This is part of MLBTR’s series of posts breaking down the offseasons of every team in baseball. You can find all the others at this link.
After one of the most hyper-aggressive offseasons in recent history, the Padres pumped the brakes at the 2015 trade deadline and did so again with a more reserved winter.
Major League Signings
- Alexei Ramirez, SS: One year, $4MM (plus $4MM mutual option)
- Fernando Rodney, RHP: One year, $2MM (plus $2MM club option)
- Carlos Villanueva, RHP: One year, $1.5MM
- Buddy Baumann, LHP: One year, $520K
- Cesar Vargas, RHP: One year, salary unreported
- Total Spend: $8.02MM
Notable Minor League Signings
- Jeremy Guthrie, Brandon Morrow, Adam Rosales, Mike Olt, Matt Thornton, Casey Janssen, Christian Friedrich, Justin Sellers, Josh Satin, Erik Kratz, Philip Humber
Trades and Claims
- Acquired CF Manuel Margot, SS Javier Guerra, 2B Carlos Asuaje and LHP Logan Allen from Red Sox in exchange for RHP Craig Kimbrel
- Acquired RHP Enyel De Los Santos and IF Nelson Ward from Mariners in exchange for RHP Joaquin Benoit
- Acquired CF Jon Jay from the Cardinals in exchange for INF Jedd Gyorko and cash considerations ($7.5MM)
- Acquired LHP Drew Pomeranz, LHP Jose Torres and a PTBNL (Rule 5 pick Jabari Blash) from Athletics in exchange for 1B Yonder Alonso and LHP Marc Rzepczynski
- Acquired C Christian Bethancourt from Braves in exchange for RHP Casey Kelly and C Ricardo Rodriguez
- Acquired 2B Jose Pirela from Yankees in exchange for RHP Ronald Herrera
- Acquired LHP Trevor Seidenberger from Brewers in exchange for OF Rymer Liriano
- Acquired RHP Jean Cosme from Orioles in exchange for Odrisamer Despaigne
- Acquired RHP Dan Straily from Astros in exchange for C Erik Kratz (Straily was then claimed off waivers by Reds)
- Traded RHP Nick Vincent to Mariners in exchange for PTBNL
- Selected RHP Luis Perdomo from Cardinals in Rule 5 Draft
- Selected RHP Blake Smith from White Sox in Rule 5 Draft
Extensions
- None
Notable Losses
- Justin Upton, Ian Kennedy, Craig Kimbrel, Joaquin Benoit, Shawn Kelley, Jedd Gyorko, Yonder Alonso, Clint Barmes, Dale Thayer, Will Middlebrooks, Odrisamer Despaigne, Bud Norris, Marc Rzepczynski
Needs Addressed
Looking at the list of trades made by general manager A.J. Preller and his staff this winter, perhaps “reserved” wasn’t an optimal word selection for the introductory sentence to this review. The Padres were hardly dormant this offseason, but the club’s direction unequivocally changed: while the 2014-15 offseason was about acquiring Major League talent with an eye towards immediate improvement, the 2015-16 offseason instead focused on long-term value and short-term additions that didn’t compromise that long-term outlook.
Chief among those forward-looking moves was the decision to trade one of the game’s best closers, Craig Kimbrel, less than nine months after acquiring him. In terms of prospect capital, the Padres received more than they gave up in order to acquire Kimbrel in the first place, although part of the reason they were able to acquire Kimbrel at a lesser price in terms of young talent was their willingness to absorb Melvin Upton’s contract. The addition of Manuel Margot, Javier Guerra, Carlos Asuaje and Logan Allen was a huge boost to a floundering Padres farm system, but the club still rates among the worst overall minor league systems in baseball, per Baseball America and ESPN’s Keith Law. Be that as it may, the Kimbrel trade could reap Major League benefits in the very near term, as Margot is close enough to the big league level that he could be in center field for the Friars as soon as this summer. Asuaje, too, could emerge on the big league scene relatively quickly.
While many thought the trade of Kimbrel and the subsequent trade of Joaquin Benoit signaled that the Padres would embark on an offseason fire sale, the team didn’t move enticing veterans like Tyson Ross, Andrew Cashner or Derek Norris. Rather, the Padres dealt from the fringes of their Major League and 40-man rosters and, in doing so, were able to pare down the payroll a bit while simultaneously bringing in additional near-term pieces. The new regime clearly wasn’t as high on Jedd Gyorko as the former front office, and shedding his salary for a more substantial up-front cost (the final year of Jon Jay’s contract) created some roster flexibility down the line. Christian Bethancourt and Jose Pirela give the Friars a pair of young players that can step directly onto the roster.
San Diego also moved a year of Marc Rzepczynski and two years of Yonder Alonso for three years of Drew Pomeranz and an intriguing Rule 5 pick in Jabari Blash (plus minor league lefty Jose Torres). From my vantage point, it was hard not to like the deal for the Padres, who gained more control over Pomeranz than they had over either Alonso or Rzepczynski. Pomeranz might not have lived up to his potential yet, but he posted solid numbers in both seasons he spent with the A’s and is nearly two years younger than Alonso, whose ceiling is pretty limited at this point.
In Rodney, Villanueva, Baumann and Vargas, the Padres made a series of low-cost bullpen signings to help replace some of the depth they surrendered in other trades, and while none of the group will replicate the production of Kimbrel, there’s reason enough to believe that Rodney or Villanueva could easily justify the modest salaries that each was guaranteed.
The Padres’ only other free-agent expenditure was a similarly small commitment to Alexei Ramirez, and he’ll serve as a short-term patch over a long-term problem. I’ll talk a bit more about the deal later in the review.
Keep reading for more analysis after the break …