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Padres Re-sign LHP (former OF) Jason Lane to Minor League Contract

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In an under-the-radar move, the Padres re-signed left-handed pitcher Jason Lane to another minor league deal. Lane spent the second half of last season with the AAA Tucson Padres but you probably remember him as an outfielder for six seasons from 2002 through 2007. He spent all but three games of his career with the Astros. Those other three games were with the Padres in 2007 when he went hitless in two plate appearances.

I wrote about Lane's transformation and road back to the majors this past July 21, when the Padres signed him away from the independent Sugarland Skeeters and sent him to Tucson. I was pretty excited about it, even though he's a long, long shot, just because I absolutely love this kind of story. I'm human, okay? A month or so later, Corey Brock wrote a much longer, much better actual piece of journalism about Lane, complete with quotes and insights as opposed to some scrawny doofus sitting here typing "Dude that would be awesome!". It's chock-full of quotes from Lane, Brad Ausmus, Anthony Bass, Roy Oswalt, and Randy Smith, and it is definitely worth perusing.

Lane didn't blow everyone way in his 11 games (including six starts) with Tucson last season, but his numbers were impressive when you take into account that he was pitching in the beyond-hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League and that he's still a work in progress. He was 2-2 with a 5.24 ERA and 1.317 WHIP in 46.1 innings. He struck out 33 batters while only walking six. I, for one, am glad that the Padres are giving him another chance. I really hope he can continue his progress and find himself back in the bigs before too long, whether that opportunity comes with the Friars or another team.


Dave Winfield quits Padres front office, takes new union job in MLB

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Dave Winfield has quit his Senior Vice President position with the Padres after 13 years of service.  Instead he has decided to take a position with the MLB Player's Union under local boy and former Padre Tony Clark.  The job seems like a better fit for Winfield since he has said in the past that he thinks of himself as a representative of all teams and players, but mostly the Yankees.  Okay, fine, he didn't technically say the last part... aloud.

Dave Winfield joins MLBPA staff as special assistant | MLB.com: News

"As a former union leader, I'm thrilled to be joining the ranks of the most accomplished and respected sports union in the country to help provide a generational link and historical perspective to today's players," Winfield said in a statement. "I have participated in nearly every aspect of the game, and I look forward to putting that experience to good use in support of Tony Clark and various MLBPA activities and initiatives."

It was always tough to tell exactly what Dave Winfield was up to as a Padres Front Office employee. He didn't even live in San Diego during much of the last decade.  Was he telecommuting? We knew that he was passionate about his annual Salute to the Negro Leagues event and was involved with the Padres Friar Fit program to combat childhood obesity, but from an outsider's view that seemed to be the extent of his contributions.  His appointment was more of a figurehead and ambassador for the team as far as I could tell.

Still, he was a hell of a ball player and gave the early Padres' clubs a legitimate threat in the line up.

Josh Byrnes will answer select questions on Twitter at noon today

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Padres General Manager Josh Byrnes will be answering questions via Twitter during his lunch break this afternoon.  I hope he doesn't get crumbs in the keyboard, that always grosses me out.  I must say I really like this type of fan engagement.  Byrnes should just get himself a Twitter account of his own though.

Here's some of my favorite questions so far, the first one is especially poignant and one that has been on my mind as well.

Blake Tekotte and Mike McDade outrighted to Charlotte

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The hot stove continues to simmer on the South Side with some not so surprising moves.

The White Sox have announced that Blake Tekotte and Mike McDade have been outrighted to Charlotte.

Blake Tekotte came to the White Sox last offseason from the San Diego Padres in exchange for Brandon Kloess. In 20 games with the Sox last season, Tekotte hit .226/.306/ .355 with one home run and one stolen base in four attempts. While he had been on the 25-man roster at multiple points during the season, he wasn't included in the September callups, putting his future with the team in question.

Switch-hitting first baseman Mike McDade has been the man of mystery on the White Sox 40-man roster for much of the past season.  He began the 2013 season in the Indians organization after several seasons with the Blue Jays. After hitting .230/.313/.284 in April for Triple-A Columbus, the Indians released him. The Sox swooped in and signed McDade in early May and added him to the 40-man roster. He then hit .254/.313/.390 for Charlotte. Combine that with the signing of Jose Abreu and he became a likely candidate to be removed from the 40-man roster. That day has finally come.

With this move, the 40-man roster goes back to 38. The White Sox press release from the Sox says 37, but the Ronald Belisario deal hasn't been finalized, so pencil him in. These moves mean the Sox are eligible for the Rule 5 draft again.

P.S. Thanks Jim, I wrote Donald Belisario twice.

Josh Byrnes Twitter Q&A Recap

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Earlier this afternoon Padres general manager Josh Byrnes fielded questions from Friars fans on Twitter. I'm sad to say that he didn't reply to any of my hard-hitting, in no way inane queries.
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He did, however, provide answers to 15 questions from people who took the whole thing more seriously than I did. The first one regarded a widely-ridiculed quote.

Okay, off to a great start. This is a classic non-answer answer, but did any of us expect any different? That isn't a knock on Byrnes because these sorts of things rarely, if ever, yield any type of actual information. A Twitter Q&A with a general manager -who would be doing his team a disservice by divulging his plans- is really the epitome of "It's the thought that counts."

Well, he answered the first half of the question. They say there are no stupid questions. I don't know if that's true, but I do know there are softball questions that everyone already knows the answer to. Of course he would answer this one.

Another non-answer answer and again I can't blame him. It's not like he can show his hand.

I'm sensing a pattern here. At this point it is on him. He could be selecting questions that he can give a definitive answer to. Like who his barber is, for example.

Say, that's refreshing. Like a Fresca. Good question, good, solid answer. Good job, the both of yous.

Yawwwwwwwn. Nice to be reminded and reassured, though. I guess.

I'll give him credit for choosing this question. It was a troll question (the asker admitted as much afterward) but Byrnes stepped up and gave two clear answers. He gets extra credit points for taking an opportunity to stand up for Yonder. I don't know why it's become so fashionable to bash Alonso. I'm sure if any of us broke one of our hands we wouldn't be able to do our jobs effectively either.

Now this is where I start feeling sorry for him. Imagine rising to the top of your profession, becoming one of just 30 people in the world with your job, and having to deal with a parade of people who don't know their hole from an ass in the ground yet think they can do your job better than you. Byrnes deserves kudos for not only replying to this garbage, but also for not telling this guy to go know his mother in the biblical sense of the word.

This is more like it. A legit question that many people have been wondering met with a real answer.

Hey, another one!

And another one! At least a few actual, worthy questions got answered. He replied to a couple other people but I feel like I've already chastised enough idiots for asking assy questions so I'm not even going to give the others attention for their stupid questions. That's right. After reading some of the dreck Byrnes had to sift through I have decided that there is such a thing as a stupid question.

2013 Dodgers review: Edinson Volquez

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A look back at the 2013 for the right-hander, whom the Dodgers picked up off the scrap heap in late August.

Edinson Volquez was one of 11 pitchers to start for the Dodgers in 2013.

What went right

After a disaster of a year in San Diego - putting up a 6.01 ERA with Petco Park as his home field and averaging barely over five innings per start - Volquez pitched much better with the Dodgers.

The Dodgers signed Volquez on Aug. 30 after he was released by the Padres and the right-hander was able to help stretch out the rotation in the season's final month. Volquez struck out 26 in 28 innings and walked eight, much better strikeouts and walk rates than he had in San Diego, and put up a 4.18 ERA.

After a typically bad start at Coors Field, Volquez had a 3.52 ERA over his final four starts, including six strikeouts while pitching into the seventh inning against the Padres on Sept. 20.

In a somewhat surprising move, Volquez even made the Dodgers' NLCS roster, though he didn't pitch in any of the six games against the Cardinals.

Volquez had a better xFIP (3.27 vs. 4.23) & SIERA (3.54 vs. 4.49) with the Dodgers in 2013 than with the Padres, though his FIP was slightly better with San Diego (4.21 vs. 4.37).

What went wrong

Volquez did allow five home runs to his 118 batters faced with the Dodgers (23.6 plate appearances per homer), compared to just 14 home runs allowed to 659 batters with the Padres (47.1 PA/homer).

Including his first start as a Dodger, Volquez made four starts in Coors Field in 2013, and the results were disastrous. In 16⅔ innings in Denver he allowed 35 hits and 25 runs, more hits and runs allowed in one season at Coors Field by any non-Rockies pitcher, ever.

2014 status

Volquez, 31, is a free agent.

Padres Rule 5 Draft History: Alan Wiggins, 1980

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In 1980, the Padres selected two players in the Rule 5 Draft for the first time. Nine picks after they took Mario Ramirez, San Diego plucked slender speedster Alan Wiggins from the Dodgers organization. Wiggins had stolen 120 bases with single-A Lodi that season.

As they did with Ramirez, the Padres worked out a deal that allowed them to send Wiggins to AAA Hawaii for the 1981 season. He earned a late-season call-up by batting .302 with "only" 73 stolen bases. Wiggins had a good small sample size in San Diego that September, singling five times in 14 at-bats and stealing a pair of bases.

Wiggins spent most of 1982 in the majors, stealing 33 bases in only 72 games and picking up several firsts. On the field he hit his first doubles, triples, home run, and runs batted in. Off the field he notched his first cocaine possession charge and rehab stint. As in the "get off drugs" kind, not the "play a week in the minors to get back in shape" kind.

He doubled his steals in exactly double the games in 1983. He also saw action at first base for the first time, filling in for fifteen games. Until then, he had been used as an outfielder by the Padres. The next season would bring another position change, this time a permanent one. Wiggins, who last started a game at second base in the low minors half a decade earlier, was named the starting second baseman and played 157 games there in 1984. He stole a career-high 70 bases as the Padres ran away with the division on their way to their first pennant. Wiggins hit .341 in 10 games split evenly between the NLCS and World Series but stole only one base despite reaching base 16 times.

That was pretty much it for Wiggins in brown and orange. He played 10 games at the beginning of the 1985 season before just not showing up for work one day. He was back in rehab in a matter of days and never played for the Padres again. Owner Joan Kroc and team president Ballard Smith took a hardline approach and had general manager Jack McKeon send him out of town. The Orioles took him on in a conditional deal that stipulated the Padres would pay a portion of his salary if he relapsed. Wiggins managed to get into about half of Baltimore's games the next three seasons, clashing with coaches and teammates along the way. He failed a drug test on September 29, 1987, and was released the same day. He had played his last game.

A little more than three years after leaving the game, Alan Wiggins was dead. He passed away from AIDS-related complications at age 32, becoming the first major league player to do so. Wiggins left behind a wife, two daughters, and a son. His youngest daughter Candice went on to basketball stardom; she is Stanford University's all-time top scorer and was selected third overall in the 2008 WNBA draft. His son Alan, Jr. also played professional basketball in Europe.

While Alan Wiggins will best be remembered for his off-the-field struggles and untimely passing, he was the catalyst that made San Diego's first pennant possible. Sadly, only one member of that 1984 Padres team, first baseman Steve Garvey, attended Wiggins's funeral.

Padres Rule 5 Draft History: Clifton Wherry, 1981

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One year after acquiring Mario Ramirez and Alan Wiggins in the 1980 Rule 5 Draft, the Padres selected AA shortstop Clifton Wherry from the Astros. If you don't remember him, you are not alone. He was returned to the Houston organization before the 1982 season and never made it to the major leagues.

I tried to find out more about Clifton Wherry other than his minor league statistics, but came up short. Most search results concerned another Clifton Wherry, twenty years the ballplayer's junior, who was sentenced to life in prison for his role in a Brinks truck robbery that ended in murder.

When I noticed that the younger Wherry's name was in fact Clifton Wherry, Jr, I dug around a bit to see if the two were related. Knowing that the elder Wherry's middle name is Nelson, I was even more intrigued when I found out that the robber Wherry's middle initial is N. That's where the trail ended, though. I tried several combinations of keywords and scoured a bunch of articles and couldn't find any mention of whether the older one has a son or who the younger one's dad is. Even if that's not his son, it has got to be weird to have the same name as someone convicted of such a heinous crime. Kinda like the time Elaine Benes dated a guy named Joel Rifkin.

Next up in the Padres Rule 5 Draft History series: Bip Roberts.


Winter meetings start with third baseman rumors for White Sox

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Juan Uribe and Chase Headley pop up as possibilities, but both are far from perfect fits

It's the second week in December, and that means one thing.

Fine, Frank. Two things.

The winter meetings start today in Orlando, and the floor will open with a couple of new(ish) rumors around third base. Neither of which make a whole lot of sense on paper, at least without corresponding moves.

Granted, Juan Uribe always makes a certain kind of sense, because he's awesome. More specifically, he seems like he can relate to every player in a clubhouse. Eric Stephen at True Blue L.A. wrote a story last October in which Clayton Kershaw, A.J. Ellis and Matt Kemp all called him the best teammate in the locker room. You could also include Hyun-Jin Ryu, as Uribe is the Korean pitcher's best friend in baseball. He also developed a tight relationship with Yasiel Puig, often times silly, but sometimes heated.

Uribe has the chemistry bona fides that people project upon Paul Konerko, except there seems to be far more actual evidence that he helps. If you wanted to pep up a dormant clubhouse and help somebody like Jose Abreu ease into his first year in baseball, it's hard to think of a better catalyst.

Problem is, the Sox aren't short on right-handed hitters with a historical aversion to OBP, and while Uribe had a fine 2013, he was basically 2011 Adam Dunn across the previous two years. On a team with Gordon Beckham, Alexei Ramirez, Jeff Keppinger, Dayan Viciedo and two catchers, and without any firm idea of what Abreu can do immediately, there really isn't room for a talisman when he's so redundant profile-wise -- especially since they already awarded Konerko that title last week. That's that whole "wasting flexibility" thing we were talking about.

So signing Uribe would seem to necessitate multiple deals before it resulted in any kind of real vision. Few would shed tears over trading and/or expunging Beckham and/or Keppinger, but 1) that would have to happen, and 2) the Sox would have to find some offensive upside somewhere else. Otherwise, the Sox are still spinning their wheels, albeit with far more charisma this time around.

Star-divide

The other third baseman tied to the White Sox in the rumor mill: Chase Headley. Daryl Van Schouwen said the Sox had "shown interest," although he wrote it off as a bad fit by the end of the paragraph. Dan Hayes, who worked in San Diego before coming to CSN Chicago, said the two teams consider each other a match with rosters -- just not in this particular case. When the Sox ask about Headley, the Padres ask about Jose Quintana.

The Sox should like Headley's talent, because he's a switch-hitting third baseman with patience and some pop. The Sox shouldn't like his contract situation. Headley hits free agency next year, and the Sox aren't in a position to win immediately, so it makes zero sense to spin off one of the few bargains on the roster for a guy who will be paid retail, more or less, by the start of 2015.

Padres with Matching First and Last Initials

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Last week Padres organist and Gaslamp Baller B Cres had a great idea, like he tends to do on a regular basis.

We started ping-ponging some names back and forth, and a few others got in on it, before I scoured the master list of everyone who has played for the Padres. I found 50 names that fit the bill, only to find out that I missed one when I double-checked. It was still 51 after a third and fourth check, so I stand by it. With the addition of Josh Johnson and Seth Smith the total grows to 53. After a bit of discussion we concluded that the quiz would be a depressing waste of everyone's time.

With that in mind and not wanting this newly found information to go to waste, here's the list:

  1. Alexi Amarista
  2. Alex Arias
  3. Andy Ashby

  4. Bob Barton
  5. Billy Bean
  6. Bruce Bochy
  7. Brian Boehringer
  8. Bret Boone
  9. Brad Boxberger
  10. Brad Brach
  11. Bobby Brown
  12. Brian Buchanan

  13. Chris Cannizzaro
  14. Cesar Carillo
  15. Clay Condrey
  16. Callix Crabbe
  17. Cesar Crespo

  18. Doug Dascenzo
  19. Dave Dravecky

  20. Gary Green

  21. Johnny Jeter
  22. Jerry Johnson
  23. Jonathan Johnson
  24. Josh Johnson
  25. Jay Johnstone
  26. Jimmy Jones

  27. Kevin Kouzmanoff

  28. Luis Lopez

  29. Mike Maddux
  30. Mike Matthews
  31. Marty McLeary
  32. Miles Mikolas

  33. Phil Plantier

  34. Roberto Ramirez
  35. Randy Ready
  36. Ronn Reynolds
  37. Royce Ring
  38. Rene Rivera
  39. Roberto Rivera
  40. Ruben Rivera
  41. Rafael Robles
  42. Rich Rodriguez
  43. Roberto Rodriguez
  44. Ron Roenicke

  45. Scott Sanders
  46. Sonny Siebert
  47. Steve Simpson
  48. Seth Smith
  49. Steve Swisher

  50. Tom Tellmann
  51. Tim Teufel

  52. Wally Whitehurst
  53. Woody Williams

I initially titled this post "53 Friars with Alliterative Names" but realized that wasn't quite accurate. There are other players with alliterative names, Ken Caminiti and Jedd Gyorko for example, and Phil Plantier is on this list despite his last name not being Phlantier.

Padres Rule 5 Draft History: Bip Roberts, 1985

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Bip Roberts was the first Padres Rule 5 selection who would go on to be an All-Star. He was named to the National League team in 1992, his first season after being traded to Cincinnati for Randy Myers. Bip has since been joined by two players. Shane Victorino was an NL All-Star with the Phillies in 2009 and 2011; he was chosen by the Padres in the 2002 Rule 5 Draft and was returned to the Dodgers after 36 lackluster games in early 2003. Oops. The other Rule 5 All-Star is of course 2008 pick Everth Cabrera who got to hang out on the National League bench this past July. But more about them after I cover Mike Dunne and all the Rule 5 picks from the '90s.

Well over a decade after his retirement, Bip underwent a resurgence in popularity, becoming a legend in the card collecting community, partially due to a phenomenon known as "Bipping". The practice became so well-known that even Bip himself found out about it. I still haven't Bipped somebody yet but I'm collecting copies of the card shown above until I get 10 of them, and then I know exactly who I'm sending them to.

Cincinnati Reds go camo, copy Padres uniforms

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The Cincinnati Reds unveiled new Camo, St. Paddy's and BP jerseys at the end of last week.  I'm pretty annoyed that they've stolen the look from the Padres, who were the first team to wear camouflage and the first to get permission from the Marines to wear their MARPAT camouflage pattern.

If Reds just had to salute the military, then why not choose another branch of service's camouflage?  Each branch has their own pattern and color after all.  They could have gone with the gray Army camo or the blue Navy camo or even the Air Force tiger-striped camo.  If they were hell bent on paying tribute to the Marines why not go with their Woodland pattern?  Instead they chose to copy and use the Padres uniform, the one uniform our team has in their lockers that's unique.  Ugh.

The other thing that bugs me is that the small differences in the uniforms are improvements over the Padres' uniforms.  I never understood why the Padres had white lettering for the player's last names.  It's really difficult to read on a bright Sunday afternoon and it simply doesn't fit the theme.  The Reds used the same colored lettering throughout.  The other thing is the caps.  The Reds are using camouflage hats that actually match their jersey and the Marine covers rather than some weird tan/brown/greenish cap that the Padres are using. There's still room for improvement though.  Both teams should invest in some camouflage pants and get rid of the white slacks.

Poll
What do you think of the Reds stealing the Padres look?

  48 votes |Results

Petco Park's New Fences Made A Real Difference

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The data collected about Petco Park's impact on the game shows that offensive statistics were definitely up in 2013 at the Padres' home stadium.

I know that many of you watched a lot of Padres home games, many of you attended a lot of games at Petco Park and many of you gobble up every bit of information that comes out about the Padres and most of you already know or have ideas about the impact the fence move made in 2013. However, I ran across some data from the Fangraphs' Guts! pages that I wanted to share about how the fences affected play in 2013. On this linked page, you get all the data about Padres park factors.

The first column you see on the left is the Basic Park Factor. That's just run scoring. You can see there that in 2013 at Petco Park (referred to as 2013 Padres in the table) had a Basic Park Factor of 95, which was the third lowest in the league. However, you can also see that this represents an increase in run scoring. Petco Park had previously averaged a Basic Park Factor of 92. So, the park used to decrease run scoring by 8% and last year decreased it by only 5%. For an average run scoring team, that would mean that a Basic Park Factor increase of 3% would equate to about 10 more runs per season (81 home games).

For those that dig the long ball, the column you want to look at is obviously Home Runs. The Petco Park 2013 Home Run Park Factor was 98, just 2% below league average and 14th lowest in the majors. The average Home Run Park Factor for Petco Park prior to that was 89.8. That's an over 10% suppression of home runs when compared to league average and easily the stingiest park when it came to home runs. That is a pretty big leap. An average home run hitting team would hit somewhere around 6 more home runs over a season (81 games) at a park whose Home Run Park Factor increased by 8%. Here's the table for those that don't like clicking links:

SeasonTeamBasic1B2B3BHRSOBBGBFBLDIFFB
2013Padres95989410498102100101989798
2012Padres92979310589103103100989797
2011Padres92979310589103103100989797
2010Padres92979310589103103100989797
2009Padres9196901039010310299989797
2008Padres9296891009110410298989699
2007Padres91979010190104100989997100
2006Padres929791107901039998999698
2005Padres929791107901039998999698
2004Padres929791107901039998999698

In terms of raw numbers, the Padres released details at the end of October to MLB.com about some of the raw numbers they tracked during the season. They claimed that 21 "new fence" home runs were hit at Petco Park (that includes both the Padres and their guests). The HR numbers increased from 1.3 HR/game in 2012 to 1.8 HR/game in 2013.

Those raw numbers are just the 2013 season results. The park factors are actually 5 year regressions, so they are a bit more conservative when it comes to changes in stadiums. There's the possibility that the changes were a bit more dramatic in 2013 and will level off or that they are the tip of the iceberg. Time will tell as the small sample sizes become big ones.

Getting back to those Park Factors from Fangraphs, another interesting one comes to light when you look at handedness. They allow you to get a Park Factor split for the handedness of the batter. The one I found interesting was LH HRs. Fangraphs even mentioned this at the end of their article about Will Venable's new contract. The Park Factor for 2010-2012 for LH HRs had dipped all the way down to an 81. 19% below league average and easily the worst stadium for lefties to hit dingers. In 2013 it was 109. That's 9% ABOVE average and the 7th friendliest park for sinister four baggers in the major leagues. Looking at the other statistics' Park Factors, it would seem that everything LH increased in 2013 and everything RH stayed the same. Here's the table for Handedness Park Factors for the Petco Park era:

SeasonTeam1B as L1B as R2B as L2B as R3B as L3B as RHR as LHR as R
2013Padres9997100909512610993
2012Padres97969690921128195
2011Padres97969690921128195
2010Padres97969690921128195
2009Padres97959487911028395
2008Padres9796938792998597
2007Padres97969387911068893
2006Padres97979489921088991
2005Padres97979489921088991
2004Padres97979489921088991

Mark Prior Might Be Coming Home

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The once-highly-regarded pitching prospect is officially ending his playing career, but many are reporting that he will be taking a job in the Padres front office.

Beat writer Mark Berardino broke the news on Twitter last night that not only has Mark Prior made the decision to retire, but we could be seeing him back in San Diego soon, as a member of the front office. The announcement came during the Winter Meetings, where reporters ran into Prior.

A San Diego native and notable University of San Diego High School alumnus, Prior would literally be right at home if he does in fact join the Padres staff. Prior to his career in professional baseball, he played basketball at USDHS. He was drafted by - but didn't sign with - the Yankees in the amateur draft in 1998. He went on to attend Vanderbilt University for a year before transferring to USC to play basketball. After re-entering the draft in 2001, Prior was picked 2nd overall and signed a record-breaking (at the time) $10.5 million contract with the Cubs, where he would find much success and spend the bulk of his career, which you can read more about at Bleed Cubbie Blue.

After injury issues ended his tenure with Chicago, Prior signed a contract in December 2007 with his hometown team in San Diego for one year and $1 million (with incentives). Unfortunately, while rehabbing, he suffered a shoulder tear and had to undergo surgery, causing him to miss his second straight season in 2008. The Padres brought him back and signed him to a minor league contract in January 2009, but he was never called up to the big league club and was released in August.

Prior played independent baseball in 2010 before several more attempted comebacks with the Rangers, Yankees, Red Sox, and Reds. The 33-year-old will end his major league career carrying a 42-29 lifetime record and 3.51 ERA. After being regarded as a top prospect when he began his life as a professional baseball player it's unfortunate to see how injuries have marred what could have been a very long and successful career. But if and when he officially joins the Padres front office, he's sure to get a warm welcome from Padres fans.

Dustin Ackley rumors: Padres, Mets, Yankees have inquired on Mariners 2B

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Nick Franklin is the more valuable of Seattle's now expendable second basemen, but Ackley is getting some attention as well.

The Padres, Mets and Yankees have all inquired about the availability of Mariners second baseman Dustin Ackley, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.

Ackley and his keystone compatriot, Nick Franklin, have seemingly become expendable parts in the wake of Robinson Cano's 10-year pact with Seattle, so it's probably only a matter of time before one of them is traded away. Just which one ends up departing likely depends on what kind of return the Mariners are looking to get.

Ackley, 25, was one of the top prospects in the game a few years ago and put up solid numbers in his 2011 rookie campaign, but has fallen on hard times the last two seasons. The lefty-hitting infielder has batted just .236/.304/.333 with 16 home runs since 2012 -- well below expectations for a guy whose hit tool was supposed to be his best asset.

The Mariners used Ackley as something of a super-utility player in 2013, splitting his time between second, center field, left field and first base. It's unclear whether the interested parties would continue to have him play a multi-positional role or try to reestablish him as a full-time second baseman.

The Yankees' need for help at the keystone is well known, and it would be somewhat fitting for them to end up with one of the Mariners' second basemen not named Cano. New York signed Kelly Johnson, a similar player to Ackley, to a one-year deal last week though, so it's unclear where they benefit from adding essentially a duplicate.

The Padres and Mets both have incumbent second basemen on their rosters -- Jedd Gyorko and Daniel Murphy, respectively -- who are under team control for a few more seasons, so Ackley doesn't seem to fit on their rosters at the moment. New York is reportedly shopping Murphy around this week, however, so perhaps Ackley is a potential candidate to replace him should he move.

More from SB Nation MLB:

What's going to change with home-plate collisions?

Roy Halladay: Pitcher of the century

Phillies could trade Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee

The best remaining free agents in a post-Cano world

Death of a Ballplayer: Wrongly convicted prospect spends 27 years in prison


Insider on Headley at MLB Winter Meetings

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Insider states that Headley will most likely stay with San Diego

At the MLB Winter Meetings, an insider with the San Diego Padres allegedly eluded to the fact that Chase Headley will most likely stay in his position at third base with the San Diego Padres organization.

Headley who had an incredible season in 2012 attaining the title of National League RBI Champion, and winning a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Award, had a less spectacular season in 2013. Though the 2013 seasons mishaps could possibly be due to injuries attained during spring training. Headley, still a young player at the age of 29, has many great games ahead of him and it would behoove the Padres to retain Headley.

Since Headley's draft in 2005, he has played exclusively for the San Diego Padres and the team would be missing a key element in the lineup with his absence.

Headley will be eligible for free agency after this coming season, and there has been little progress with the organization and Headley regarding an extension, though much time still remains to make those changes.

In all, it sounds like San Diego's familiar faced third baseman will be around for many games to come.

Can Headley Break Out? Again?

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The case for another big year from the Savior.

It's no surprise to people who have been following the Chase Headley saga, but it appears that the Padreswill hold on to their prized third baseman.  The odds of a trade or extension happening in this offseason were never that great - Headley followed up his best season as a major leaguer with an injury-plagued and across-the-board less effective 2013.  Coupled with the fact that he is set to reach the verdant pastures of free agency in just a year, there wasn't much incentive for Chase to lock himself into a deal coming off a down year.  This is probably the same calculus that prevented the Padres from seeing eye-to-eye with a trade partner.  One side will view Headley as the dark horse MVP candidate he was in 2012, while the other will see him as an offensive generalist with a good glove and quiet, workmanlike approach to the game.  Nonetheless, the persistent "will they or won't they" trade rumors have basically hooked fans with titillation the way vampires and abstinence hook teenage girls.

From the Padres perspective, you almost want to see him put up a season where he bats .275/375/.425 rather than a repeat of the .286/.376/.498 he posted in a homer-happy 2012.  Part of the beauty of a Headley-like player is that his game is typically so devoid of flash and flair that he manages to stay undervalued relative to his production.  It's the same reason NBA generalists like Andre Igoudala earn so little in free agency relative to their actual in-game impact - the #StealthSuperstar effect.  If Headley was a much worse player who hit a lot more home runs, the Padres probably would have already traded him and gotten an undeservedly large haul.

The strange part of Headley's 2012 is that he was basically the same Chase Headley he always was... he just hit more home runs.  For most of the season he wasn't even doing that - 8 home runs before the All-Star Break, and 23 homers in the second half.  His batted ball numbers never really deviated from his career norms, other than the HR/FB ratio which jumped so high you would think I was joking.

Signs point to 2012 being a bit of an anomaly.  Obviously, Headley is capable of being a great slugger when he's firing on all cylinders.  As a 23 year old he posted a Trumbo-like .249 ISO in the Texas League.  Chaysus manages to be very productive when he's not hitting home runs, but his game rises to a whole other level when he drives the ball with authority.  Down the stretch in 2012 he seemed to carry the entire team offensively, like MC Ren after Ice Cube left NWA.

Should Padres fans say goodbye to the slugging "Hollywood Headley" and accept the "I work the count like a REAL AMERICAN" version of our savior? Am I just making up dichotomies to set up a scenario somewhere in the middle? Headley's isolated power stat was .150 in 2013, almost exactly in the median between his 2012 number and his previous career average.

In 2014 Headley won't be dealing with the broken finger that sidelined him to start 2013.  He'll also have a year hitting in what appears to be a much deeper lineup, ostensibly getting him better pitches to hit and more runners on base in front of him.  With the right field fences moved in, Headley has virtually eliminated his home/road split, and looks to come up big in his walk year.  The Padres haven't gone "all-in" just yet, but by keeping Headley in the last year of his deal and adding short-term pieces like Seth Smith and Josh Johnson, GM Josh Byrnes is signalling that he thinks this team can win some games in the more or less wide-open NL West.  A healthy and motivated Chase Headley in the middle of the order could be a significant piece in the next winning Padres team.

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Anthony Bass Traded To Astros For The Exciting Player To Be Named Later

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Slappin' dat Bass right outta town.

Anthony Bass became the next guy traded in what is become a lengthy list of: Guys that pitched for the Padres a bit in 2013, showed promise at some point, but are being sent elsewhere this offseason. Others on that list are Colt Hynes, Tommy Layne, Brad Brach and Miles Mikolas. Here is the Padres' official tweet about the trade:

The Padres are notorious for taking cash instead of the Player To Be Named Later (PTBNL). We will have to see if this one flows against the current. According to the tweet, the Padres will also give up a PTBNL or cash in this exchange. I do not think I have seen that happened before.

As for Bass, he made his debut with the Padres in 2011. He was a 5th round pick in 2008 out of Wayne State University. He showed promise at each minor league level and earned a fairly quick promotion to the majors. He continued to show promise by putting up a 1.68 ERA in mostly relief work in 2011. In 2012, he was moved into the rotation early in the season and was a force in that role for about a month before coming back to earth. A trip to the DL came about a month after that and he hasn't seemed the same since. He shuttled back and forth between the minors and majors in 2013. He was a slight fan favorite because of that early success and the fun that could be had with his name. Many Gaslamp Ballers (including myself) have been missing and will continue to miss that.

This move opens up a spot on the 40 man roster. Perhaps because the team is planning to sign a more accomplished relief pitcher.

UPDATE: The Padres also tweeted this:

Perhaps this is about the top pick in the Rule 5 draft. The Astros have that top pick and there may be someone the Padres want. The Astros would select him, include him in this trade and then that player would then occupy the newly open roster spot. I don't know who that would be, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was a lefty reliever.

Padres.com's Corey Brock speculated something similar via twitter:

Pirates sign Edinson Volquez to a 1-year deal

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After Francisco Liriano won Comeback Player of the Year in 2013, can lightning strike twice in Pittsburgh?

The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed free agent starting pitcher Edinson Volquez to a one-year, $5M contract, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports.

Volquez split his time between the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers during the 2013 season, going a combined 9-12 with a 5.71 ERA in 32 starts. While Volquez averaged 8.42 strikeouts per 9 innings last year and had an average fastball velocity of 93 MPH, his problem was and has always been his control.

Dating back to his time with the Cincinnati Reds, Volquez has had his dominant moments, as well as a multitude of stinkers. Volquez has had a 4.75 BB/9 ratio and has averaged under 5.2 innings pitched per start throughout the course of his career.

While they did ink Charlie Morton to a three-year, $21M extension earlier today, Pittsburgh is losing starter AJ Burnett—who is said to be considering retirement—to free agency. The Buccos were connected to free agent starter Bronson Arroyo earlier this offseason, but backed off after it appeared that it may take a three-year deal in order to land him.

After Francisco Liriano—who they practically signed off of the scrapheap last offseason—won National League Comeback Player of the Year this past season, it appears as if the Pirates are hoping they can convert on another reclamation project in their starting rotation this season.

At one year and $5M, this is a can't-lose signing for the Pittsburgh Pirates. If it works, you catch lightning in a bottle and ride it as far as it will take you. If not, it's a rotational depth move that cost you little, and you move on after the season.

Farewell Card: Anthony Bass, Autographed

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I only have a couple-dozen or so autographed Padres cards, and until yesterday just two of them were of current members of the team. Now Kyle Blanks stands alone as Anthony Bass moves to Houston and the card pictured above gets refiled under former Friars.

I got this card about a year-and-a-half ago in exchange for a numbered insert of Matt Kemp that I pulled from a pack. I'm glad I noticed that it would have trade value before I ripped it in half like I usually do when I inadvertently get a Dodgers card. This card is also numbered, #445 of 500 copies, and has a real mouthful of a name: 2010 Bowman Chrome Prospects Refractor Certified Autograph Issue BCP212. I already went off on my old-man rant about how I hate Topps and therefor Bowman's penchant toward multiple redundant parallel cards back when Brad Brach got traded, so I'm going to focus on what I like about this card.

It's a very clean design. Bowman cards tend to be a collision course of unnecessary graphics and 2010 was mercifully a break from that. As for the autograph, it was signed on the card itself as opposed to being on a sticker that was placed on a card at a later date. It might not sound like much, but it makes a world of difference to most collectors. The sticker autographs give cards a tacky look while on-card signatures give the end-user the bonus satisfaction of knowing that the player pictured touched the same card at one point. It's like a vicarious handshake.

Setting aside the appearance of the card and getting back to the man on it, Anthony Bass will be missed. From everything I've seen, he seems like a great guy and I'll be rooting for him in his new chapter with pitching coach Brent Strom and senior pitching advisor Doug Brocail. Except, you know, when he's pitching against the Padres. Sorry, man, that's just the way it is.

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