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Padres, Indians Complete Mike Clevinger Trade

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The Indians and Padres have completed their massive Aug. 31 trade in which Cleveland sent right-hander Mike Clevinger to San Diego. Per announcements from both teams, the Padres have acquired right-hander Matt Waldron.

Waldron, who turned 24 in September, joined the Indians when they chose him in the 18th round of the 2019 draft. He made a good impression during his first minor league season, in which he amassed 45 2/3 innings of 2.96 ERA pitching with 11.2 K/9 against a measly 0.8 BB/9 between the rookie and Low-A levels. Of course, Waldron wasn’t able to build on those numbers this year because the pandemic wiped out the minor league season.

However Waldron pans out, the Padres probably don’t regret making the deal. Even though he missed time with injuries after the team picked him up, Clevinger helped the Friars to the playoffs with 19 innings of six-run ball in September. Clevinger has two more years of affordable control left, so he’ll remain a key cog for the Padres going forward.

The Indians, meanwhile, saw three of the six players they acquired for Clevinger and outfielder Greg Allen don their uniform in 2020. Righty Cal Quantrill was highly effective over a small sample of work; outfielder/first baseman Josh Naylor went on a tear during their two-game playoff loss to the Yankees after a subpar regular campaign; and catcher Austin Hedges’ struggles at the plate continued.

Matt Strahm Undergoes Successful Surgery

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  • Padres left-hander Matt Strahm recently underwent successful surgery on his partially torn right patellar tendon, Robert Murray of Fansided reports. The 28-year-old Strahm logged a 2.61 ERA/4.93 FIP with a career-worst 6.53 K/9 against 1.74 BB/9 over 20 2/3 innings in 2020.

Padres, Royals Complete Trevor Rosenthal Trade

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The Padres and Royals have completed their August trade that saw reliever Trevor Rosenthal head to San Diego for a player to be named later. The Royals have acquired right-hander Dylan Coleman in exchange, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets.

Now 21, Coleman was a 2018 fourth-round pick of the Padres who has done well at the lower levels, minus a rough High-A debut a year ago. Coleman has pitched to a 3.18 ERA with 10.8 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 56 2/3 innings during his minor league career.

The 30-year-old Rosenthal, a former lights-out Cardinals closer who has battled injuries of late, enjoyed a rebound campaign between the Padres and Royals in 2020. He didn’t allow a single earned run over 10 frames as a Padre and ended the year with a 1.90 ERA/2.22 FIP and 14.45 K/9 against 3.04 BB/9 in 23 2/3 frames. Rosenthal is now one of the most desirable relievers on the open market.

A’s, Padres Complete Jorge Mateo Trade

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The Athletics and Padres have completed their late-June trade that sent infielder Jorge Mateo to San Diego, Oakland announced. The A’s will receive outfielder Julio Perez in return.

The 19-year-old Perez debuted in the minors in 2018 and then blossomed in rookie ball the next season, when he batted .268/.349/.512 with 11 home runs and 11 stolen bases across 238 plate appearances. FanGraphs then ranked Perez as the No. 22 prospect in a deep Padres system.

Mateo, 25, was a high-end prospect in his younger days, but he hasn’t been that productive in the minors or the majors over the past couple of seasons. He made his MLB debut in 2020 and batted .154/.185/,269 without a home run in 28 PA.

Padres To Decline Mitch Moreland’s Option

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The Padres are planning to decline their $3MM club option on Mitch Moreland, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan (Twitter link). The veteran first baseman will instead receive a $500K buyout and hit free agency. The Padres have confirmed the move.

San Diego gave up a pair of well-regarded prospects, outfielder Jeisson Rosario and infielder Hudson Potts, to acquire Moreland from the Red Sox before the August 31 trade deadline. Both Rosario and Potts would’ve had to be added to the 40-man roster or else be exposed to the Rule 5 draft this offseason. Freeing up roster space to protect each player figures to be easier for Boston than it would’ve been for the Padres, who have quite a few top prospects who’ll need roster space in the coming months. Nevertheless, losing Rosario and Potts looks like a hefty price to pay for one month of Moreland’s services.

Unfortunately, Moreland underwhelmed after the trade. While he got off to a scorching start in Boston, the 35-year-old put up subpar numbers in San Diego. A down 73 plate appearances surely hasn’t completely soured the Padres’ front office on Moreland’s ability, though. Overall, the left-handed hitter put up a fantastic .265/.342/.551 line between the two clubs.

As Chris Cotillo of MassLive points out (on Twitter), the uncertainty regarding the status of the designated hitter likely played a part in today’s decision. Eric Hosmer would likely have gotten the lion’s share of time at first base even if he had continued to perform at the unspectacular levels he’d managed between 2018-19. The 31-year-old Hosmer looked reinvigorated at the plate in 2020, cementing himself as an everyday player.

With the designated hitter available to NL teams in 2020, Hosmer and Moreland each had opportunity for playing time last season. Like all the other rule changes necessitated by the pandemic-impacted season, the universal DH was only approved for last season. While there’s long been an expectation the universal DH could become permanent under the terms of the next collective bargaining agreement, there’s no guarantee it’ll be in place for 2021.

Moreland will now join a first base market that doesn’t have many clear everyday options. He’ll probably attract a fair bit of interest, particularly if the NL does adopt the DH in the coming months. It’s a bit of a red flag the Padres resorted to declining his option, though. Presumably, the front office looked for a potential trade partner over the past five days and didn’t find a team willing to give up assets to bring Moreland aboard at a low price.

Latest On Angels’ GM Search

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OCT. 30, 6:07pm: Brewers assistant GM Matt Arnold has also interviewed with the Angels, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Arnold was a candidate for Pittsburgh’s GM vacancy last winter, but that position went to Ben Cherington.

3:47pm: Ricciardi is not a candidate, Fletcher tweets. Former Giants GM Bobby Evans has received an interview, though, and Mariners assistant GM Justin Hollander (formerly with the Angels) is also in the mix, according to Fletcher. Additionally, they’ve reached out to Eddie Bane, their former scouting director, to gauge his interest in the GM job, Robert Murray reports.

OCT. 29, 11:01pm; Former Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill, Nationals special assistant to the GM Dan Jennings and Cubs VP of player personnel Jason McLeod are also in the running, according to Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.

10:28pm: The Angels have moved slowly to find a new general since firing Billy Eppler at the end of September, but at least a few names have emerged for the job, per reports from Robert Murray, Jon Heyman of MLB Network, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times and Mike Puma of the New York Post.

According to the aforementioned group of reporters, Diamondbacks assistant general managers Jared Porter and Amiel Sawdaye, Athletics assistant Billy Owens and Padres senior advisor Logan White have all interviewed for the job in Anaheim. Giants special advisor J.P. Ricciardi, once the Blue Jays’ GM, is also in the running. The Angels also contacted Cubs vice president of scouting Dan Kantrovitz to gauge his interest in the position, but he’s not a candidate. Kantrovitz turned down the Angels’ overtures and will stay with the Cubs in 2021, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.

While both Porter and Sawdaye received new contracts with the Diamondbacks just over a year ago, perhaps they’re amenable to taking over another team’s baseball operations. Owens just finished his 19th season in the A’s front office, though he may be open to a change with executive VP Billy Beane possibly set to pursue other interests. And then there’s White, who previously worked for the Dodgers but has been with the Padres since before 2015.

Of course, anyone succeeding Eppler will be taking over a fairly appealing situation. The Angels have missed the postseason six times in a row, but they have the game’s best player, center fielder Mike Trout, as well as a great complement in third baseman Anthony Rendon. Infielder David Fletcher, two-way player Shohei Ohtani, young outfielder Jo Adell and starters Dylan Bundy and Andrew Heaney are also on hand. Plus, owner Arte Moreno has typically been willing to spend, so the budget shouldn’t be a hindrance for the club’s next GM.

Red Sox Interview Luis Urueta, Don Kelly, Skip Schumaker, James Rowson

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6:15pm: The Red Sox have also interviewed Marlins bench coach James Rowson, Speier tweets.

5:46pm: The Red Sox have asked the Twins for permission to interview their bench coach, Mike Bell, according to Speier.

3:33pm: Boston has also interviewed Padres associate manager Skip Schumaker, Kevin Acee of the San Diego-Union Tribune tweets.

10:45am: The Red Sox interviewed Diamondbacks bench coach Luis Urueta for their vacant managerial post last week, ESPN’s Enrique Rojas reports. It’s the second time in the past year that Urueta has interviewed for the position. He was also a candidate after Alex Cora was let go, although the team opted to instead stick with an internal option in Ron Roenicke, who won’t return as skipper in 2021. Meanwhile, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link) reports that the Sox interviewed Pirates bench coach Don Kelly as well.

Urueta, 40 in January, has held his current position in Arizona for three seasons. He’s previously served as Arizona’s minor league field coordinator in addition to managing the Diamondbacks’ Rookie-level affiliate, managing in the Dominican Winter League and managing Team Colombia in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

The 40-year-old Kelly has fast risen as a popular managerial candidate after retiring as a player following the 2016 season. The longtime Tigers utilityman began working in Detroit’s player development part upon retiring and moved to their scouting staff the next year. He was hired as Houston’s first base coach for the 2018 season and hired as the Pirates’ bench coach under rookie skipper Derek Shelton last offseason.

There’s considerable speculation that Cora could return to Boston after his suspension for his role in the Astros’ 2017 cheating scandal has been served. That ban runs through the current postseason. However, the Red Sox have also reportedly interviewed Cubs third base coach Will Venable and, per Heyman, could talk to Dodgers first base coach George Lombard.

Padres Notes: Strahm, Coaches, Front Office

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Reliever Matt Strahm will undergo surgery on his right knee next week, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports (Twitter link), and the southpaw is expected to be recovered for by Spring Training.  Strahm is looking to fix his right patellar tendon, three years after undergoing a procedure on his left patellar tendon.  The right knee issues bothered Strahm throughout the season, Acee said, and led to an injured list stint in September.

Despite the injury, Strahm still had some effective bottom-line stats over 20 2/3 relief innings, posting a 2.61 ERA and 3.75 K/BB rate.  With the caveat of a small sample size, the left-hander also posted a career-low (6.5 K/9) strikeout rate, and the lack of missed bats led to some unimpressive ERA predictors (4.93 FIP, 5.01 xFIP, 4.24 SIERA).  It’s possible that between these numbers and any uncertainty over his knee situation, the Padres could look to non-tender Strahm, who is projected to earn between $1.6MM-$1.9MM in his second trip through the arbitration process.  On the other hand, the Padres might prefer to retain a member of their bullpen considering Trevor Rosenthal and Kirby Yates could depart in free agency, and Luis Perdomo will miss 2021 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

The latest from San Diego…

  • In another tweet from Acee, the Padres aren’t planning to make any changes to their coaching staff.  One potential exception could be Skip Schumaker, if Schumaker receives any consideration for any of the managerial openings around baseball.  Schumaker worked in San Diego’s front office for two seasons before becoming a first base coach in 2018-19 and then serving under skipper Jayce Tingler in an “associate manager” position.  Schumaker was a candidate for the Mets’ managerial job last winter prior to New York’s (short-lived) hiring of Carlos Beltran.
  • The Padres won’t be renewing the contracts of 25 employees in the baseball operations department, the club announced today.  Most of the 25 employees were offered severance packages.  According to The Athletic’s Dennis Lin (Twitter link), many of the employees let go were in player development roles related to the Padres’ farm system, indicating “continued uncertainty about the minor leagues.”  It isn’t yet known if there will be any sort of normal minor league season in 2021, and even if there is, several minor league franchises are expected to be contracted as part of a more uniform, MLB-operated farm system.

Luis Campusano Charged With Felony Marijuana Possession

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Padres catcher Luis Campusano was arrested in Georgia on Saturday on felony marijuana possession charges, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Campusano had 79 grams of marijuana in his car when police pulled him over around 5 a.m., per the police report. He could face up to 10 years in prison.

“We were recently notified of the arrest of Luis Campusano in his hometown of Augusta, Ga. this past weekend,” the Padres stated. The Padres added that they’re “gathering information and have been in contact with MLB and local authorities.”

While it’s unknown whether Campusano will face major discipline from the legal system or Major League Baseball, this is obviously unwelcome news. The 22-year-old Campusano, a second-round pick in 2017, rates as one of the Padres’ many young standouts, as he was among the game’s top 100 prospects when they promoted him to the bigs for the first time in early September. Campusano only appeared in one game after that, but he made his lone appearance count by going 1-for-3 with a home run and a walk before going on the injured list with a left wrist problem.

Luis Perdomo Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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Padres right-hander Luis Perdomo underwent Tommy John surgery last week, The Athletic’s Dennis Lin reports (via Twitter).  As per the usual 12-15 month recovery timeline, Perdomo will almost certainly miss the entire 2021 season.

Perdomo spent some time on the injured list in September due to forearm inflammation, though he returned to pitch one more game for San Diego on September 16 before being sent to the team’s alternate training site for most of the remainder of the season, and he didn’t pitch during the Padres’ playoff run.

Acquired via the Rule 5 draft in December 2015, Perdomo has never pitched above the high-A ball level when he made his Major League debut in 2016, though he showed some hints of rotation-level durability and potential during his first two seasons with the Padres.  Unfortunately for Perdomo, shoulder problems set him back in 2018, and he then re-emerged as more or less a full-time reliever in 2019.  He didn’t quite fit the normal relief pitcher model given his knack for generating grounders (57.3% career ground ball rate) rather than strikeouts (career 6.7 K/9), but Perdomo posted a solid 4.00 ERA over 72 frames during the 2019 season.  Between his forearm issue this season and being shuttled back and forth from the alternate training site, however, Perdomo became something of an afterthought for San Diego.

Perdomo will be eligible for arbitration for the second time this winter, and he already looked like a potential non-tender candidate even before his injury.  MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projected (depending on how arbiters view 2020 statistics) a salary range of $1.1MM / $1.2MM / $1.0MM for Perdomo through the arb process.  It isn’t out of the question that the Padres could non-tender Perdomo and then re-sign him to a minor league deal as he rehabilitates, or it’s also possible that Perdomo might have to wait until the 2021-22 offseason before landing his next contract.

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