automatically better than two months of a couple guys we can just re-sign anyway.
Yeah I think they’re going to try and find a taker for at least Richard, even if it just fetches back a lottery ticket. James Shields was traded last year for Tatis Jr., a low minors guy that no one knew much about. He seems to be doing well so far working his way through the minors. Maybe they can get lucky again by trading a guy like Richard.
Is it fair to say hand (assuming he brings his era back down) and other pieces could go to the Yankees for Mateo?
I still remember the time where people thought preller was an idiot for not trading Kimbrel for Mateo at the deadline. Sure looks like a smart decision to hold.
The real idiot move was not trading Justin Upton and Shawn Kelley at that deadline. On Kimbrel he had the option to wait until someone met his asking price. On Upton and Kelley his options were to trade them or lose then for nothing.
Yeah, Preller had an offer in-hand of Fulmer straight up for JUp and turned it down, which still bugs me to this day.
But didn’t he have a big draft the year after and part of the reason was because he had more money from that comp pick?
I’d rather have Fulmer than a draft pick. Draft picks don’t exactly always work out. The pick the Padres took as compensation for J. Upton was Eric Lauer, a college pitcher who has pitched fairly well at low-A ball. Fulmer has been a terrific major-league pitcher, a guy you might be able to build a rotation around.
Fulmer would’ve been nice. But lauer has been pretty much lights out in high A. Low 2s era. 72ks:16bb in 57 ip. Looks like he’s getting promoted to AA soon.
Preller has no shortage of idiot moves
I’ll take the pitcher who has been very good in the majors over the one who has been great in A-ball. Right?
Yea Padre fans just love “prospects”
Just like you have no shortage of idiot comments.
Real idiot mic dead hiring Preller
You can’t deny the pads outlook from here on out is so much better than the last few decades.
Preller squeezes as much value as possible in every move. He goes high upside / high risk. When you do that 10 fold, there is bound to be a few stars that rise out of it. That has never been the pad’s MO, ever.
There have been some A+ moves. He got rid of Shields and netted Tatis Jr. who is on his way to top 100 status. He traded Cashner for another top 100 prospect plus Carter Capps who will also be a massive trade chip if he can come back healthy. Grabbed Hand off waivers and he will net a possible top 50 prospect, at least a top 100. And one of my favorites, trading perennial underachiever Yonder Alonso for Drew Pomeranz who was then flipped for a top 20 arm in Anderson Espinoza. Even with Alonso’s bizarre breakout this year at 30 yo, he is not going to net anything close to Espinoza for the A’s.
Have there been some bad moves? Yah. But I think there is an overall net positive. Pads are in the black.
I’m drinking the koolaid. There is a clear commitment to building from the ground up. Major investments are being made. Again, never been done by this franchise before. Excited to see how it turns out.
Exactly, I completely agree with everything you said. The Padres have never worked like this, which is why I love what the front office is doing now by building from the ground up. It’s actually pretty refreshing, and maybe it will end up paying off in the years to come.
Preller has made some great moves. Espinoza needs TJ it seems, but still a good get. Capps doesn’t look so great right now; the new balk rules I think are really going to hurt him. Preller’s worst deal is the one he didn’t make – the Fulmer/Upton trade and obviously the Kemp trade was just absolutely awful, even at the time it was made it was a disaster. But this team has a future, which I would have never said at the time he made that Kemp trade.
One move (or non-move) he doesn’t get nearly enough heat for is not trading Shawn Kelley. At least with Upton and Kennedy we got draft picks. With Kelley, the alternative was to let him walk for nothing.
“Preller has made great moves” LOL
How about getting suspended you seem to forget that
For doing something everyone did and because MLB had to defend their favorite son the Boston Red Sox.
P.S. I know you saw my comment. Now tell us who you think Preller should have traded last offseason or admit Preller can trade with whoever he wants.
Espinoza hasn’t pitched in 2 years, Capps really?
Prospects are suspects so can’t hang hat on that
Espinoza pitched last year genius
He’s pitched very little and has done nothing so save how great kid is who hasn’t pitched in bigs yet
I think he’s a tad overrated tbh, but you said he hasn’t pitched in 2 years which simply isn’t true.
Got me he’s innings eater what did he pitch 30 innings lol
So 30 innings last year is “Not pitching in two years?” Brilliant, absolutely brilliant XD XD XD
Hand has never been good until last season and parts of this season….he is nowhere close to Miller or Chapman…..he is a lefty reliever though and that alone will net them something decent…..though a top 50 is ludicrous….for a late 20s reliever that has only 1.5 good seasons on his resume…..maybe a top 100….if a team over pays in a desperate move…..but he will not net them an MLB ready SS unless it’s one that has issues at the plate or is a project…..
Trea Turner for Will Meyers! Another Jackass (AJ) move. AJ Smith…now this boob. He drafts catchers this year with 2/3 picks. He thinks he is smarter than all the other GMs. The owners have to wait 5 years to see if his strategy works. Suckers!
The padres have 0 catching depth behind Austin Hedges working through the system. The only prospect is Austin Allen and this is what MLB.com has to say about him
“Given Allen’s 6-foot-4, 225-pound frame, scouts question whether he can stay behind the plate. He has decent hands and some raw arm strength, but his receiving skills are below average and he needs to streamline his transfer on throws. In his pro debut, Allen threw out just 16.9 percent of would-be basestealers.”
Padres needed to add catching depth to the system. The catchers drafted are straight from HS and will need time to develop which at that point hedges may no longer be a padre and will need an heir.
Gosh, if only San Diego had a catcher who was really good, a good framer, hit for power, got on base, was good at limiting the running game…if only they could find a guy like that.
What does having Grandal, who is a free agent after the 2018 season, have to do with catching depth in the minors? Just curious cause my comment clearly says-
“The padres have 0 catching depth behind Austin Hedges working through the system. The only prospect is Austin Allen….”
Oh you only read The Padres have 0 catching depth behind Austin Hedges didn’t you?
Also 6 season- 26% runners caught stealing. “Good at limiting the running game”……..1 out of 4 aint bad. Better than 0 out of 4.
Buchter is just a LOOGY- no he isn’t the stats completely prove your statement false.
Grandal is good a limiting the running game- no he isn’t the stats complete prove your statement false.
There is no use in tanking- yes there is, the stats completely prove your statement false.
Look, at least look up these things before you comment David. It takes all of 1 minute or less to look up the player stats via fan graphs baseball reference mlb.com fox cbs espn whatever database you wanna use.
Meh. You’re an internet bully but whatever. 26% is a league average rate of throwing out runners. The bigger issue is that the Padres handed Grandal to the Dodgers and got literally nothing in return. Except the right to flush 30 million dollars down the toilet.
Well, if thats not the pot calling the kettle black.
Also, correcting your statements with facts isnt bullying.
26% is league average- ok so hes average at throwing out runners/keeping them off the bases/ limiting the running game- not good. Good would be above average probably in the 30-35% range. However you want to quantify it.
Still not seeing how grandal is related to the padres having no catching depth in the minors. Unless you think they could have traded him for a catching prospect or something. Other than that not seeing how grandal is related to my comment about why the padres drafted 2 catchers high in this years draft.
No, correcting with the facts is not bullying, I agree. Denying that gay people exist? That’s bullying.
Grandal’s framing – the best in baseball – keeps runners off base. That’s important. The Padres could have quite easily gotten something for him – not necessarily a catching prospect, but any prospect. Trading him for a nothing like Matt Kemp was baffling.
Hedges is so far from free agency that him no longer being a Padre is not even a concern.
Hedges is not exactly sure thing moving forward
Nor is your brain
Good comeback. Who cares about his free agency now he’s not established catcher doesn’t play everyday and had defensive issues. He has some power but hits .200 and strikes out a ton
Hedges has the fifth most innings caught among all Major League catchers this year. Sounds to me like he indeed DOES play everyday. And defensive issues? He’s one of the best defensive catchers in baseball! I honestly don’t know where you get “defensive issues” from. But that’s far from being the first idiotic assertion you’ve made on here and I’m sure it won’t be the last.
If you watched him play you would know he can’t throw runners out, strikes outa ton, and hits .200, You want to put him
in HOF
I watch him play all the time. He has thrown out more than 30% of the runners who try to steal on him which statistically means trying to steal on him is counterproductive, is batting over .200 and doesn’t even have the highest strikeout rate on the team. I never said he deserves to be in the HOF. You really are a dumbass.
I think the overuse of Hedges is the real issue. The Pads are going to burn him out the way KC is burning out Perez. At his age I think SD should be playing him around 130 games a year. He’s on pace for 145 right now. I understand Torrens isn’t a great backup option, butt the team does have vets down in AAA. No reason to be wearing a 23 year-old catcher into the ground in a rebuilding year.
Best defensive catcher lol
That’s what the scouting reports say
Jon Jay for Gyorko
List goes on and on