More Gonzalez Trade Rumors

Wednesday December 30, 2009

There are more Adrian Gonzalez trade rumors floating around and this time they involve the Chicago Cubs in a 3 team deal with the Boston Red Sox.

The rumor seems to have started when Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune posted the following on the 27th of this month:

"Worth watching: If the Red Sox wind up with Matt Holliday or Jason Bay, the Cubs immediately would make a major effort to land Jacoby Ellsbury to fill their center field/leadoff hole, according to sources.

That scenario helps explain why the Cubs have been so patient in studying their options. The best way to do such a trade might be for GM Jim Hendry to facilitate a three-team deal that sends first baseman Adrian Gonzalez from the Padres to the Red Sox by packaging a group of prospects, possibly including one or two of their top ones, such as third baseman Josh Vitters, shortstop Hak-Ju Lee and pitchers Andrew Cashner and Jay Jackson."

There have been several blogs including Bleacher Report that have talked about Ellsbury going to the Cubs and Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox and the Padres getting multiple stupid packages. Almost all of the trades I have seen in those blogs involve both Anderson and Vitters, both of who the Padres don't need.

I have read a couple of  trade propositions on a Cubs blog that I thought the Padres might just say yes to.
They included :

Cubs getting Ellsbury and Lars Anderson.

Red Sox getting Adrian Gonzalez from the Padres and Jay Jackson or John Gaub from the Cubs

Padres getting Buchholz, Kelly, and Kalish or Westmoreland from the Red Sox and Cashner or Samardzija, and Hak-Ju Lee or Castro from the Cubs.

This trade probably has WAY too many moving parts to ever get done, but it would make sense for all 3 teams.

Buchholz moves into the Padres starting rotation immediately. Blanks then moves to 1B for the Padres. As far as the other pieces go, Castro could be a Padre before the end of 2010, but Kalish, Kelly, Cashner and Lee are all several years away from being major leaguers.

Ellsbury fills the Cubs hole in CF and gives them a true leadoff hitter. Anderson provides the heir apparent for Derrek Lee.

The addition of Adrian Gonzalez makes the Red Sox the favorite to win the AL East.

Is this a trade you think the Padres brass would move on?

Do you think a package of those players would improve the Padres team enough to justify moving Adrian Gonzalez now instead of at the trading deadline?

Padres trade for catcher of the future?

Monday December 21, 2009

Did the Padres just get their fans an early Christmas present? Is Ryan the Catcher of the Future?

Maybe I should back up and let you know what I am talking about.

Today the San Diego Padres traded for Detroit Tigers catcher Dusty Ryan. 

Ryan, 25,  is a very good defensive catcher with a strong arm and some power at the plate, but he has never really hit very well. In 2009 he hit 257/.359/.455/.814 in 62 games in AAA with 63 strike outs in 202 abs and a robust.154/.267/.192/.459 in 26 games for the Tigers.

Sound familiar Padres fans?

That is not just my opinion of Ryan. John Sickels of Minor League Ball said this about him in his Detroit Tigers Top 20 Prospects for 2009.

"Strong arm, has power...he’s never been a good hitter."

In all fairness, Ryan has hit .257 in 72 abs over 2 seasons for the Tigers, but he was passed up by Alex Avila in the pecking order of prospects an so was expendable. In fact he was designated for assignment on December 10th as a result of the Granderson trade.

The Padres didn't give up much for him. A little cash or a player to be named later. Normally that means a schmo from the depths of the minors.

At least Hoyer is doing SOMETHING to try to fill the holes in the roster and the system as a whole with his two moves this off season.

Nothing of a spectacular nature yet. Not even a player that will be a starter on the 2010 Padres squad. But now he has at least made some moves.

Good News for Padres Fans

Sunday December 20, 2009

Merry Christmas!

In the best news of the off season so far, San Diego Padres fans were given a gift today. The team decided to lower prices on beer, food and parking according to an article by Bill Center in the UT.

Now all we need is some exciting players to watch while we are enjoying our cheaper but still expensive food and beer.

In the article by Center, Padres President Tom Garfinkel  said that the first priority is building a winning team. We have yet to see any moves by the team towards that end and we have heard that the team will not be active in any major FA signings.What we are getting is signs that they are going to wait to see what is left on the garbage heap after all the top 2 tiers of players are signed.

The Padres took huge strides towards giving fans an exciting team in the 2nd half last season. Whether they can win in 2010 is still in question. Most of the media and even local fans and blogs are writing them off for next season.

So while cheaper food is nice, a decent center fielder would be nicer. I will gladly pay for an $8 beer if it means having a CF that can hit 20 home runs while playing exceptional defense. I will happily pay 7.75 for a Randy Jones dog if that means the Padres can afford to field a team with more than the cast offs they have signed as free agents in recent years.

Hoyer the next step is yours. Fill out the roster with some players that will give fans a reason to show up, a winning team.

Then I will buy your concessions at whatever price you choose to charge.