Padres Quentin Injures Right Leg - Out 4-6 weeks

San Diego Padres GM Byrnes made a huge, and to the low budget Padres very expensive, mistake in trading for Carlos Quentin.

The prospects he sent to the White Sox notwithstanding, Quentin had averaged only 98 games per season in the field for the White Sox over the past three seasons. Nothing indicated he would be any more healthy his year. In fact, the pattern of being injury prone was in place like a Huge Red Flag and Byrnes simply ignored the warning signs. Byrnes wanted to make up for another huge mistake he made while in Arizona in trading away a then 24 year old Quentin and in doing so compounded his mistake.

Padres Carlos Quentin Injures Right Leg - Out 4-6 Weeks

Now Quentin has injured his right leg and will undergo arthroscopic surgery on Monday. Quentin is expected to miss 4-6 weeks and at the very minimum, the first 2 weeks of the regular season. More likely he will return to the Padres lineup in the last week of April or early May.

To add insult to Quentin's injury, it is to his right leg, the drive leg for a right handed hitter, and will rob him of power all season. Power is the only thing Quentin has to offer to the Padres as he has been the very worst defensive outfielder in major league baseball over the past 3 seasons with a -38.2 UZR.

Those of you who follow me know that I am not a big fan of defensive metrics like UZR unless there is at least 3 years of data to analyze. Looking at just one season of data is totally useless. Well we have three years of Quentin's defensive contributions to base a good determination of his ability in the field on and it says what our eyes have been telling us, he is horrendous with the glove.

Now about what the Padres are paying for Byrnes attempt to redeem his earlier mistake:

• $7.025 million or more than 13% of the overall 2012 Padres payroll
• Two prospects that now rank in the top 20 for the White Sox organization and who will contribute at the major league level in 2012 for the South Siders. (Castro is #4 or #5 depending on the list)

So the bottom line of Byrnes screw up is that Quentin will give the Padres under 100 games of mediocre power and atrocious defense and then Quentin will leave in free agency after the season.

The GM of the team can afford to make mistakes like this when you have a $100+ million payroll, but in San Diego it can be fatal to your hopes of a decent season.

Byrnes hubris in trying to redeem himself for an earlier mistake and Quentin's continuing injury problems may have torpedoed San Diego chances at a .500 season before the season even begins.

I've had my say about Byrnes, Quentin and the San Diego Padres.

Now its your turn. What do you think?

Padre's Byrnes Trades 1B for Reliever

Saturday January 7, 2012

So let me get this straight.

Padres GM Josh Byrnes trades away:

A 22 year old prospect that was a centerpiece of the trade that sent Adrian Gonzales to the Red Sox and who grades out as a future star (if not All Star) quality everyday position player who crushed at AAA at age 21 in 2011

For:

A 25 year old reliever with a history of shoulder problems?

WTF?

Byrnes has made the cardinal mistake of anointing a 25 year old prospect as the Padres starting 1B after a cup of coffee in Cincinnati (one of the best hitting parks in baseball) and sends away a young 1B who struggled when he was called up too early.

In his last trade, Byrnes traded away two prospects likely to make the White Sox staff in 2012 for a oft injured, defensive liability with mediocre power who is very expensive in Padres terms and who is a free agent after the 2012 season.

On a team that has has a very low payroll so has to live and die on locking up young players and keeping a deep pool of prospects, Byrnes has traded away his best young pitcher, his best position player prospect and two good pitching prospects and brought in only two injury prone players in Cashner and Quentin.

These last two trades would make sense only as the final pieces needed for a playoff run by a team full of proven talent. The Padres are far from full of proven talent.

Time will tell if the Padres can even make it out of last place in 2012, let alone contend.

I am starting to think that Byrnes is not such a smart general manager. 

Padres GM Byrnes makes STUPID trade for Quentin

San Diego Padres GM Josh Byrnes is out of his f'ing mind.

He has just made what may be the single worst trade in the history of the Padres franchise sending Simon Castro and Pedro Hernandez to the Chicago White Sox for OF/DH Carlos Quentin.
Yes, that is a bold statement, but lets take a look at the facts of this trade.

What did the Padres give up?

Byrnes traded away two good young pitchers in Simon Castro and Pedro Hernandez that will likely make the White Sox staff in 2012. If Castro is not in rotation in 2012, he will be in 2013 at the latest. 

Castro was rated #2 or #3 in the Padres organization in both 2010 & 2011 (Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus and John Sickels) and is widely thought of as a prospect with #2-#3 type starter potential at the major league level. Castro may not be top prospect in the PADRES incredibly deep system for 2012, but would rank in top 5 for White Sox today and will likely make the Sox staff by end of 2012. Castro could be a #2 - #3 starter on the Sox staff in 2013.

Hernandez is a  22 year old left handed control artist who had a decent chance of making the Padres pen at some point in 2012 and will likely break camp in the pen for the reliever deficient Sox. 

How about Carlos Quentin?  

Well Quentin is:

1. Extremely Injury Prone
   (Quentin has NEVER played over 131 games & averaged 120 games over past 4 seasons)
2. A Low Average Hitter
   (He hit .257 for the White Sox playing in one of best hitters parks in baseball. That translates to hitting .223 if he was a Padre over past 4 seasons.) 
3. An All or Nothing Hitter
   (17.4% strike outs vs just 7% walks but a .245 ISO)
4. A Free Agent at the end of the 2012 Season 
5. Relatively Expensive
   (Quentin will likely be paid $7-8 million in 2012. His 3rd & last year of arbitration)
6. An Absolute Butcher on Defense
   (Quentin has been THE ABSOLUTE WORST DEFENSIVE OUTFIELDER in baseball with more than 2500 innings played over past 3 seasons.)

So Padres got a one year rental of a mediocre player for two good prospects who will likely contribute for White Sox at Major League level in 2012. Byrnes is obviously trying to make up for his mistake of sending a CHEAP Quentin away from Arizona years ago. In the process he makes a HUGE mistake trading FOR him now.

The Padres will not contend in 2012 and adding Quentin wont change that. Quentin will go away after 2012 since the Padres cant afford to keep an expensive DH. The $7-8 million Byrnes will have to spend on Quentin is ALOT of money for the low payroll Padres and it is being spent on as bad of a fit for that ballpark as you can possibly find. 

WTF is Byrnes thinking.

I have had my say, now I would like to hear what YOU have to say about this trade.

- Web 

Edit: Changed Byrnes to Quentin in appropriate places.