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Alexi Amarista, Jesus Guzman, and others performing well in Venezuelan Winter League

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A number of Padres players, major and minor leaguers as well, are participating in some sort of winter league. mlb.com was kind enough to provide a list, although they still have Dean Anna listed as a member of the San Diego organization, which we all know he is not. There are a number of offseason leagues, including the Arizona Fall League which already took place. Others that are taking place right now are the Australian Baseball League, Dominican Winter League, Mexican Pacific League, and the Puerto Rican League, but for the time being I'm going to focus on the Venezuelan Winter League. One of us will get to the others at a later date or maybe even later this date. You never know. Life is full of little surprises.


Major league multi-positional Padres Alexi Amarista and Jesus Guzman are joined in Venezuela by a handful of youngsters yet to make the jump. Outfielder Alberth Martinez, who spent last season with Fort Wayne, and third baseman Jesus Merchan, most recently a member of the Tucson Padres, have received minimal playing time as teammates with Navegantes del Magallanes. Both are veteran non-prospects, unlike the other three Friar farmhands in the league. Speedy outfielder Rico Noel has struggled in 21 games, as has pitcher Brandon Kloess in eight. Adys Portillo, who also participated in the Arizona Fall League, has pitched decently in his two appearances.

Amarista has appeared in half of the 44 games Caribes de Anzoategui has played so far. In 78 at-bats for the league-leaders Alexi has hit at a .282 clip while reaching base 40.4% of the time. That, combined with his less-than-stellar slugging percentage of .397 (by way of four doubles, a triple, and a home run), gives him an OPS of .802- considerably better than his 2013 regular season mark of .619. He's listed as a second baseman but there are no defensive statistics available, so I had to dig through old box scores to see if he's been getting any work in the outfield. I mean, I love the guy, but if the Padres are going to continue using him in the outfield I'd like him to get better at it. Mostly because it makes me sad when gyorks on Twitter say mean things every time he takes a weird route, but also, you know, for the sake of the team.

Box scores and play-by-play of Amarista's last ten games paint a picture of versatility. His starts have been nearly equally divided between second base and left field and he usually switches positions at least once a game. In one 13-inning win, he even started in left and played all nine scheduled innings, shifted to second for two innings, and then went back to left field for two more innings. He also served as the designated hitter for one game and played two innings at shortstop in another.

Another player who has gotten starts in left field for Caribes is former Padres bench-rocker Oscar Salazar whose bright yellow batting gloves you may recall. He has been hitting decently this VWL season, putting up a .291/ .392/ .483 slash line over 151 at-bats in 42 games. Salazar has nine doubles and a triple to go with his six homers and 29 runs batted in. He has 23 walks to 20 strikeouts; the ratio has always skewed the other direction throughout his career, both in his days in affiliated ball and last year in the Mexican League.

Speaking of guys on the Padres bench who can play several positions but make you terrified any time a ball is hit to them at any of them, Jesus Guzman has been raking in 11 games with Leones del Caracas. He has a .366 average along with four doubles, four home runs, and a dozen of each runs scored and driven in. His 13 walks boost his on base percentage to .527, which combines with his .756 slugging percentage for a ridiculous 1.283 OPS. Small sample size, sure, but it looks nice for now.

Another player with Padres ties is spending his winter in Venezuela. Free agent shortstop Ronny Cedeno spent 38 games with the team last season, filling in for the suspended Everth Cabrera after the failed Pedro Ciriaco experiment. Cedeno hit better than expected for the Padres, and is swinging the bat even better than that for Tigres de Aragua. The Venezuela native has a .312 average over 77 at-bats in 22 games. His on-base and slugging numbers are .404 and .416, respectively. Those aren't mind-blowing numbers but they definitely help his job hunt.


Padres Minor Leaguer Corey Adamson At Home in Australian Baseball League

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Out of all the players in the Padres organization who are playing in a winter league, only one of them is playing in the Australian Baseball League. Australia-born outfielder Corey Adamson is playing for the Perth Heat for the fourth consecutive season. Adamson has spent his last five summers slowly working his way up the Padres' ladder, finally reaching Lake Elsinore last season.

The left-handed hitting, right-handed throwing Adamson has had more success back home than he has in the states. After a poor showing in his ABL rookie season of 2010, when he collected only a single in 26 at-bats over nine games, he has hit .325 and .321 the past two seasons and is hitting .318 after his first 22 at-bats this season. He was a member of the 2011 ABL championship team, but had his most personally productive season the next year. Adamson played in 35 games last winter, with a personal high of 10 doubles to go along with his only home run and only two triples of his ABL career.

Adamson's best season in the United States so far was the most recent one. He hit .269 in 99 games for the Fort Wayne TinCaps before moving west to the Lake Elsinore Storm, for whom he hit exactly .300 in 70 at-bats over 18 games. His combined totals added up to career highs in every single offensive category you can imagine. He slashed .274/ .365/ .376 with 17 doubles, eight triples, and three homers. Adamson's 32 steals were nearly double his previous high of 17, set the year before.

Corey is a second-generation star for the Perth Heat. His father Tony starred for the team from the late-eighties through the mid-nineties and retired as the league's all-time home run leader at just the age of 31. The son didn't inherit his dad's power but he's making his name his own way.

2013 Mets Season Review: Zack Wheeler

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The Mets' top prospect delivered a respectable rookie season, but big things are expected of him in 2014.

After surviving the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League and a particularly tough home ballpark in Las Vegas with a 3.93 ERA, Zack Wheeler made his major league debut on June 19, 2013, against the Braves.

Wheeler continued to hold his own in his first 17 major league starts. The right-hander pitched himself into and out of trouble in many of his starts, but he also displayed a dominating arsenal in several of his games, like his 12-strikeout performance against the Padres. He posted a 3.42 ERA, but that came with a 4.14 BB/9.

As a rookie, Wheeler's 96 ERA- suggests he was better than league average, but his 116 FIP- and walk rate show that there’s room for improvement. Many expect those numbers to improve, with a ceiling of a number two or even number one starter. But the early projections are a bit pessimistic: Steamer forecasts a 4.12 ERA, 8.15 K/9, and 4.16 BB/9 for Wheeler in 2014.

With Matt Harvey out for 2014, Wheeler probably has the best stuff of any pitcher on the staff, and the Mets will rely on him to turn that into results next year. Wheeler’s rank in the rotation depends on offseason acquisitions, but where he lines up on Opening Day is a formality; the Mets want him to be their second ace to Matt Harvey for many years to come.

Desired 2014 role: number two starter

Expected 2014 role: number three starter

Quiz: Padres Designated Hitters

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I really like making these quizzes, but there is one downside: I never get to take Padres quizzes! Oh well, small price to pay, I suppose. People seem to like these more than stuff I actually put thought into and write, but I'll gladly mindlessly enter years and names into columns for your entertainment. Everybody wins! Speaking of me just going into autopilot, hey, don't forget to enter your results in the poll and use spoiler bars in your comments!

Today's quiz is one that Friar Fever requested some time ago. I finally got around to making it after getting a nudge.

And that brings us to now. There have been 55 players who have served as a DH for the Padres in a regular season game since that interleague garbage became a part of life. It's up to you to name as many as you can. It might help to just use the "throw [feces] at a wall and see what sticks" method since a lot of these guys are not prototypical DH types. Then again, some of them are. And by that I mean slow and elderly.

Okay, I'm gonna shut up now. Go for it!

Poll
How many did you get?

  38 votes |Results

Padres Rule 5 Draft History: Bobby Klaus, 1968

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With the 2013 Rule 5 Draft coming up on December 12, I thought I'd take a look at the 22 selections the Padres have made over the years. I was planning on breaking them down by decades - and I might still - but the first guy on the list has such a fascinating story that he deserves his own post.

The 1968 Rule 5 Draft was the first for the yet-to-play expansion Padres. With their sole pick, they selected a familiar face. Bobby Klaus, a veteran infielder who played in the majors with the Reds and Mets in 1964 and '65, played five full seasons with the AAA Pacific Coast League San Diego Padres, first in 1962 and '63, and then again from 1966 through '68. So he changed organizations without as much as finding a new parking spot.

In Klaus's five years with the minor league iteration of the Padres, the fewest games he played in a season was 138. That was in 1968 as a 30-year-old 10-year-veteran who spent the second half of the season pulling double duty as a player-manager. Klaus batted just .232 with a pair of homers in 492 at-bats, but he did draw 107 walks to bump his on-base percentage up to .370, one point better than his career mark.

I suspect Klaus was selected less for his on-field acumen as he was for his fan-favorite status. Either way, the locals never got to see him take the field at San Diego Stadium as a big leaguer. Klaus was traded to Pittsburgh with Ron Davis about a week before the team's inaugural game. In return the Padres got pitcher Tommie Sisk and catcher Chris Cannizzaro, who that year became the team's first All-Star. A default choice maybe, but an All-Star none the less.

Klaus didn't make it back up to the majors with Pittsburgh that year and retired after hitting .201 over 69 games with AAA Columbus. Times being what they were, people noticed that instead of his .431 OBP. While he never again got the phone call every AAA player waits for, Klaus did get the interesting distinction of having a baseball card of him as an active player issued four years after his last major league game.

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I tried to find out more about Klaus's offseason job with the Union-Tribune, but came up empty. I wonder what he did there and if he went back after his playing days were over. If you know anything about that or him in general, I'd be glad to hear about it.

BREAKING NEWS: Padres Reacquire A. Gonzalez

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No, not that one.

This A. Gonzalez slashed .215/ .256/ .283 in 267 plate appearances over 102 games with the 2011 team. He's been on the fringes ever since leaving San Diego, playing in 24 major league games each of the last two seasons. Alberto spent 2012 with Texas and split his two dozen games last season between the Cubs and the Yankees. His woes with the bat have followed him to every stop.

What Alberto Gonzalez does bring to the table is defensive versatility. A middle infielder by trade, he has played every position in the majors except for catcher and center fielder. That includes pitcher; on May 15 of last year he pitched the final third of the top of the ninth in a 12-2 Yankees loss. He got Seattle third baseman Robert Andino to fly out to right fielder Ichiro.

Best of luck in El Paso to Alberto.

Quiz: 11 Padres with 8-game walk streaks

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Eleven Padres players have put together at least one streak of eight or more games with a walk. All told, there have been 17 such seasons between them. The team record of 12 consecutive games with a base on balls is held by two players, and others have streaks of 11, 10, nine, and eight games.

It seems like an offbeat topic for a quiz, but it should be pretty easy. Four minutes gives you enough time to make enough educated guesses to get at least most of them. The year that each player did it should help narrow it down even more for you.

As always, log your results in the poll below and don't forget to use spoiler bars in the comments.

Poll
How many did you get?

  16 votes |Results

Padres Sign Stults And Stauffer To Avoid Arbitration

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Stults gets a sizable raise to avoid arbitration.

Last night, Ken Rosenthal was on the ball and reporting some Padres news regarding Eric Stults and Tim Stauffer remaining in their Padres uniforms for a while longer.

It's nice to see Tim Stauffer have a spot on the team for another year. In 2013, Stauffer posted a 3.75 ERA in 43 appearances out of the bullpen. Over his 69.2 innings, he recorded 64 strikeouts while allowing 20 walks. For Stauffer, a place in the bullpen was good for him after only pitching once in 2012 before undergoing surgery, thus ending his season. After the season, Stauffer entered free agency and in January of this year, he was resigned by the Padres.

Eris Stults is going to make some good money this year. $2.75 million dollars. It may not seem like much, but it is a huge raise over his former contract. In fact, it is nearly a $2.25 million dollar raise. In 2013, Stults made $507,000 in his first full season as a Padre. Stults led the team in games started (33), innings pitched (203.2),strikeouts (131), and wins (11). In Wonko's post last month on the possible payroll for 2014, he pointed out that MLB Trade Rumors had Stults making an estimated 3 million dollars in arbitration and Stauffer making an estimated 1.2 million dollars.

Altogether, these are good investments for the Padres. Stauffer is a good bullpen arm and Stults was due that raise after his productive 2013 season with San Diego. We do have to remember that Stults was a name mentioned by Bill Center who could be part of a trade for a lefty arm and/or bat. Byrnes said he wants a deal done by the Winter Meetings, so having Stults avoid arbitration right now could be the first step in getting a deal done within the next 2 weeks. We'll just have to wait and see.


Padres Avoid Arbitration With Eric Stults

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The Padres' front runner for the 5th starter role gets his 2014 deal.

On a day when many players got cut from their teams, Eric Stults got financially security for the 2014 season with his. Yesterday was the deadline for teams to tender contracts to their arbitration eligible players. Any player not offered a contract (or non-tendered in baseball parlance) becomes a free agent. The Padres tendered all of their arbitration eligible players, but also were able to agree to contracts with the two pitchers including Stults.

Eric Stults agreed to a $2.75 million, one year contract that comes in at $250K less than what MLBTradeRumors.com projected him to get.  This was Stults' first year of arbitration eligibility even though he will be 34 next week. He is the oldest player on the roster. He is currently is penciled in as the team's 5th starter. He has earned his status as the favorite with a solid 2013 season and an excellent second half to the 2012 campaign. He will compete with Robbie Erlin, Burch Smith and possibly Cory Luebke for that spot, but is clearly the favorite.

Padres have not traded or signed Chase Headley

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If it's true that no news is good news then I have some good news for you.  Chase Headley hasn't signed a long-term extension or been traded to another team.  It also doesn't appear that either option will happen in the foreseeable future.  Instead the Padres may just wait until the season begins to see if Headley can bounce back from a pretty meh 2013.  Either way it sounds like Byrnes and company are open to trading him if they get the right pieces in return.

Insiders expect Beltran to land in pinstripes | New York Post

The Padres have made a few runs at signing third baseman Chase Headley to a long-term contract to no avail, and now according to sources, San Diego is willing to listen to offers for the switch-hitter.

Peter Gammons: No progress on Headley extension; Padres to examine trade value - GammonsDaily.com

But their original plans remain in place: the Pads will wait until at least June, evaluate his market, then either gauge his trading deadline value or go through to free agency, make the qualifying offer and see where it leads them.

Paper Chase: Padres still can't lock up Headley, so will they deal? - CBSSports.com

The possibility of Headley signing long-term with the Padres appears to be heading toward nil at the moment, though. Teams aren't clamoring for Headley in trade now like they were a year ago, when he was about the hottest finisher in baseball. But his free-agent price is only rising.

Inbox: Could Rymer Liriano crack big leagues in 2014? | padres.com: News

My best guess is he'll stay here through the winter, but that the two sides won't likely reach an agreement on a contract extension.

Padres Avoid Arbitration With Tim Stauffer

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Gaslamp Ball fan favorite and longest tenured Padre gets his 2014 deal.

Tim Stauffer has been part of the Padres organization since August 11, 2003 when he signed his first contract with the club. That makes him the longest tenured player in the organization. To me, he is a fan favorite. That first contract came at a financial cost to himself as he admitted to the Padres, after being drafted 3rd overall that year and with no college eligibility remaining, that he was injured. His debut came on May 11, 2005 for a playoff contending Padres team that needed pitching help. He gave them 6 innings, giving up 2 earned runs and got the win.

Despite that early success he had to bounced between the majors and minors throughout 2006 and 2007. Then he missed the entire 2008 season due to a labrum tear in his shoulder, a difficult injury to come back from. In 2009, he finally made his way back and showed that he belonged. He was instrumental to the team's winning ways in 2010, first from the bullpen where he was lights out and then as a starter where he allowed 1 earned run or less in 5 of his 6 starts. That included the penultimate game of the season where the team was in a win or go home situation.

He 2011 he established himself as a stalwart of the rotation. He was on track to become the team's opening day starter in 2012, but the injury bug bit him again. He would miss almost all of the season. At this time last year the team had to non-tender him in order to keep from spending millions on a pitcher who might not be able to pitch in 2013. However, once again he wanted to fight his back as a Padre and signed a minor league deal with a clause that would force the Padres to call him up during the season or make him a free agent. The team did call him up and he returned to the swingman reliever role he succeeded at in 2010.

For the 2014 season, he will reprise that role having signed a 1 year, $1.6 million contract. That comes in at $400K more than what MLBTradeRumors.com projected. A modest (in baseball terms), but well deserved bonus. We can all look forward to seeing this decade long Friar making some f%@&ing pitches in 2014.

Fireybudlrg_medium


Christmas Shopping and My 2014 Hat

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When I go shopping I tend to think more about myself than anybody else.  This past weekend I headed out with the fam and bought a few things and supposedly saved some money on all the deals that were to be had.  While cruising the mall in Mission Valley I spotted what will become my 2014 hat.  In order to get a "deal" I had to buy two hats, so I also picked up the boy his first fitty nine fitty.

For next year's hat I am going with the 1948 PCL hat. I love all those PCL throwbacks and this may be my favorite Padre hat of all time.  Besides if Darklighter can pull it off, I'm pretty sure I can too.

I figure this would be a good opurtunity for everyone to post up any Padres related deals, or any Padres gifts they plan on buying or bought.  Somehow I also managed to buy myself a new cordless drill and saw.

Padres Trade Luke Gregerson to Oakland for Seth Smith

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Padres acquire Smith in trade for Gregerson


Well now, that's some news there. Luke Gregerson is no longer a Padre.

San Diego Padres have traded Gregerson to the Oakland A's for left handed outfielder Seth Smith. We've been hearing that the Padres were in the market for a lefty batter and reliever and with this trade, the Padres may have taken care of half that.

Smith has spent time with the Colorado Rockies before spending the last two seasons with Oakland. In 2013, Smith batted .253 while hitting 8 home runs in 369 at-bats. In the 4 seasons prior to that, Smith averaged about 15 homers per season.

Gregerson has been a Padre since 2009 when he was the PTBNL in the deal that sent Khalil Greene to the St. Louis Cardinals. In Gregerson's 5 years as a Padre, he put up incredible numbers including a career 2.88 ERA and 132 Holds over 363 appearances with his best season coming in 2010 in which he made 80 appearances and racked up 40 holds. In 2013, Gregerson put together a nice season with a 2.71 ERA and recorded 25 holds.

Trading away Gregerson may not make a big impact on the pitching staff due to the arms available. Nick Vincent has show that he can carry the load and take over at Gregerson's former spot on the staff as the set-up man. Also, the Padres are interested in adding a left handed reliever so, they may not be done yet.

For now, farewell Luke and welcome to San Diego, Seth.

Padres Rule 5 Draft History: Bill Laxton, 1970

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The Padres' second-ever Rule 5 Draft pick was the first to actually see action with the club. Bill Laxton was selected from the Phillies organization in 1970. His entire major league experience to date consisted of two rocky appearances earlier with Philadelphia that year.

Laxton struggled with the Padres in 1971, but the team saw enough promise in him to keep him up the entire season so they wouldn't have to send him back. That, and the team as a whole was fairly awful so the twenty-fifth roster spot wasn't going to make a lot of difference. He went 0-2 with a 6.83 ERA in 27.2 innings over 18 games. He gave up four homers and had a WHIP north of 2.0, earning himself a banishment to the minors for the entirety of the 1972 and '73 seasons.

After a couple decent seasons as a starter for AA Alexandria, Laxton returned to the majors in 1974 as a reliever once again. He pitched 44.2 innings in 30 contests, shaving his WHIP down to a still-robust 1.679 and posting a career-best 4.03 ERA. Laxton was back at camp with the Friars the next spring, but was cut loose three days before Opening Day.

The Mets signed Laxton on April 25, 1975, 18 days after he was released by San Diego. He had a great year as a starter for AAA Tidewater, going 11-4 with a 2.49 ERA, but didn't get the call up to New York. After the season he was sent with Rusty Staub to Detroit in exchange for future Friar Mickey Lolich and an outfielder with the perfectly reasonable name of Billy Baldwin.

In 1976 and '77 Laxton spent two entire years in the majors without a trip down for the first time in his career. He went 0-5 as a Tiger in '76 to bring his career record to 0-8. Laxton was selected by Seattle in the expansion draft after that season and went 3-2 with a 4.95 ERA in 43 relief appearances as an inaugural Mariner, putting his name in the history books by earning the first win in franchise history. He was sent to Cleveland in early September for former All-Star Ray Fosse*. Laxton threw 1.2 innings in two games with the Indians and thus concluded his major league career.

*It seems almost redundant to refer to Ray Fosse as a "former All-Star". I don't think anyone is going to forget his place in midsummer history.

Bill Laxton came back to the Padres organization halfway through the 1978 season in a swap for Dave Freisleben, but never made it back to San Diego. The 10 games he got into with AAA Hawaii after the trade were his last games in organized ball.

Over 20 years after Bill's last pitch, the Laxton name returned to the major leagues. On Father's Day of 1999, Bill got a call informing him that his son Brett got promoted to Oakland. The younger Laxton didn't stick around as long as his father, going 0-1 in three games that season and 0-1 in six games with Kansas City in 2000. Incidentally, Brett Laxton was first drafted as a fourth round pick out of high school by the Padres in 1992, but opted to go to LSU and fell to the twenty-fourth round by 1996.

Padres Weaken Bullpen For A Platoon Bat

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Luke Gregerson was a late innings workhorse and Seth Smith is a role player. How do you begin to explain this trade?

While Chase Headley has grabbed the "Will he or Won't He" headlines, the Padres actually had a similar situation brewing with Luke Gregerson. Gregerson had been with the club since 2009 and only had one more season left before becoming a free agent. The team needed to decide if they wanted to stick with him in 2014 and let him go for nothing or if they wanted to see what they could get in return for 5 good years in the 'pen.

Today the Padres did make a deal. They traded Gregerson to the Oakland A's for OF Seth Smith. Possibly the first question that comes up after reading that and the introduction paragraph is "How long until Seth Smith is a free agent?" Welllll, actually, he will also be a free agent after 2014. So, the Padres didn't exactly cash in on Gregerson so much as they reshuffled the roster.

Seth Smith is a useful bat. Some may remember him from his time with the Rockies, but others probably do not since he was not a stand out player for the club with the purple dinosaur mascot. He was traded to the A's before the 2012 season for a couple of prospect arms. In both locations he provided the same sort of utility. He can get on base, he can hit righty pitching and there is a little pop in his bat. You might even say he is a bit like a left handed Chris Denorfia, but without the defensive abilities. He is going to get the at bats that Mark Kotsay got over the last two seasons and more thank likely that will be an upgrade (if only a small one) at the plate and defensively.

Gregerson's role with the club seemed much bigger than the one I just described for Smith. Luke was the 8th inning guy and sometimes filled in at closer when injuries arose. His slider is tough to hit so he takes pressure off the defense by getting strikeouts in key situations. He has been very healthy and has pitched in 45% of the team's games over the last 5 years. His success in the late innings has been crucial many of the Padres' wins over that half decade.

So, then why would the team give up one year of a player that has been so crucial for one year of part time position player. The first answer is simple: that part time position player role is important because the current Padres left fielder is also a part time player. By acquiring someone who can fill in for Quentin when he needs a rest versus a tough right hander or is on the disabled the Padres have given themselves an offensive upgrade. It frees up Will Venable and Chris Denorfia to platoon in RF or sub in for Cameron Maybin as needed without stretching the team to use someone like Jesus Guzman, Logan Forsythe or Alexi Amarista in the OF or relying on Kyle Blanks to stay healthy enough to fill in as needed. That's a win, but is it enough of a win?

Unfortunately I cannot answer that question with anything definitive. Truthfully, my gut tells me it is not. The team could have gambled on a free agent left handed bat that would jump at the chance for a role as big as the one that Quentin helps carve out for them. Someone like Kelly Johnson, Tyler Colvin, Juan Pierre, Sam Fuld, Ryan Kalish, Xavier Paul, Andre Torres or Garrett Jones would not break the bank and you could dream on one decent platoon season. However, they are all decidedly worse players in 2013 than Seth Smith (which was a down year for him). You have to assume that Josh Byrnes scoured other teams' rosters for players with a similar skill set that could be had for less cost, but came up short. But does that mean you still pull the trigger on letting Gregerson go just because this was best bat you could find to fill that role?

You pull the trigger if you are willing to bet on the players that can step up to fill Gregerson's place. You do it if somehow you have confidence that what you are losing can be replaced in house or some other cheap way. The team didn't save any money on this deal, so they are not going to spend their way out. Instead the backend of the bullpen will be Tim Stauffer, Dale Thayer, Nick Vincent and Huston Street. All have shown they can get the job done, but as each steps up someone else needs to take their innings as well. On top of Gregerson's departure the Padres have lost 4 guys that have been counted on in the past in Brad Brach, Miles Mikolas, Colt Hynes and Tommy Layne.

Left on the roster are only four other guys that have been used in the 'pen before: Brad Boxberger, Anthony Bass, Robbie Erlin and Burch Smith. Erlin and Smith however are still being looked at as starters although the latter is likely to end up in the bullpen eventually. The Padres do have some relievers in waiting that are close to breaking through, but aren't on the roster. Names like Kevin Quackenbush and Leonel Campos. Johnny Barbato has also been mentioned in the past as someone that might be ready sooner rather than later even though he was in High A last year.

There also may be a wild card in play. With the Padres seemingly set with 5 starters to begin the season (Cashner, Ross, Kennedy, Johnson and Stults), if Cory Luebke were healthy he could go to the bullpen where he was quite good in 2011. He could ease back from Tommy John surgery while hopefully providing some high quality innings. There is also the possibility of using other starting pitchers from the minors as bullpen guys in order to get their feet wet. Juan Pablo Oramas, Keyvius Sampson, Matt Andriese and maybe even Matt Wisler. If it feels like I am just naming off names, I am not. These are guys with major league projections who will all likely be Padres some day. They can get guys out up in the bigs. We just won't know to what extent until they try.

So, to answer the question of "Why do you make this move?" You do it because Seth Smith is the best OF partner you can get to pair with Carlos Quentin. You do it because he is also a useful lefty bat off the bench. You do it because even though Gregerson played a key role in the bullpen, you have guys that can either replace or come close to replacing him (at least in theory). Bullpens can be fungible that way and if you look at Gregerson's numbers (specifically his WAR) you can see that while he was a valuable player he was not a relief ace.


Luke Gregerson trade for Seth Smith is rotten!

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In doing my initial sweep for reactions to the Luke Gregerson trade to the A's for Seth Smith, I've found that not many news people have an opinion on what this move means for the Padres.  They all love the trade from the Athletics perspective and can't stop themselves from patting Beane on the back, but there's not much on the Pads end.  The fans don't seem to happy about it.

As of now the trade is rotten and ranks only 27% on the Tomatometer making its movie equivalent Fast & Furious. R.I.P Paul Walker.

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Apologies to RottenTomatoes.com

Here's the media and blogger opinions I could find.  Leave me more links in the comments if you find any more.  Also, vote for yourself in the poll at the bottom of the page.

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@Hacksaw1090
Gregorson for another bat..even deal for both sides..Seth Smith can swing..Luke trusty worthy setup

Rotten_medium@WoeDoctor
A 5th OF w/more extreme platoon splits than Venable & no defensive versatility, in exchange for arguably the best reliever on the team? Eh.

Rotten_medium@JimBowden
A's win Johnson & Gregerson deals

Rotten_medium@MickeyKoke
I didn't expect a big trade don't get me wrong, but you just traded your best bullpen chip for a 4th OF.

Rotten_medium@DSzymborski
Not a fan of Padre side - Smith just ain't that good.

Rotten_medium@Ducksnorts
I like Seth Smith, but he seems redundant on a team that has Will Venable.

Fresh_medium

Athletics trade Seth Smith to Padres for Luke Gregerson - CBSSports.com
The Padres had a just-about-league average offense this past season (97 OPS+) but there is always room for another lefty bat on an NL roster. They also have bullpen depth to spare. Closer Huston Street is still backed up by setup men Dale Thayer, Nick Vincent, Tim Stauffer and Brad Boxberger, among others.

Rotten_medium@SD_SportingNews
Really hope the have something up their sleeve that will justify this trade.....cause right now this trade makes no sense at all.

Rotten_medium@Don_Norcross
Immediate reaction: not crazy about trade of Gregerson for A;s Seth Smith. Smith in 2013: .253 8 HR 40 RBI

Rotten_medium@Steve_Adler
FTR, I see no problem with Smith. Just don't like giving up Gregerson for a rental, while you have Venable.

Fresh_medium

@619Sports
If Seth Smith is taking away ABs from Amarista then that's a good thing for the offense.

Fresh_medium

Padres get better - McCovey Chronicles
Verdict: Probably a net positive for them, and I'll miss the Greg Lukerson jokes. Lug Grukerson. Group Loogerson. Son Groogerlek. Man, so many permutations. Smith is a fine platoon/fourth outfielder, and the Padres make relievers out of dandelion spores, so it's a good swap. I'm not sure how much playing time Smith will get, though, considering Will Venable and Carlos Quentin exist. Unless there's a trade a-brewin'.

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Fantasy Impact: Changes afoot in Oak-town

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Here are the fantasy implications for some of Billy Beane's Hot Stove trades the last couple of days. Should fantasy managers (especially deep-leaguers) be intrigued?

Yesterday, I watched the 2013 GM of the Year, Billy Beane, spend $33M acquiring Scott Kazmir and Jim Johnson. Ahem...that's Scott Kazmir (he-of-the-2012-Sugar Land Skeeters), and Jim Johnson (he-of-the-101-saves-in-2-years)whom Eno Sarris (@enosarris) appropriately noted:

However, Beane wasn't done because today he did the following:

Oakland A's send OF, Michael Choice and INF, Chris Bostick to the Texas Rangers for OF, Craig Gentry and P, Josh Lindblom

Thankfully, in fantasy, we do not have to worry about inter-division rivalry, contracts, or which team won the trade. All we have to discuss are the fantasy implications. What exactly do these moves mean for your fake team?

1.Craig Gentry to OAK

Craig Gentry is a superb defensive CF (29.3 UZR/150) and he's got great wheels (24 SB/3 CS in only 246 ABs), but his lack of power would be miscast as a starting LF for Texas. Now, Oakland can have a nice platoon OF who can fill in admirably for Coco Crisp in CF when he pulls his groin and play some LF to allow Yoenis Cespedes to fill in at DH. Furthermore, the Rangers are already grooming Leonys Martin to be the man in CF for 2014, so Gentry really isn't needed. He will not merit shallow league consideration necessarily, but in deeper leagues I'd certainly consider him a stash. It's just a matter of time before Crisp goes DL, and this guy could carry a team in SBs by himself. (Also, SSS alert, Gentry's career numbers in OAK: .353/.389.441 in 34 ABs).

2.Michael Choice to TEX

Let's just say this, the Rangers have a gaping hole in LF, and Gentry was not the answer. Enter Michael Choice. Last year saw him breakout in AAA with a .302/.390/.445 slash line along with a .377 wOBA and 125 wRC+. He finally got his K-rate under 20% and upped his BB-rate to nearly 12%. While it remains to be seen how these numbers might translate at the MLB level (as he really doesn't have enough MLB data to make any conclusions yet), there is no doubt that, given playing time, Choice could have significant fantasy impact. Don't forget that Choice moves from the spacious Overstock.com Coliseum to the friendly confines of Arlington, and barring a FA acquisition by Jon Daniels & Co. you could be looking at the new LF-version of Nelson Cruz soon. This year expect a .240 BA, 20 HR, and a lot of Ks, which is not a bad 3rd/4th OF or UTIL guy. This seems to be the most fantasy-noteworthy move of the bunch.

The Prospects:

Chris Bostick -- I'll let Josh Sickles (@MinorLeagueBall) do his thing but suffice to say that the Rangers continue to compile MI talent, and Lindblom could be a nice utility infielder who could provide some power.

Josh Lindblom -- An uninspiring bullpen arm for OAK in an offseason of bullpen-arm deals for Beane. Nothing to see here.

And here was the other deal:

Oakland A's send OF, Seth Smith to the San Diego Padres for RP, Luke Gregerson.

With Gentry in hand and Smith plugging up the DH spot it made sense to ease up the logjam that OAK has employed in the OF the last couple of years. Beane brings another bullpen arm in for next year to setup Jim Johnson.

1.Seth Smith to SD

Two things here. First, he's 31 this season and if you are starting Seth Smith as one of your top 3 options, that is bad. Secondly, though, deep leaguers take note. He's a career RHP-killer (wOBA .364, wRC+ 120, .843 OPS), and despite the drop in ISO last year, I still think he has value no matter the venue. Moving from OAK to SD is like going from a mini-van to the family-truckster--nice and roomy--so no changes there, but if you play in deeper leagues with daily transactions Smith is the guy that you want filling your UTIL spot against RHP.

2.Luke Gregerson to OAK

This is important for two reasons. One, if you are in a HOLDS league, Gregerson gets a bump. It's not like you'll go out and try to make a trade for Gregerson because holds hide under rocks in fantasy. However, pitching in front of some nice starters, with a spacious park (again), and JJ mopping up can't help but be good for him. Two...yeah, yeah, I know JJ has saved 101 games the last two seasons. I don't care. Read the tweet above and realize that closers have a short shelf-life, and LG is now a must-own JJ handcuff.

In all OAK has made some major changes to its roster. I can't help but empathize with ol' Billy though. For two years I played bridesmaid to the ultimate champion in my fantasy league. It got me a little itchy in the offseason to make a splash and really "go for it" the following year. Are you gonna pull a BB (Billy Beane) this offseason? Will any of these moves help your fantasy team in 2014. Opine below or @agape4argentina.

Baseball America Ranks Padres 2014 Top 10 Prospects

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Austin Hedges, Matt Wisler and Max Fried headline the prospect magazine's 2014 rankings.

These days there are lots of sites that do baseball prospect rankings. SBNation has its own in minorleagueball.comBaseball Prospectus does them behind a pay wall, Fangraphs has them and even the MLB.com website does them. However, one of the most highly cited is Baseball America's top prospect list. They have been doing them for as long or longer than the others and the brand holds that extra respect most likely due to that. Today, they became the first of all of the aforementioned sites to release a 2014 Padres list. The list itself, along with a review of the 2013 season is free, but the full reports on each prospect are only available via subscription or by buying their prospect handbook.

Without further ado, here is their list for you to read and discuss:

1. Austin Hedges, c
2. Matt Wisler, rhp
3. Max Fried, lhp
4. Hunter Renfroe, of
5. Casey Kelly, rhp
6. Rymer Liriano, of
7. Jace Peterson, ss
8. Burch Smith, rhp
9. Keyvius Sampson, rhp
10. Joe Ross, rhp

No surprises in the top 4. Everybody loves them some Austin Hedges, Matt Wisler was on fire last season and is closer to the majors than higher upsided Max Fried and Hunter Renfroe was a well liked 1st round pick that projects as a major league slugger and did well in his debut last season.

The next two spots belong to the Tommy John surgery survivors. Those are always difficult to rank. Baseball America has always had a crush on Casey Kelly so it figures that they would show their love by making him their favorite after that core top 4. Without that crush I think many would figure on Rymer Liriano to possibly rank higher being that he has a lot of tools, is less affected by the arm injury and is already back playing baseball.

Next up is Jace Peterson who plays a premium position and has been steadily progressing through the minors posting some quality OBPs and stealing plenty of bases along the way. A nice choice for that spot.

Burch Smith's inclusion at #8 is a bit a surprise to me. His 6 starts for San Antonio were nothing short of fantastic. His major league debut was interesting because of all the strikeouts, but not very effective. He then had 12 starts where he more than held his own in AAA. Finally he seemed to have shook some of the rookie jitters during a solid September trial. Actually, I have kind of talked myself into liking his ranking. I think that early bump in the road in Tampa may have made too much of an impression on me.

Keyvius Sampson is another logical inclusion. He has had a few bumps in the road upon his promotions to AA and AAA, but eventually has settled down and pitched really well for stretches. At 22 he has time to learn a little before trying to translate his successes to the bigs. His stuff should play though.

The final spot going to Joe Ross (Tyson Ross' younger brother for those who didn't know) is a small sign that some of the shine is coming off him after being drafted in the 1st round in 2011. He's only 20 though and has time and talent to prove the doubters wrong after an inconsistent 2013 season.

If you are looking for notable snubs (or a just-missed list depending on how full or empty your glass is) there are a couple worth mentioning. 2011 1st Round pick 2B Cory Spangenberg had as good of a year at the plate as Peterson and even got promoted to AA while Peterson stayed in Lake Elsinore. OF Reymond Fuentes played well enough to earn his major league debut. So did 1B Tommy Medica. OF Travis Jankowski lacked pop, but got on base, stole 71 bags in 2013 and plays a good CF. Pitchers Matt Andriese, Zach Eflin, Juan Pablo Oramas and Donn Roach all had better seasons than Joe Ross and all but Eflin pitched at higher levels, but would seem to lack Ross' upside.

Padres Rule 5 Draft History: Mario Ramirez, 1980

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After selecting Bill Laxton in 1970 Rule 5 Draft, the Padres sat on the dock for a decade before jumping back in with both feet. San Diego selected Mario Ramirez and Alan Wiggins in 1980, the first two of five Rule 5 picks the team made that decade. Clifton Wherry was next in 1981, followed by Bip Roberts in 1985 and Mike Dunne in 1989. Today I'll be focusing on the first of those players, but now you know who to expect to hear about in days to come.

Infielder Mario Ramirez was the third player selected in the 1980 Rule 5 Draft, taken one pick before young slugger George Bell went to Toronto and nine picks before San Diego took Wiggins in the twelfth slot. Ramirez was taken from the Mets organization, where he got into the first 18 major league games of his career earlier that year. He saw even less action in 1981, as the Padres worked out a deal with the Mets for his unrestricted rights so they could send him to the minors. Ramirez spent most of the season with AAA Hawaii and got a late season call-up to San Diego where he singled once in 13 at-bats in 13 games.

Ramirez got into 13 more games in 1982 with little success before getting into a career-high 55 in 1983. He hit below the Mendoza line for the third straight year but his glove still worked and that's what he was there for. The following season would be his first and only without spending any time in the minors. Despite his .119/ .278/ .237 slash line, he was included on the Padres' postseason roster. He was predictably hitless in 2 at-bats in the NLCS win over the Cubs.

His final season was 1985. Ramirez hit above .200 for the first time as a Padre, registering a nice-on-the-surface .283 in 60 at-bats. His trio of walks bumped his OBP up to .317, and his pair of homers (his only extra-base hits) gave him a .383 SLG. He was released the next spring and was out of affiliated ball after 16 games in AAA for the Twins in 1986. Ramirez retired with a .192/ .295/ .283 slash line in 333 plate appearances.

We all know that no Padre has hit for the cycle, but I found it fascinating that Mario Ramirez never even hit for the cycle in a season. It's also interesting how he reached a new hit milestone each year, in order. He singled for his only hit in 1981 and hit his first major league double in 1982. In 1983 he hit the only three triples of his career, and followed that up by homering for the first time in 1984.

Sadly, Ramirez will not be around to participate in celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of that first pennant-winning Padres team this upcoming season. He passed away in his Puerto Rico home this past February 22 after dealing with a number of health problems for quite some time. Ramirez may be gone but I'll do my part to ensure he is never forgotten; I suppose this handful of paragraphs was a good start.

Padres Host Diablos Rojos in 2014 Exhibition Game

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The game happens on March 27th, 2014

Well, that's pretty interesting. The Padres will host the Diablos Rojos, or Red Devils, on March 27th, 2014 at Petco Park.

When they announced that an announcement was coming, I thought that the Padres would be playing the Chihuahuas just to give all of us in San Diego a glimpse at that glorious merchandise. I also noticed the other day that they use the hastag #FearTheEars, which is just too good. But, it was not to be. Kinda disappointed.

And on a similar note, when are they going to have the Lake Elsinore Storm play a game or two at Petco Park again? I went to one of their games, I believe, the last time they were playing at Petco in 2009 and it was quite a good time. Especially when you can root for a guy like Beemer Weems. And get frisbees with advertising on it for real estate or plumbing. It was probably both. Really wish they bring the Storm down here for a game again.

Anyways, back to this exhibition game, it is also interesting to note that the Diablos Rojos announced this game at 9:35am this morning. Maybe there was something lost in translation regarding a simultaneous announcement, who knows?

Regardless of who got dibs on announcing it first, it is a game that will happen at Petco Park next year. As Corey Brock points out on Twitter, the Red Devils are owned by Alfredo Harp who is a member of the Padres ownership group and is the cousin of Carlos Slim who just so happens to be the richest person in the world according to Forbes.

The Diablos Rojos play in Mexico City and are quite the team of prestige. They have won the Mexican League title 15 times with the most recent being in 2008. Currently, the Red Devils have several Padres connections.

Their manager is former Padres catcher Miguel Ojeda. In 2003, Ojeda made his debut as a Padre and stayed in the uniform until 2005 when he was traded to Seattle for catcher Miguel Olivo. Another former Padres catcher, Eliezer Alfonzo has spent time with the club. However, that's not all.

Dennys Reyes, Roberto Ramirez, Rodrigo Lopez, Enrique Gonzalez, and Oscar Robles. All former Padres and all Red Devils in 2013. There might even be more there that have spent time in the minor league system like Mark Worrell and I didn't list them.

Maybe we will see a few of these former Friars take the field in 2014. Until then, we wait.

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