As spring training nears, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:
1. When will the Padres execute a trade?
Over the weekend, it was reported that the Padres might have more payroll capacity this winter than initially believed, allowing them to avoid shedding salary below currently projected levels. With multiple holes in the lineup and rotation, however, making a trade or two still seems all but necessary in order to make budget space available for additions to the roster. Right-hander Dylan Cease has long appeared to be available this winter, with infielder Luis Arraez and closer Robert Suarez among the other pieces that have been under consideration for a trade. The Friars are now also said to have fielded some interest in right-hander Michael King. Given the number of teams still interested in adding to their rotation, dealing Cease or King would bring the largest return of the group. There’s no indication San Diego is expressly shopping either right-hander, but it’s only natural that both would draw wide interest with the Padres willing to entertain the possibility of a trade.
2. DFA resolution incoming:
Last week, the Mariners designated left-hander Tyler Jay for assignment after acquiring right-hander Will Klein in a trade with the A’s. Jay, 31 in April, made his big league debut in 2024 and with 7 2/3 innings of work between the Mets and Brewers. The southpaw was cut from the club’s 40-man a week ago to the day, and as such the one-week window for a DFA’d player to either be moved or clear waivers is closing. There should be an announcement regarding Jay’s future at some point today, whether that’s a waiver claim or him clearing waivers. If Jay clears waivers, he’ll have the opportunity to reject an outright assignment and test free agency after being outrighted earlier in his career.
3. MLBTR Chat Today:
With spring training just a couple of weeks away, we’re nearing the point where the baseball offseason starts to give way to preseason excitement even as major free agents remain unsigned and team needs remain unfulfilled. Whether you have questions about what’s left for your team to do this winter or a trade proposal in the back of your mind, MLBTR’s Steve Adams will be here to answer your questions during a live chat scheduled for 1pm CT. You can click here to ask a question in advance, join in live once the chat begins, or read the transcript once the chat is complete.
Fascinating world we live in where The Los Angeles (Tax) Dodgers can completely upend the MLB status quo with rumors of even more deferred money signings…and what is the lead story today? What will the Padres do?
Get over it, man.
I was just trying to see who I could get spun up on a dreary, cold, mid-winter morning. And the answer is…at least one.
Wouldn’t surprise me if the Padres were dumb enough to trade one of Cease, Arraez or Suarez to the Dodgers and continue to roll with their overpaid “stars” on that roster.
Pads had more than a pretty decent run in 2024. Why move pieces from that? Be content; continuity is underrated.
As a Braves I love to complain just as much as the next guy with next to nothing on moves this off season…But what’s the panic in SD? Outside looking in they have a stacked team. What’s everyone clamoring for? They sure whooped the Braves in the playoffs.
If they’re going to do anything in 2025, they need to fill some holes created by the loss of free agents and the loss of Musgrove. If they’re not going to do something, they should at least take advantage of the value King or Cease would bring in a trade. They got a ton last year by trading Soto. At this point, it looks like they’re just gonna sit on their hands leading to a disappointing season. We’ll see.
If you can’t beat them…join them!!!
Everyone should defer their taxes!!!
And when the FEDS realize their Cofers are a Little Light and they are sucking wind financially…then the Stuff will hit the fan
Imagine if every owner of a sports team paid the taxes they were suppose to pay. The national debt would be erased..
Everyone should defer their taxes!!!
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Most people do. It’s called a 401k.
Every team in MLB could spend like the Dodgers if they wanted to. Every one of them.
That is extremely false
Every team in MLB has the financial resources to spend like the Dodgers if they wanted to. They’re all owned by billionaires. Every single one of them.
Wrong MLB is economically broken from top to bottom .
That is true to an extent but every team in MLB could spend like the Dodgers if they wanted to (as proven by The San Diego Experience) and the sooner you accept and acknowledge it the better
In fact since it’s supposed to really be all about winning they should all spend every cent possible even if it means they turn zero profit and arguably even if they end up in a deficit.
MLB would step in and say sorry your debt to revenue can’t be done. MLB ,CBT,CBA. Is broken . No way every team can spend like the dodgers , maybe 6 teams can.
The Dodgers have an extremely lucrative TV deal that allows for spending like drunken sailors. Though they have the ocean to the west they have all of LA county, let’s face it a good chunk of the OC, basically everything up to Bakersfield in the North and the IE in the east. That’s is many millions of people for their market for the TV deal. In contrast SD also has the ocean to the west, they get a little in the OC and IE. To the east there is nothing but desert. To the south even though TJ has a lot of Padre fans, they don’t count toward TV ratings. They can get nowhere near what LA can in a TV deal.
Additionally, just because an owner or ownership group is a “billionaire” it doesn’t mean they can keep throwing money at their team. Many are billionaires because of their worth (investments, real estate, etc…). In order to spend like LA they would likely have to divest from other investments. They all have smarter money people than me helping them. They likely have limits as to what they can invest in the team without risk becoming too high.
Even with the big TV deal I don’t know the long term plan for LA. In the 2030s the payroll for players that don’t play for them anymore will be higher than most other team’s total payroll. In the 2030s if they sign people to contracts maturing in the 40s and so on I don’t know how sustainable that is.
Japanese companies are falling over themselves in the rush to give the Dodgers money.
You have to be a billionaire to buy a team. You’ll go broke trying to keep up with the spending of the Dodgers, unless you have the revenue stream the Dodgers do. The Mets and Yankees may be close, but the other teams are not close.
The Padres were nearing bankruptcy at the end of last season. Not everyone can keep up.
The Dodgers are owned by several billionaires while the Padres are owned by a group of clowns that inherited it from one billionaire.
every team in MLB could spend like the Dodgers if they wanted to (as proven by The San Diego Experience)
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According to Forbes, SD lost $116M last year. So not even SD can afford SD.
But I am amused that you think that teams with $300M in revenue can afford $500M in player payroll.
That’s not true. Every team can spend more than they do. And some much more. But no way every team can match the Dodgers financially.
They’re all financially wealthy enough to spend like the Dodgers and still make a huge profit- just might not be as huge as a profit as it would be by spending less.
The sooner you acknowlege it the better.
Not all billionaires. Peter Seidler wasn’t a billionaire but he spent like one.
Even more proves the point, thanks. Every team in MLB could spend like the Dodgers if they wanted to, even the few that aren’t owned by billionaires. Thanks man.
Yeah dude, you’re so right, even a person with just $20 should spend like the Dodgers, yep, uh huh, right on man
Apparently so. It’s all good until someone has to find the cash for the Lambo and superyacht payments. I love what Seidler did. Balls to the wall. But my goodness me,
the dude left a mess. You got to have sympathy for the cleaner upperers.
Hahaha, right, you insignificant nobody. Because a person with $20 should be compared to non-Dodger teams. After you pointed out yourself that the non-billionaire Padres owner spent like a billionaire. You got some likes on MLBTR, though. Congratulations.
3rd grade..?
There is a vast difference between your partial truth (a number of the smaller and mid-sized markets are guilty of not spending to their capabilities), and the underlying reality that a few of the largest markets have a huge competitive advantage that cannot be erased by their knee jerk defenders.
Every team in MLB could spend like the Dodgers. The sooner you accept it the better.
‘You can lead a horse to water’
You remind me of someone: Make incorrect, but bold statement as a declaration; add no facts or context to support said statement; repeat said statement in angry fashion and then insult anyone that disagrees. You must love the current schmuck in the oval office.
Lol, incredibly low threshold for the definition of ‘angry’.
@bin – I just took a look. That is seven posts in very short order that repeat the same thing without adding any additional factual context. Plus the repetition of this stupidity – “and the sooner you accept and acknowledge it the better”; “The sooner you acknowledge it the better.”; “The sooner you accept it the better.” ‘You can lead a horse to water’.
Do you even read what you attempt to babble on here? No – don’t bother responding. Reading and thinking are clearly not your forte.
Whatever. I’m out of here
plz don’t come back
Recess is over?
I assume the Padres’ unwillingness to spend and strong desire to reduce their payroll is coming from MLB Headquarters. There was something last year about their debt ratio. I assume it’s worse than this and they have to reduce expenses or else.
The problem with that is that they are NOT reducing payroll.
@Viveleempireevil
If the Padres can’t compete, it’s time for the team to fold. Even the A’s are spending money this offseason.
waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!
I think San Diego is stuck in indecision more than anything. I can bet there’s a lot of debate in the front office whether to sell their impending free agents or go for it with them. They’ve always seemed to be sellers rather than a team that re signs these guys. I think the answer definitely would be to do what they did last year with Soto, sell but get back at least one player you can plug in now along with prospects.
Sal – Perhaps the Red Sox would trade Casas/Anthony for Cease or King.
Considering what they gave up for Crochet, the Padres are probably hoping for a similar haul from Breslow … especially when you look at what Cease and even King has done the past 3 years.
I’m not sure you guys should give up Anthony for either, but I’d do Casas plus another for one of them for sure. The other thing is what’s the plan post Casas if they fail to get Alonso or Bregman?
Sal – Devers to 1B would be the plan, if he can play it well.
And 3b?
Sal – Internal options would be Grissom or Campbell, external options would be Arenado, Moncada, Madrigal, Anderson.
Red Sox obviously don’t care about having no depth at positions, considering they traded Teel.
Yeah there’s always pause in me when you trade pieces with no obvious answers. I’d always rather have a guy on hand that for sure can play the position first.
Like my Yanks still need an infielder, but having DJ and Cabrera at least has guys that are more than capable of playing the positions even if their offense isn’t as hot.
But I do think the Sox have pieces to swing a deal, but would they with the rotation they already have?
Sal – I wouldn’t trade Casas or Anthony either, but the Sox have made it really clear they’d rather trade talent for pitching than pay for top free agent pitchers.
Yeah I could see them maybe trading Crawford, dude is gonna be 30 next year.
In an alternate world a Padres team with Soto beat the Dodgers in the 2024 NLCS. Incomprehensible tactics in that Padres Front Office, in my opinion.
Sorry, NLDS.
No you had it right. In that alternate world, Padres win 106 games, Dodgers get the 3rd WC and then the two don’t meet until the 2024 NLCS.
Lets – You’re assuming the Padres still beat the Braves without King and Higgy, that’s a big assumption.
Fever you’re right but it’s even more than that. Soto got them 300+ innings of pitching from King, Brito, and Vasquez, plus Thorpe which allowed them to get Cease. That trade allowed them to cover like 500 innings of pitching.
Keeping Soto would mean they don’t get the arms that covered over 1/3 of their total innings pitched last year and they wouldn’t have their top 2 starting pitchers. It’s a very different and much worse team in terms of pitching.
Which is why they need to keep both King and Cease this year and probably will. Though AJ never doesn’t listen to offers if he can improve the team.
Nichols – Excellent point, thank you!!
CNichols – You are exaggerating in my opinion. I admit that King was great for the Padres but I don’t believe that Brito and Vasques’ production couldn’t be acquired from somewhere else. Thorpe sure wasn’t a breaking point in the trade for Cease either.
Honest question here, but where would you have acquired players to pitch those 500 innings? Free agency? Different trades?
I disagree with the premise that Vasquez and Brito’s production at league minimum is just available anywhere, getting that on the open market would have been expensive, but even if we assume they are non factors, they would still need to replace Cease (#5 in MLB by fWAR for pitchers) and King (#11 in MLB by fWAR). I don’t see how you get 2 top of the rotation arms without giving up a major piece like Soto. Unless they have no budgetary restrictions at all it’s so much value to replace.
In an alternate world a Padres team without Soto or a Yankees team with him beats the Dodgers. In an alternate world the White Sox win the World Series. So much for alternate worlds….
Lets Go DBacks
In an alternate world a Padres team with Soto beat the Dodger
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In that alternate universe, SD would have Soto, but not King, Cease, or Higgy, and would not have made the playoffs.
No daily update on the self inflicted Polar Bear Drama?
It’s early.
Lefty: I’m sure there will again be an overload of questions
about him in today’s chat:
Where is he likely to sign?
Who will sign him?
How many years?
How much money?
Hey, my team should sign him. He’d be a great fit.
Can’t wait.
I personally love the “…who says no?” trade scenarios.
@Lefty_Orioles_Fan
He’s going to play in Japan with Bauer.
Either I’m severely underestimating public interest in Tyler Jay, or today is the slowest news day.
It’s the daily (sometimes twice) are the Padres broke or not chitchat in MLBTR. Version January 28
@brew88. The padres have replaced the angels for click bait articles. Brace yourself for trolls
The Padres are the new Joe Adelle in the chats!
@longtimecoming. They Most likely look at the comments and views. They can post something on the marlins and you got atleast 15 comments about the football slider from the people on the special spectrum.
Best of luck to Tyler Jay.
He’s one of the few MLB players from my hometown.
I guess it’s a slow news day when a nobody like Tyler Jay’s DFA makes the list on The Opener.
It’s a sad moment in history when Tyler Jay, a nobody, makes the DFA list on The Opener when you yourself haven’t been on there, Bill. That’s quite embarrassing.
The Padres don’t need to “exercise a trade” at this point unless there is a deal they can’t turn down out there.
Sign Verdugo, and one of Rizzo/France/Turner. Sign Flaherty or spend less on a pair of Cal Quantrill/Spencer Turnbull types and get ready for next season
You’re assuming that the SDP don’t intend to duck under the cap this year.
Flaherty isn’t an option after his little tantrum in playoffs.
I think a reunion with a Rizzo or France and maybe Quantrill is a fair plan. Maybe even Peralta.
I’m ready to try Tirso for ST.