San Diego Padres Make Moves – Who’s Your Padre?
- Updated: December 22, 2014
(AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
San Diego Padres General Manager A.J. Preller has only been on the job for just over four months. He has effectively taken the baseball world by storm and has the Padres in the center of it.
The Padres offseason started relatively quietly as they non-tendered shortstop Everth Cabrera following a down season and a DUI arrest. From there Preller added veteran shortstop Clint Barmes on a one year deal to split the duties at short with Alexi Amarista. Then things got really exciting for Padres fans. As the Winter Meetings came to San Diego it was widely considered that the Padres would make a big move to improve what was the worst offense in the Major League’s a season ago. Rumors circulated about possibly acquiring Reds outfielder Jay Bruce, but nothing ended up coming to fruition.
The news of a blockbuster trade, with the rival Los Angeles Dodgers centered on superstar outfielder Matt Kemp, broke in the wee hours of the morning. The San Diego Padres and Dodgers agreed in principle on a trade that would send Matt Kemp and catcher Tim Federowicz to San Diego in exchange for Yasmani Grandal, Joe Wieland and prospect Zach Eflin. The move added a proven power bat to the middle of a lineup that hit only 109 home runs a year ago and slugged a mere .342. The move wasn’t made official until a week after due to the pending physicals for the players involved.
(AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Next up, the San Diego Padres would partake in a blockbuster three-team, eleven player trade with the Washington Nationals and Tampa Bay Rays. The Padres would acquire 2013 AL Rookie of the Year Wil Myers and catcher Ryan Hanigan in exchange the Rays would receive 2014 Padres team MVP Rene Rivera. The Nationals would receive pitching prospect Joe Ross and a PTBNL, assumed to be 2014 first round draft pick, Trea Turner as well. Myers, who was the top prospect in the Major Leagues prior to being traded to the Rays in the James Shield’s deal, went on to win the Rookie of the Year. His sophomore campaign was marred by a broken wrist as he slumped to a .222 average and only played in 89 games.
The Friars still weren’t done as they acquired All-Star catcher Derek Norris from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for young pitchers, Jesse Hahn and R.J. Alvarez. Norris was an All-Star a year ago slugging .403 with a .763 OPS. Norris will presumably take over the catching duties for the Padres after they traded Grandal and Rivera.
Believe it or not, the San Diego Padres still weren’t done as they would also acquire star outfielder Justin Upton from the Atlanta Braves. The Padres would have to give up in exchange pitching prospect Max Fried, infielders Jace and Dustin Peterson, and the speedy outfield prospect Mallex Smith. This perhaps was the biggest move as Upton has a slugging percentage a .594 with a .900 OPS in 48 career games at his new home Petco Park.
Finally, to cap off what was hectic 48-hours for San Diego Padres fans, culminated with a trade with the Boston Red Sox. The Padres would flip catcher Ryan Hanigan, whom they received in the Myers trade, for third baseman Will Middlebrooks. An intriguing move for San Diego, as Middlebrooks had shown a lot of promise in his rookie season in 2012 but had since fallen out of good graces with the organization and had been cast off with acquisitions of Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez. This is a low risk with a potential high reward the Padres, if Middlebrooks returns to form and taps into some of the potential he displayed early on.
To recap, the Padres acquired: OF Matt Kemp, C Tim Federowicz, OF Wil Myers, C Derek Norris, OF Justin Upton, and 3B Will Middlebrooks. The Padres also signed veteran pitchers Brandon Morrow and Josh Johnson to low base, high incentive type deals.
Now are the Padres and Preller done? It’s hard to imagine they are with recent acquisitions of outfielders. The Padres now have a surplus of outfielders most notably Seth Smith and Carlos Quentin. Smith being the one with the most trade value, but recently signed an extension during the season and was assured by the previous regime he would not be traded this offseason. Keeping Smith might be in the best interest of San Diego to avoid trotting out such a right-handed heavy lineup. Due to the abundance of outfielders it’s hard to imagine the Padres not dealing at least one of them. Rumors have also been circulating about the Padres being one of the front-runners in the Cole Hamels sweepstakes. Hamels, a San Diego native and Rancho Bernardo graduate would become the ace of the staff if acquired. It is unclear if a deal is imminent or not.
It’s safe to say San Diego Padres made a slam dunk hire with A.J. Preller as he’s maneuvered the Padres from an afterthought around the league to center of attention. Preller has brought excitement to the franchise that hasn’t been around in years, that in itself makes Preller a great hire and exactly what the Padres needed.
With all of the moves being made, Padres fans, who’s your Padre?
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