Since I'm in a bit of a rush I'll give a little tweet round-up from what's going as of this morning as it pertains to the Padres in the free agent and trade market.
First Yasmany Tomas is still up for grabs and the Braves and Padres are thought to be the front-runners even though the Diamondbacks and Giants are coming on strong. Maybe a little too strong.
Sources: #DBacks among teams pushing hardest for Tomas, along with #SFGiants, #Padres and #Braves.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 25, 2014The Padres are playing hard to get by letting their offer sit out there in a take it or leave it fashion, even though we learn now that it's not the highest bid.
Padres shift offseason focus to trade market | padres.com
A source told MLB.com that the Padres have not made the highest current bid for Tomas, who is reportedly seeking a five- to seven-year deal with an annual salary of about $15 million.
Meanwhile the UT's Dennis Lin is hearing that A.J. Prellers life and career may very well depend on whether or not he signs Tomas. I don't see what the problem is here? Does he want to be a GM forever? Make the deal! I remember Paul DePodesta saying that the moment you're hired a as a GM, it's only a matter of time until you're fired. I think it was DePodesta that said that, could have been Peter Brand.
Have heard the untested Yasmany Tomas talked about as a player who could either boost or sink AJ Preller's GM career.
— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) November 26, 2014Meanwhile if the Padres can't improve their team through free agency then they'll be forced to attempt to improve it through trade. The Padres' top 3 pitchers have been a topic of trade talks for the last month. Peter Gammons sees that as a problem since all of them come with their own problems.
Pads problems trading P:Cashner's never made 27 starts, Ross threw 41.2% sliders and had 4.91 Sept ERA, Kennedy FA after '15
— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) November 26, 2014I was talking to a Padres fan about this a bit in the parking garage yesterday. Now might be a good time to deal Cashner because he's an injury risk and he feels like a ticking time bomb. I don't want to see him go, it's just what we were talking about, it'll be a tough decision. Tyson Ross seems like the guy the Padres should try and hold on to the most even though he did tire toward the end of the season. Ian Kennedy while he has value as an innings eater a team will only be able to control him for one year before he hits free agency.
While starting pitching is always in demand, now more than ever catching is also in demand and the Padres have depth at that position. Yasmani Grandal seems the most valuable at this point, although the Padres could sell high on Rene Rivera who just came off a career year. Austin Hedges' bat seems to have cooled the anticipation of him becoming a superstar, but by all accounts he's defined by his defense.
Sources: #Padres getting "ton of inquiries" on their catchers - Grandal, Rivera and top prospect Austin Hedges. Talks active.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 26, 2014The Padres still need to sign Korean player Kim, while they have an exclusive window to negotiate with him. The Padres are procrastinating but promise to get around to it after Thanksgiving.
The Padres are expected to begin negotiations with LHP Kwang-hyun Kim in San Diego after Thanksgiving. Deadline to reach a deal is Dec. 11.
— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) November 25, 2014