The Padres were dormant for much of the offseason but sprang to life recently. In the past week, they’ve bolstered the pitching staff with Nick Pivetta and Kyle Hart, as well as bringing Jason Heyward and Connor Joe into the position player mix. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that they would still like to add one more bat, either via trade or free agency.
The Friars lost several hitters to free agency at the end of the 2024 season, with each of Kyle Higashioka, Ha-Seong Kim, Jurickson Profar, Donovan Solano and David Peralta hitting the open market. Kim was the primary shortstop last year and Profar the left fielder. Higashioka took over the catching job during the season. Solano and Peralta each became key part-time players, with the former getting into 96 games and the latter 91.
With seemingly almost no payroll space to work with this winter, the club has had to look for low-cost solutions to fill those holes. Heyward and Joe each got very modest $1MM guarantees and are likely to form a platoon in left, replacing Profar. Elias Díaz was signed a couple of weeks ago to help the catching group, with a $3.5MM guarantee that’s broken up into a $1.5MM salary and $2MM buyout on a mutual option, with that buyout not to be paid until after the season.
At shortstop, the solution was already on the roster. Xander Bogaerts had moved from short to second early in 2024 in deference to Kim, but he moved back to short late in the year when Kim hurt his shoulder. He’ll now stick at short in 2025. That will allow Jake Cronenworth to move from first to second and Luis Arráez, who got a lot of starts as the designated hitter in the second half of 2024, to be the regular first baseman. Manny Machado will be back as the regular third baseman.
Arráez isn’t an amazing defender at first, which raises the possibility of him being a regular designated hitter this year, but it seems the club isn’t viewing it that way. “Our infielder guys — with Louie, Croney, Bogey, Manny — they’re everyday guys,” manager Mike Shildt said, per Acee. “All those guys will have an opportunity to take a DH. But I don’t view Louie and Croney being like some rotation of DH. I think they’re everyday guys that’ll be on the field. Will they get opportunities to get off their feet and DH and create other opportunities to get guys on the field? Yes. But I don’t see that being anything other than those guys are everyday guys, and we expect them to go out and play really good defense and help us win games.”
With that arrangement, and Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill in the other two outfield spots, there’s no obvious designated hitter. Guys like Tirso Ornelas, Eguy Rosario and Brandon Lockridge are on the roster but fairly lacking in experience. Oscar González, Gavin Sheets, Trenton Brooks and others are in camp as non-roster invitees but they each have their flaws, which is why they had to settle for minor league deals.
In terms of the roster, it’s easy to see the Padres fitting another bat in there, pushing those depth options to the bench of Triple-A. Presumably, any addition will be made on a tight budget, like all of their other moves this winter. As mentioned, Heyward, Joe and Díaz were cheap, with the Díaz deal even being semi-backloaded via that option buyout. The same was true of their pitching additions. Hart gets a $1MM salary this year and a $500K buyout. Though Pivetta got $55MM over four years, he’ll only get a $3MM signing bonus and $1MM salary in 2025. Even Michael King’s $7.75MM guarantee to avoid arbitration was broken into a $3MM signing bonus, $1MM salary and $3.75MM buyout on a mutual option.
The free agent market does still feature some bats, with Justin Turner and J.D. Martinez the most notable. Turner got a $13MM deal last offseason but is now 40 years old. Since he’s unsigned in mid-February, perhaps he’s not getting offers at that level again for 2025, despite a solid performance last year. Martinez got $12MM from the Mets last winter but with heavy deferrals and a salary of just $4.5MM. Peralta, who joined the Padres via a minor league deal in May last year, is still out there and won’t cost much. Mark Canha, Yuli Gurriel, Miguel Sanó, Anthony Rizzo, Rowdy Tellez and others are also on the market with limited earning power.
On the trade market, Spencer Torkelson doesn’t have an amazing path to playing time in Detroit and is still in his pre-arbitration years. LaMonte Wade Jr. is only making $5MM this year and could perhaps be pried away from the Giants, though the intra-divisional trade is always tougher to pull off. Starling Marte is going to make $19.5MM this year but the Mets are reportedly willing to pay down his salary in order to facilitate a deal.
Cue the marte for cease rumors
Please cease & desist with the Cease cracks. Ahahahahaha!
Absolutely! For Cease, give the Pods not only Marte but Nimmo McNeil Taylor Siri.
I don’t know, I’d live to see Rizzo here.
Tow-Why? He’s got back issues, and can’t hit anymore. He’s not the same Rizzo that you seem to be remembering.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t sign anywhere and just retires.
Tork is the only guy I would look to trade for.
SOLD!
Tork and Manning for Suarez?
And what else?
I don’t know. Who else would the Tigers be willing to throw in?
lol
Since you asked…Maeda and Baez with their full salary 😉
Eric Hosmer is available. Even better, he’s still under contract!
J.D, still being on the market is crazy. Go get him boys.
“Still being on the market”…Word on the street is that Scott Boras has J.D Martinez holding out for less money, like he did with Pete Alonso.
It’s a risky but revolutionary tactic that they’ll be teaching in agency school decades from now.
It was originally the brainchild of one George Louis Costanza. The way he tricked NBC into giving him less money was revolutionary!!
“George Louis Costanza” – George was great and “Seinfeld” is easily the most well written show in TV history.
Look at his 2nd half numbers and you will better understand why JDM is still out there.
I wouldn’t mind bringing David Peralta back. I wonder why SD hasn’t resigned him?
DJL and Stanton are available for a couple of SD Zoo tickets.
Does SD have an aquarium? If so throw those tickets in too.
That sounds very realistic
Referring to David Peralta, not the zoo tickets.
I wouldn’t mind bringing Dave Winfield back. I wonder why SD hasn’t resigned him? Ahahahahaha!
They already signed Heyward. They don’t need 2 aging lefty hitters who play above average defense but can’t hit. Unless you want Grisham back?? We’ll take a sack of potatoes back in return
Pay Grisham down to a minimum salary, and he is definitely worth a basket of loaded tater tots.
Peralta can hit, he just can’t play defense.
I hear the Cardinals are looking to trade Arenado.
Yeah that is the rumor. No mention of Arenado in the article. Maybe they are tired of typing his name over and over and over again?
Supposedly they’re not willing to pay down his salary by a ton though, which most likely takes the Pads out of the equation.
What if the cards took croney, and some other heavy contract back. Cards pay alittle money to balance the money in the trade and padres throw in a prospect?
I dunno. Can’t see it. Where would Arenado play? Second? First? Just doesn’t seem like a match to me. Ya never know with AJ though…
Edit: Plus, both teams are trying to cut salary, and it would make the Padres lineup extremely RH..which Shildt doesn’t seem to like.
Padres are trying to add a bat not trade a bat for a bat.
I don’t think they need any other lefty bats.
Arraez, cronenworth, Merrill, Heyward and possibly Tirso are enough lefties. I’d like another right handed bat. Perhaps Eguy can be that bat but Preller doesn’t seemed to be sold on that so far.
But IF Crony was in the deal, that leaves them with one less lefty..and I have ZERO faith that Heyward’s even on the team come July.
Like I said above though, the two just don’t seem to match up well.
As long as we can afford it
Dr Evil says you can.
One million dollars is the max so Dr. Evil is right on the money.
Buy low on Torkelson
Bustalson.
Agreed. Could probably get him for Wandy Peralta and a low level prospect at this point. Seems like a decent risk vs reward pickup at this point.
The Tigers are asking for two top 15 prospects.
Source on them asking for two top 15 prospects? No way anyone pays that price.
I wouldn’t call heyward and Connor Joe “hitters”
Missers
Id call them platoon hitters
Heyward – 114 OPS+ vs RHP the last 2 seasons.
Joe – 113 OPS+ vs LHP over last 2 seasons.
They are not intended to be Padres starters. They are platoon players and both play multiple positions. As long as they are getting the platoon advantage, they will hit well enough.
That is how the Padres got so much production out of Peralta. He had a 113 OPS+ vs RHP and only 20 AB vs LHP.
Don’t count out Tirso Ornelas. He is a platoon bat also. He shows great power vs RHP with 18 HRs vs RH and only 2 vs LH in AAA last season.
Please don’t sign Alex Verdugo; they don’t need another Tommy Pham incident.
Does Verdugo enjoy a good knife fight at the gentlemen’s club?
Tommy Pham Surgery
My guess is a trade after the season has started, similar to the Arraez scenario last year. I think they’ll assess what they currently have before considering adding a bat.
I feel the same way. Personally, I’d love to see Ornelas and Eguy get real shots this year. Neither has anything left to prove in the minors, and Eguy’s out of options.
Eguy being out of options is a big factor here. He’s too good to pass through waivers, someone would grab him, so he needs to either stay on the 26 man or be traded. I’d rather go with him than most of the possible names being thrown out there.
I don’t know if he is too good to pass through anything. Maybe a rebuilding team takes a shot on him but unlikely a competing team does.
ZiPS projects him to be worth 2.2 fWAR this year. They’re admittedly very bullish on him but other projections show him with decent value too. He also absolutely mashes lefties with a career 1.217 OPS.
If he’s on waivers, I don’t know why the Marlins, White Sox, Angels, etc… wouldn’t grab him. He’s better than what they have on the margins of their roster. It really doesn’t matter if a competitive team takes him or a rebuilding one does, the Padres would lose him either way.
I have Eguy Rosario projected at .278/.360/.440/.800 with a 114 OPS+ and 1.4 WAR in 396 AB mostly against LHP over parts of 110 games.
Like yesterday, today he took fly balls in the OF and infield practice at 3B, 2B and SS. The rumors are Preller and Shildt are looking at him as a Swiss Army knife utility player and that Ornelas may not make the team if they find another bat.
The only question mark in Rosario’s game is strikeouts. At the major league level, he has struck out 34%. At the AAA level he has only struck out 20.3%. The Padres need him closer to his AAA strike out numbers and he will stick in San Diego.
He would not make it through waivers. He would be the starting 3B on nearly a third of MLB teams.
Cease for Wilyer Abreu
Cease for Wile E. Coyote. Ahahahahaha!
And who else? Probably takes Abreu plus an mlb ready pitching prospect and Yoshida with the Sox kicking in a bunch of cash to get it done.
Cease and Suarez for Kutter and Abreu would probably do it. That’s probably lopsided for the padres in surplus value, but that’s probably what it would take for Preller to be willing to move him.
Doubtful. Maybe if the Sox added Yoshida plus 20mil in cash along with Crawford and Abreu. Guess the Pads could throw in Ornelas too..but that would create a logjam at OF/DH after the Heyward and Joe signings, plus weaken the rotation by a lot.
Keep in mind, reports are that AJ’s been asking for the moon for Cease, and based on yesterday’s comments, the Pads seem ready to go into the season with what they’ve got (plus one more bat).
Really doubt the padres would touch Yoshida unless they’re sending Xander back
The Pads went with a high contact, all fields hitting approach last year, which fits Yoshida to a tee. Personally, I think he’d do great in the 6-7 spot behind Tatis, Manny, and Bogy..and if the Sox threw in say 15m? I’d do that deal.
Yo tambien Darlingcito
The issue is Yoshi is owed a lot of money for the next 3 years.
The Pads have 40m plus Hosmer’s contract coming off the books after this season though. Say the Sox kicked in 15m, which would take Yoshida down to about 3m this season, and deal Cease and Suarez in the trade which saves another 18m or so..then that puts AJ in position to wheel and deal during the season.
Haven’t run the numbers or anything, but we know AJ was in on Yoshida before the Sox got him, and personally? I think the guy could be a .300 hitter with moderate pop in the right situation moving between LF/DH.
Padres aren’t going to tie up 18m to Yoshi next season.
Why? They’re clearly trying to free up cash this year, and got Pivetta on a similar structure two days ago. If the Sox threw 20m in, that would mean Yoshida is basically getting roughly 3yrs, 36m..which is very affordable assuming he’d be a 140 game+ player for them in LF, and at DH.
They wouldn’t pay Profar that, they aren’t paying Yoshi that.
Padres are going to need all the money they can get next year to fill holes especially on the pitching side. They aren’t going to spend nearly half of next year’s money on Yoshi.
I have that as close to a zero % chance as it gets.
IF they did it, the Pads would go into the season looking something like:
Arráez 1b
Tatis RF
Merrill CF
Manny 3b
Yoshida DH
Bogaerts SS
Cronenworth 2b
Campy/Diaz C
Abreu/Joe LF
That’s a DEEP and perfectly balanced lineup, plus strengthens the bench with Eguy, Heyward, Joe (who would backup at 1b too), Wade, and Campy/Diaz..
Plus the Pads would be saving roughly 20m which could be used to get an ace around the deadline assuming they’re in the hunt.
They’d need Pivetta/Crawford to step up in that scenario, but I believe in Niebla, and we’ve seen him work miracles before.
I don’t see that happening. I’d prefer the team we have and add another bat. The team looks pretty good now. No reason to trade cease to free up money. If they need money to get another bat they can trade Suarez.
Yoshi is a platoon DH. He is slow and has little power. He had shoulder surgery that saps power and batting average and because it was to his throwing shoulder will keep him from playing anywhere but DH. If he was a free agent he would not get a deal more than 1 year $8 million. No team will take him off our hands if they have to pay $36 million or even $26 million of the $55.8 million he is owed. Henry is going to have to bite the bullet and eat $40 million of his contract to get rid of him so we can move Devers to DH where he belongs.
I am the biggest Sox honk in the room and that is a stupid bad trade for the Padres. They already asked for far more for Cease alone so we would not get both Cease and Suarez for Crawford and Abreu. To include Yoshi would mean including more prospects and $40 million.
Abreu is a lefty so LF is not a good fit and Tatis is in RF for the Padres. Abreu also can’t hit LHP. Like the Red Sox the Padres need RHB. Yoshi is also a LHB and can’t hit LHP.
Yoshida has negative value in trade. $18.6 million for a 1.4 WAR player that can’t hit LHP and is restricted to DH because of bad defense and a bum throwing shoulder gives him no value on the market. He is owed $55.8 million. If the Red Sox pad that down to $5-6 million per season to the receiving team and included a good prospect along with him, maybe they could get someone to take him.
To get Cease AND Suarez the Red Sox would have to start with Anthony if they wanted to include Yoshida in the trade. Then include Crawford, Fitts, Abreu and $38-40 million.
Padres could have signed Profar for 3/$40.8 million so no way they take on a lesser player in Yoshida at that price. No, the Red Sox would have to pay down Yoshida to a total of $15 million on cost for the Padres over 3 years to get the Padres to think about it and maybe not even then.
Yoshida is strictly a DH. He doesn’t hit for power with only 25 HR in two MLB seasons. His SLG is only slightly higher than Arraez career average. He can’t throw after surgery on his throwing shoulder. He can’t run. He can’t play defense. He can’t even hit LHP as you can see by his 73 OPS+ vs them. He is owed a total of $55.8 million and wouldn’t get 3/15 on the FA market.
So adding him to a trade does not make the Padres more likely to accept it.
Nah Mayer would be a fine headliner, Suarez has value, but not a ton
Ron, it doesn’t matter how much money the Padres have coming off the books and it doesn’t matter how much salary the Padres would save.
What matters is how much value Yoshida doesn’t have. If he was a FA he would not get $15 million TOTAL. No power. Can’t hit LHP. Can’t play defense. Can’t run. Just had surgery on his throwing shoulder so won’t be able to throw or play anywhere except DH. There are 5 tools in baseball, and he has 1/2 of one.
Preller was in on Yoshida at around 3/27. Most thought a team might go as high as 4/40. He wasn’t even listed in the Top 50 FA on this site that offseason. (mlbtraderumors.com/2022-23-top-50-free-agents) The Red Sox signed him for 5/90 and everyone in the industry said WTF!
Simm,, the Padres probably wouldn’t tie up $18 million over 3 years for Yoshida. For one season? No possible way they would even consider that.
Ron, the Padres have made no indication at all that they are trying to free up cash this season. They have increase payroll more than all except one team in MLB this offseason. In what world does that tell you they are trying to free up cash?
Yoshida has no value. None. He would not get 3/15 on the free agent market. Maybe 1/5 or 1/6. Maybe less since he is restricted to DH, can’t play defense, can’t run, had surgery on his throwing shoulder so can’t throw, can’t hit LHP, and has no power. His SLG is only a few points higher than Arraez.
VP, Mayer would be a fine headliner for Cease alone and that is what Preller asked for when the Red Sox asked about him in December. Mayer, Abreu, Fitts, and Gonzalez, who has since been traded, for Cease.
Suarez is a top 10 closer in baseball on a reasonable salary. He has huge value.
For both Cease and Suarez the Red Sox would have to increase the value coming to the Padres by quite a bit.
Vpsd, if that would have done it Cease would have been at Fenway Fest. Your GM asked for Mayer, Abreu and 2 MLB ready SP in December.
You are overvaluing our players. Crawford is a 29 year pitcher with a career 4.56 ERA and a 4.36 ERA last year. Abreu is a platoon OF with just 61 AB against LHP because he can’t hit against them. His WAR was all on defense and against RHP.
Abreu would be a good fit for the Padres as a platoon with Joe. But we won’t get Cease for that low of a price.
VP, Kutter and Abreu are not close to what Preller was asking for Cease alone. Preller would want as much or more as his original ask and that include Mayer, Abreu, Fitts, and another SP prospect they no longer have. Probably need to include Whitlock now just for Cease.
Web, you seem to think Whitlock has value. He is always hurt and is guaranteed $14 million over the next two years. Talk about an expensive reliever. If you want him, you can have him. I will drive him to Logan myself.
Padres already asked us for Mayer, Abreu, Fitts and another SP prospect for Cease. You are just trolling right?
Platoon OF like Abreu who rarely batted against LHP do not get TOR starters in return. Even ones that are rentals. Preller asked for 2 MLB ready SP, an overall top 25-30 prospect, and another MLB player from each of the teams that called about Cease at the winter Meetings in December. He would want as much or more now.
It’s going to be Peralta.
Easiest & cheapest way to make the mouth breathers rejoice.
I wouldn’t exactly “rejoice,” but I am a Padres fan who wouldn’t mind resigning Peralta. Am I a mouth breather? Why not sign Peralta? He was pretty good last year. Maybe SD thinks they just got lucky.
Who do you think is daft enough to take on Peralta? He’s not even wanted even if given away for free.
Peralta was solid for the Pads last year.
Wandy or David? I’m talking Wandy
Wallabe was talking about David though..
Not too many hitters in the league. Lots of guys who take big cuts and swing for the moon.
Don’t blame them, Grisham surely can’t!
What about the proposed Wandy to Mets for Marte and cash?
If it was a big enough chunk of cash, I’d do that as a Pads fan.
You are talking like 12-13m in cash for that to happen.
Yup. I was thinking 10-15 m
Peralta is making 4m so I took out his 2025 salary then added a soldier 1m padres current rate of adding.
My gut said $15MM before reading youse two’s guys takes.
Simm, Marte has negative WAR over the past 2 seasons and no longer plays even passing defense. He has no value. The Padres are not paying $7-8 million for him and giving up a MLB player. Just not happening.
To get Marte off the roster the Mets will have to trade with a team like the Marlins or A’s that have to add salaries or lose their revenue sharing or the Mets are going to have to eat all of Marte’s $20.7 million salary other than the MLB minimum.
That is just to get him off the roster. If they want value back, they will have to add value to the trade. A good prospect.
Marte is owed $20 million and has had a -0.1 WAR over the last 2 years. Mets would have to eat his entire contact to dump him. I think they just keep him.
You have to remember Peralta has 3 more years. So taking a little of Martes contract is fine.
Simm, Peralta was a better than MLB average reliever in a season he had a groin injury. The three season before that he had a 2.96 ERA, 42% better than league average, in 175 appearances out of the pen. Relievers with far less track record and a higher ERA got $5-7 million this offseason. He holds substantial value no matter how long his contract is. Marte has none.
There is less than zero chance that the Padres take on any salary for Marte unless they are getting substantial value from other players that are coming along with him.
Maybe the Padres are willing to eat $7-8 million of Marte’s salary if they are getting a 50 FV prospect in return. Someone like Tidwell or Mauricio. Maybe a 45 FV prospect like Acuna or Tong. But that trade would not include a solid reliever like Peralta going to the Mets. It would be strictly a salary dump by the Mets saving them $28.77 million including CBT fines.
Web- I believe the padres would be happy to move Peralta and his contract. It’s not about just one year, it’s the next 3 years.
I believe they would be more than happy to trade Peralta for marte and pay a million dollar different between their contract this year.
For example of the Mets take on all of Peralta’s deal. The padres take on 5m of Marte’s.
I am very well aware of Peralta’s history.
This deal would remove 9m of Peralta’s future money. All for adding 1m to this year’s payroll.
Not a single team would trade for Peralta and his contract even for a bag of balls.
If you think they would be happy to trade him, send him to Boston. Peralta is a good reliever on a reasonable contact. We can send you Whitlock and the $14 million he is owed if you believe you have to take on a crappy, always injured player in return.
Why in the world would the Padres be happy to move a guy with a 3.09 ERA the last 3 seasons. It’s not like he is making much money. There are guys on $7-10 million AAV deals or even more that have not pitched as well as he has.
If you were aware of his history, as you put it, you would not want to trade him.
Who has a better ERA the last 3 seasons?
Kenley Jansen
Paul Sewald
Yimi Garcia
Wandy Peralta
Adding $1 million to this year’s payroll for a guy that cannot break the roster. Marte is not good enough anymore to push anyone out of a spot for. He has started 162 games in the last 2 years.
No. I think you got your panties all in a bunch because he had a groin strain and didn’t pitch up to your expectations and are ignoring his performance. Peralta is a valuable piece of the pen, and he holds real value in trade. Marte has negative value, meaning to trade him the Mets would not only have to eat all of his contract, but they would also have to add someone that does have value to the trade to get someone back in trade.
Teams have been calling about Peralta. We have heard the rumors. Do you know who no team has been calling about? Marte. The Mets are stuck with him.
Because he wasn’t that guy last year and may not be that guy this year. Relievers can fall of a cliff at any point.
So posting stats from 2-3 years ago does t mean he will be that guy again. On top of that his secondary numbers say he won’t be.
Simm, why are you arguing this point? Not a hill to die on. Several clubs including the Red Sox have made offers on Peralta and your GM shut them down. He is cheap and his recent performance is top 40.
Saying that 2024 is how he will pitch going forward when he had a non-arm related injury is not a legit stance.
The only way to predict the future is to look at the past. Last year he was better than most. A 104 ERA+. The season before he was 54% better than average. 2025 is most likely fall somewhere between those two.
Add to that the fact that 2020, 2021, and 2022 were all between 129 ERA+ and a 145 ERA+ and you have an exceptional baseline that tells you that the 2024 season with a non-arm injury is an outlier and won’t be repeated.
Peralta’s secondary numbers, his peripherals, have been steady since 2021.
I have said this before, if the Padres do change their minds and decide to trade him, I hope that it is to the Red Sox. We watched him dominate in the AL East for 2+ season. We need that kind of lefty in our pen.
Link me that offer because I believe Peralta would be gone if anyone offered anything.
It’s not a hill to die on it’s simply my opinion. You don’t have to agree but I believe preller would be happy to let him go.
Marte and $19.4 million plus what prospect? Tong? Acuna? They are both 45FV prospects so would be about right for a guy with a 3.09 ERA out of the pen the last 3 seasons.
Marte has negative value, so Mets would have to add someone to the deal to get Peralta even after paying Marte down to MLB minimum.
Not going to happen. The Jays are strongly connected him and have shown significant interest. Who ever it is.
Make a play for IF Vaughn Grissom and buy low from BOS now that they’ve moved on and have a ton of position prospects to displace him.
Yup.
Torkelson, Mize and Manning for either King or Cease. SD can pick which RENTAL (in case people chime in with wanting the world as if they’re under contract for 3 more years at $5 million per).
No
No. Padres aren’t trading a cheap TOR arm for Tigers junk that they’ve already wasted years of control on.
It’ll take
1 of Keith or Jung
1 of Manning or Madden
And someone like Hamm
Market was already set with Corbin Burnes trade. 1 top 100 prospect, 1 young pitcher, and equivalent of a late first round draft pick.
Maze only comes with 2 years of control and is a 4 or 5.
Manning has upside but injury concerns
Torkelson only has 4 years and has just plain sucked. They signed someone similar in Gavin Sheets this offseason. No need to trade Cease or King in any deal involving Torkelson.
The Tigers are not paying that price. Im not one for overvaluing prospects vs proven players…you have to pay to get what you want. But…They wouldn’t trade Keith alone for King or Cease, who they dont need anyway. Jung is a top 100 and Hamm made at least one top 100 list. Plus you want Madden? Try again dude.
A top 100 prospect
A young pitcher
A first round draft pick
That’s the cost to acquire Cease or a trade involving equivalent value to that.
King will cost more since he’s significantly cheaper at 7 mill
“Hamm made one too 100 list”
Yeah first round draft picks usually do wind up on top 100 lists after theyre drafted so good to know I picked a piece that fit the bill.
“Tigers won’t pay that price”
Market value? Ok then you aren’t getting them. Wait till you find out what Preller actually asking for them. Hint: it’s significantly higher than market value.
Burnes wound up costing the orioles Joey Ortiz (63rd prospect), DL Hall (young pitcher), and the 34 overall draft pick.
You can expect to pay a similar price for Cease. And a couple more pieces for King due to him costing half Ceases salary.
I don’t think Preller will trade them anyway. The Tigers like developing their young players so of all the teams who might be interested I don’t see them giving up that much, whether it is market value or not.
Hamm was not a first round pick by the way. I do agree that the return would be in the same ballpark as Burnes. The big piece I disagree with you on is Keith. They didn’t just sign him to a lengthy contract to trade him away. That amount of control, his play last year and his long term potential makes him worth more than a rental. The other names make sense, although Jung is probably playing 3B for the Tigers this year since Bregman signed elsewhere. Including Keith was your problem, otherwise we agree.
The Tigers signed Flaherty and are likely done on the pitching front but you never know. Cheers dude. Tigers vs SD in the WS!
Heckofa deal getting not one, but two, former #1 overall picks back in the same deal for a mere rental.
/S
So are the Pirates so I’m been told.
Using binoculars to find the bottom of the barrel.
Spyglass woulda been funnier
Gwynning
You are so right since they apparently have a patch over one eye while examining talent in their trades
Lmao
I mean arrrrrr arrrrrr arrrrr
Binoculars could be funnier if you only have 1 eye.
I don’t see what you mean, Wade…
Exactly. Need two eye patches for the spyglass to be ridiculous.
Arenado and Shildt will be re-united soon.
Would be a perfect reunion. You know they both want it to happen. Mo don’t screw it up.
Pay him down to League Minimum and we’ll give you $250k International monies…
Arraez is not that bad of fielder. He isn’t a gold glover but did fine at 1st and 2nd last year and even had some amazing plays.
PRELLER reported he wanted another bat. It was on MLB.com. Instead of attributing the reporting to a hack writer, just link to the interview.
Here is Marty Caswell’s recording of the interview just because I am too lazy to find it on MLB.com.
youtube.com/watch?v=7PlwJkOoknQ
Marty is great, she should have a larger audience!
Brendan Rodgers should be available at a price the Padres could afford. He could play 2B against lefties and give Cronenworth or Arraez a day off or a day at DH.
I think if you’re spelling crone against lhp it’s Eguy getting the abs
Rogers would be fine, there are several others.
Padres just spent $13.75 million AAV on a #4 starter. They seem to be willing to spend for guys they want. How much do you think is affordable for them?
13.75m is deceiving.
They basically spent 4m plus another 2m in tax hit.
The padres have a bunch of money coming off the books next year so backloading a deal is fine. It is pretty obvious the concern is actual payroll which they have been keeping down with these deals.
I think they would look at a guy who would add 1-4m in payroll. Perhaps they trade Suarez and that free’s up a little more for this season.
Focus on actual payroll more so than tax payroll.
The question is who can they get for 1-4m?
Yeah. The pads haven’t signed anyone who is going to earn more than $4MM this season. So I would imagine they can add a more impactful guy as long as he’s willing to get his money next year via buyout or backloaded salary.
They’re obviously working with dollar constraints for 2025.
The Padres hit to the CBT is $13.75 million for 4 years unless he opts out after 2 years. Best case scenario is your pitching coach helps him keep the ball out of the stands so he can keep his ERA in the 3-3.5 range and he opts out. Then his CBT hit will be $8.8 million.
A few weeks ago I was talking with some other attorneys about baseball and the consensus was Preller makes big moves and you never see them coming until the news comes out that they have already happened. Then he signed Pivetta.
What do you think of a big deal that sends a 2-3 guys including a back of the rotation starter, Ornelas or Rosario, and Suarez for a good controllable shortstop or LF? Volpe or Suzuki maybe?
They missed an opportunity in Dylan Carlson at 1m.
Congrats on being an attorney, clearly you wanted the whole website to know about it
No. I only mentioned it because the group of guys I was sitting with talking baseball in between session of the state legislature happened to be attorneys.
Suarez and some maybes aren’t getting those type of players. So the chances of that are zero. You can tell you attorney friends I said so.
Simm, do you realize that he was listing pretty close to what the Cubs were asking the Padres for Suzuki before they traded for Pressly?
They wanted Suarez, an MLB ready SP, and an MLB ready 3B with the Padres picking up Suzuki’s $38 million in salary for 2025 and 2026.
If they want a lefty sign Rizzo. If it’s a righty, Turner or Martinez
Quickly scanning headlines, I had to do a doubletake, as I initially read “Padres Looking To Add Another Hitl….”
Das ist neet gut…
Take Masa Yoshida so Devers can DH
Breslow should offer to pay $40-42 million so some team would take him. If Devers is at 3B on opening day the Red Sox will have another 3rd or 4th place finish.
JT or JD, come on down!!!
The team looks relatively deep at this point of the year. Good BP and they have some interesting competition for #5/6 with Waldron, Kolek, Vasquez, and Hart. I’m not feeling as rosy about the bench, but I like the Heyward signing, and I’m intrigued by what Ornelas and Rosario could do. LF, C, 1B, and DH all ?s to an extent, but a WC seems within reach in a tough division; I’ll take it.
I just listened to the Preller and Shildt interviews that Pads Fans posted up the thread a ways. Sounded to me like they believe Campusano will be the starter at catcher with Diaz as backup and Maldonado and Sullivan as depth.
Don’t remember which said it, but Waldron and Vasquez combined for 46 starts on a 93 win club. Their overall numbers were mediocre but they had to be solid in stretches to get the ball that many times. You can never have too much starting pitching. That is a good problem to have.
I took it as Diaz and campy will battle for time.
If campy is like last year he will be replaced. I think he will hit better though.
I see Vazquez, Waldron, Kolek and Brito starting the year in aaa. Which gives the team some good depth to get through the season.
Plus I think preller will add another arm to that group. Most likely on a minor league deal. Though we shall see, hart is the front runner for the 5th spot. Nunez will be interesting to watch this spring.
Hart was terrible when he was with the Red Sox, even in the minors. He is a soft throwing lefty that if he is 100% on his command he is ok, otherwise he gets bombed. I don’t think he is any better than Vasquez or Waldron was for you last year. I hope for your sake I am wrong. Preller is a better scout than I am so he probably does fine for a 5th starter. Not many pitchers whose FB is under 90 make it in the majors.
Maybe read up on the changes he made.
Sweeper and lower arm angle. I read that. Unless they are submariners, not many pitchers in the majors get away with an 88-89 mph FB.
No but I heard his velo is greater than that but we shall see. If he is at 92ish and throws his heater high in the zone along with a good sweeper and changeup those type of pitchers we are seeing work. Obviously it may not work given his contract it doesn’t matter much.
Guys like manaea have turned their careers around dropping the arm slot and not about great velo.
Avg 91 in Korea
Hart averaged 143.8 km/h in the KBO. That is roughly 89.3 mph. His velocity didn’t change. His arm slot, primary pitch, and pitch mix did. He also got much better at tunneling his pitches.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Campy is the starting C, but I think it’s far from settled right now. Waldron was unbelievably good for a stretch and basically carried the staff early in the year when the BP was a hot mess. It’s unfortunate that he couldn’t pitch anywhere close to that in the second half. Vasquez showed some improvement as the year went on. Both are solid #5/6+ options for now with some upside.
I think they are happy with the options they have. Diaz and Campusano if he is healthy is a pretty decent 1-2. Then there is one of the best behind the plate catchers ever in Maldonado, game prep/game calling/defense, sitting in AAA as depth if either falter out of the gate or get injured.
I would not be surprised to see either Campy or Diaz as the opening day starter and I think that the split will be pretty even as long as Campy is hitting.
The stats say the Padres struggled to hit for extra bases against southpaws last year. So maybe a RHH 1st baseman with some power?
what team has one available who might also need Suarez?
Rent-a-Vlad
There was a 20 point difference in OPS+ between LHP and RHP so a RHB makes sense. Your GM and manager both said that Arraez is the 1B and Joe plays 1B and his LHP well so a LF maybe?
Hard to believe a Sox fan watched the Padres fan fest and is this invested but hey ☕️
I watch interviews to learn about every team I comment on. I want to know what I am talking about before I comment. You don’t?
They need a righty left fielder to make Joe playing first make sense. Probable why Eguy will see time left this spring.
Tork
Justin Turner depending on what he’s asking for.
It looks like the plan in San Diego is to take another run at a playoff spot. I still think they look like a team that will only win about 85 games but if they pick up a decent bat and catch some breaks they could nudge that up by two or three wins, which might just be enough to sneak into the playoffs.
More likely, I think they tread water during the first half and decide to cut bait and trade some pitchers in July.
I don’t think the team is much worse than last year
This team as is looks a lot like last years team. You know the one that had the best record in the majors after acquiring Arraez.
With the addition of Pivetta, the Padres are an 89.5 O/U bet. They are a solid pick at the 2nd WC. More than likely they have a couple of veterans like X and Tatis catch fire and Pivetta pitch to his K%/BB% and they win 92-93 games again.
Yeah plus they may still add another bat and even a pitcher.
The one thing people aren’t saying enough is outside of Merrill their core had avg or worse years last year than their career averages.
To be fair, X and Manny are getting older (although not at the age where you’d expect their production to fall off a cliff). Xander’s chronic wrist issues don’t seem to bode well.
Bogaerts will still be better than last season when he fractured his shoulder.
Arraez, as much as I like the guy, is hardly first base material. A 5’10” infielder with 28 HR in 6 seasons doesn’t scream first baseman to me.. Keep him at second base.
Padres already have Cronenworth at 2B and he’s above average defensively, not a liability. I think the Pads want to add a 1B/DH to share the load at 1B with Arraez, who is also now a 1B/DH
Production comes in different shapes. If he’s more of the 22/23 Arraez, vs the 24 one with a torn ligament in his hand, you take him at 1b all day.
“Presumably, any addition will be made on a tight budget, like all of their other moves this winter.”
“With seemingly almost no payroll space to work with this winter, the club has had to look for low-cost solutions to fill those holes.”
MLBTR just can’t let the Padres be! Hahaha
I don’t think they have noticed that only one team has added more to their payroll than the Padres this year or that they are around the second CBT line. Do you remember when $241 million was a hard line that they would have to trade star players to stay under it? That story didn’t work out well for the media but they keep telling it even as the Padres have blown past that line by $20 million. Most teams are cutting payroll, but not the Padres or better teams in the NL West.
Preller is not done.
I think he moves Cease in a blockbuster deal before the start of the season.
Cease and relief pitcher Wandy Peralta might just get them under the luxury tax line if that even matters to the Padres anymore.
@SportFanooo. The penalty for being in the first tier CBT is really small (they are $18M over right now to the fine is about $3.5M), and AJP has been consistently saying they wouldn’t necessarily be able to stay under. I think Cease stays and the Pivetta signing makes that even more probable, not less.
The real penalty comes in the form of lowered draft pick compensation for losing QO free agents and stiffer penalties for signing QO free agents from other teams. The Padres have 3 likely QO recipients next offseason in Michael King, Dylan Cease and Luis Arraez.
They left out the possibility of a waiver claim. There is always a defensively limited prospect that doesn’t make their team and gets put down the pipe. Cheap and happy to be a DH only for a MLB opp.
I think the padres will look for a right handed bat. Perhaps they can play first as well.
Perhaps it can be an outfielder and Conner Joe getting some starts at first. Either way I think it’s a right handed bat.
They could also go with a middle infielder and because they can then rotate some of the infielders.
Hmmmm… Iglesias?
I like him a lot. He can cover short as well. I don’t love Wade there all that much.
Plus he can play second at a high level. He is old enough to not cost much.
I do like Turner as well.
Will see but I find it more likely we don’t do much for the next couple of weeks. Think preller will give some on house options a look first. Though these dudes could be gone by then so maybe he acts sooner than later.
In his interview yesterday where he said they are looking to add a bat, he did follow that comment with, paraphrasing:“but first we want to see how guys look in camp”.
I thought that they picked up Wade to be their utility infielder. He plays great defense.
They did but he is a bit shaky at short. Fine at 3b and 2b. There is a reason he didn’t keep playing short when Kim went down. They called up a guy I can’t even remember off the top of my head to play short until they moved Xander there.
McCoy. That kid is a defensive wizard. If he could hit his weight he would have a job in the majors.
Then Nick Ahmed was brought up, stayed on playoff roster. Did he retire?
Yeah it was McCoy. Couldn’t hit at all but is a great defender.
He is still with the Padres. Was at camp today. Will start the season in El Paso.
McCoy that is. Not Ahmed.
Justin Turner
Did the Padres forget that the season has already started?
A few notes from spring training. Eguy Rosario was shagging balls in OF as well as taking infield practice at 3B, SS, and 2B. Joe shagged flies in LF and took GB at 1B. Didn’t realize how big he is. About an inch or so shorter than I am but built like a linebacker. Hart was here. Didn’t realized that he only threw 88-89 mph. He is 6’5″. Thought he would throw harder. Reynolds was popping the mitt at 98 in his first bullpen. Kolek was 96 mph. I don’t think he was throwing that hard during the regular season last year. Waldron was another one throwing harder than I think he did during the regular season with his FB up to 93 and sitting about 91 in his bullpen. 17-year-old Alvarez hit 95 on a couple of pitches. Mostly around 93. But he is 17. Remember, these guys were only throwing a few dozen pitches with any oomph today. Just getting loose.
Acee article about Rosario in Saturday morning UT included quotes from Shildt that suggested Eguy could platoon with Heyward in LF more than Joe. No mention of Tirso. With Rosarios’s 3B/2B resume, and Joe’s 1B/DH versatility, Ornelas may not get the chance many seem to think he will. Shildt also emphasized Sheets as 1B/DH option which surprises me. I was of the impression Sheets needed to prove his way back at AAA this year and I still believe that to be true. Will be interesting to see how LF/1B/DH it plays out, especially with the notion that they may add another bat.
Sheets has been working out on back fields with minor league players, so it seems like they have him slated for El Paso. I doubt he is a MLB option unless there is an injury. He still has the same grip it and rip it approach at the plate. One of the guys was teasing him saying “open your eyes” when he was in the cage.
Ornelas has been with the major league guys, but I think you are right. Padres seem higher on Rosario than Ornelas. Rosario has been a very busy guy in camp as he has been working out in LF and at SS, 3B, and 2B. Every day Joe has both shagged fly balls in OF and taken infield practice at 1B. Looks like he will be the option at 1B against LHP.
Didn’t read the Acee article, I try not to as a general rule, did he mention that Heyward worked out in RF on Friday?
Yesterday Shildt said that Heyward would get a chance to go out and take the strong side of the platoon in LF. Today he was saying to a group of reporters that he could see Heyward getting “350 PA or even more”. That is less than you would expect if he was getting the strong side of the platoon in LF. More like what you expect from a 4th OF that is playing some of each position which is what I think will happen.
I do think that if he can limit his strike outs that Rosario is going to get that many PA across 5 positions including DH.
A funny side note. During OF practice Heyward and a couple other guys were trying to see if they could throw the ball back in and have it land in the bucket. Heyward did it twice. That is really hard from 80-100 ft into a 5-gallon bucket.
Yeah Acee was just printing Shildt’s quotes in the UT article and pretty much echoes your report. Tossing into a bucket eh? Heyward won 5 GGs in OF so not surprised.
3-way Trade proposal: Suarez to a team needing a closer (say Detroit); Pads send a prospect or 2 not named Ethan or Leo to St. Louis; Detroit sends a prospect to St. Louis, which sends Arenado and cash to SD. With Arenado at 1st Pads get their bat and have maybe the best defense in baseball. St L continues is rebuild. Tigers or other get a shut down closer. Money should work for Pads
I don’t get it Pads Fan in VA. I’d prefer Arraez who is a better bat than Arenado (at this point in his career) at 1st, and they keep their closer.
There was a trade that was rumored earlier in the offseason when people were talking about how unhappy Suzuki was being the DH in Chicago.
That trade was Suarez, a MLB ready starting pitcher, and a MLB ready 3B. The Padres balked at that deal not because of the players involved but because they didn’t want to take on even most of the $38 million Suzuki is owed.
The Padres have moved on and signed a couple of guys to platoon in the OF and also play 1B and are working Rosario out in LF as well. The Cubs have traded for Pressly already. So that one is dead.
As far as Arenado goes, the Cardinals are not getting much back in any trade unless they are willing to eat more of the $64 million they owe him than the $20 million they offered previously.
The best fit left for Arenado is with the Yankees or the Angels. The Padres are not a fit because nearly all of his value is his defense at 3B.
Arraez is only OK at 1st and he has no power. Arenado is an elite defender still with power and a decent BA. Keep Arraez, but he is better suited to DH. Arenado is insurance if Manny is injured or needs a day off. Arenado at 1st completes the best defense in the NL. And we have plenty of options at closer, with the bullpen an area of strength. Overall, IMO the team is better with Arenado than Suarez.
Power isn’t the only metric I use to evaluate the better bat. First, Arenado now isn’t what Arenado was, which makes sense as he’s about to turn 34, two years older than Machado. In the last four years his OPS is lower than Arraez. Their average fWAR is about the same, despite the contribution on defense that Arenado gets. Arraez has a much higher OBP, something the Padres need in their lineup more than power. But Arenado’s 16 HRs in over 600 ABs last year isn’t exactly inspiring, that’s less power than our 2B Jake Cronenworth. Plus they have a couple of guys who can serve as a back up to Machado, but that’s not critical given Machado’s propensity to not miss games.
I just don’t see Arenado as a good fit, at least not enough bang for buck for trading away Suarez. And the Cardinals don’t really need a closer anyway.
I love the Padres because they’re always looking to do something. They’ll sign or trade anybody almost anytime. Big names, no names, everyone in-between. Every other day they’re trying to ship somebody out or bring someone else in. Everybody in baseball has Preller on speed dial haha.
Preller and Padres have done a great job of filling holes and getting depth on the roster.
Signing LHSP Kyle Hart (Korean Cy Young Winner) as a starter for cheap
and signing free agent RHSP Nick Pivetta
all but sets up a Dylan Cease trade to the highest bidder:
Cubs, Mets Orioles and others will be in the bidding.
LF/1b/DH versatile young cost controlled player hitter/defender
plus a young, promising starter will get it done.
1/DH Although I like JD Martinez and others have mentioned him as a FA, but. he is not a fit on the money (unless he takes 1 M and the rest back-loaded and the position).
And, the Padres want a rotational DH to give other position players a rest in the field @ DH.
You saw what the Padres were asking for Cease earlier in the offseason and now that there is no one else put there, they won’t be asking for less.
Do you really think the Cubs are giving up Shaw, Assad, Brown, and Aliendo? Do you really think the Orioles are giving a package headlined by Basallo or Mayo plus 2 MLB ready SP? Do you really think the Mets will give up Sproat, McGill, Mauricio, and Parada? If you think the Red Sox are still looking to add him, the Padres asked for Mayer, Abreu, and 2 MLB ready SP in December. That is what we know they were asking for in return for Cease.
So what you are saying will get it done is nowhere close to enough. If it was, he would be in Red Sox camp today.