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Off Season Moves and discussion
#51 · October 25, 2021, 10:37 am
Don't know how much credence should be put in the report about the pitching coach search, however, I recall that both Bochy and Showalter (who appear to be the frontrunners in the managerial search) were both very good to excellent in handling a pitching staff, although I think Showalter had more of a quick hook. Both have been out of the game for a couple of years, so this might be just seeing who is out there and possibly interested and letting the next manager make the final decision.
We'll know in a few weeks which club/mutual options are picked up and who is offered arbitration in this injured and aging group of relief pitchers; starting pitchers need to get healthy but seem to be in better shape than the relief staff. Got to find money somewhere to get a couple of OF's to fortify the offense so this is where there could be some savings by looking at some surprise deletions from the current staff. Relief pitchers are often mercurial, so it may be time to roll the dice on a few new additions.
#52 · October 28, 2021, 11:29 am
New pitching coach.
Not sure of grabbing such a vital cog BEFORE naming a manager( read: Preller calling ALL the shots on how our staff is used. Not good!) but he has a solid stable of pitchers to his credit. Seems a good hire.
Hope it doesn't scare off any potential managers?
#53 · October 28, 2021, 12:30 pm
My guess is the Padres had to hire him now or he would have taken another job elsewhere.
He lives in SD so I'm sure he preferred SD but there had to be some reason they did this now.
Also,my guess is that they may have spoken to the Manager candidates about Niebla.
AJ may have told them he was making this move and made sure his top few choices were OK with it.
You can only assume he wouldn't risk losing his top choice over this.
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#54 · October 29, 2021, 7:06 am
OK, now that we have hired Melvin. Lets go and get his A level 1B from OAK, Matt Olson. He is under control until the end of the 2023 season.
Send OAK, Campusano, Lawson, Knehr, and Hosmer with $40M for Olson.
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#55 · October 29, 2021, 9:03 am
https://mobile.twitter.com/sdutKevinAcee/status/1453754238568259588/
There appears to be a MAJOR overhaul taking place all across our system. All these guys Preller brought in are now being shown the door.
How in the world does this guy still have his job? Siedler and/or Fowler must REALLY see something that isn't terribly apparent to the rest of us?
#56 · October 29, 2021, 9:16 am
I noted that the Padres and the Dodgers were the only two teams to exceed the luxury tax threshold and therefore will be the only two team to get penalized (draft pick / loss of International bonus money) IF they sign a FA with a Qualifying Offer.
That (along with a payroll that remains very high) may limit the Padres approach to adding via FA or trade.
I would not be surprised if the Padres work more on the fringe and avoid any major move .... core team (if they perform to expectations) is quite good (expected by many to win the NL West BEFORE last season). Maybe they rely on Melvin and the pitching coach to elevate them to their potential.
I pretty sure they would like to open more payroll space by moving Myers and/or Hosmer BUT that will not happen without eating a lot of salary (so that does not help that much) and will cost prospects ... somewhat a limited resource after all the deals last year. Plus with Pham gone and the specter of the DH they already need two bats before any deletions of hitters.
Since Myers is gone after 2022 ... would not give up any good prospects just to move his a small portion of his salary. Hosmer is owed much more and has the complication of the opt out after next season ... hard to structure a deal ... may the work with Boras on a simple buyout in 2022 (he gets full no trade rights at the end of 2022).
Best guess: a quest for a undervalued bat (or two) .. low cost / quest for a few "make good" RP candidates.
#57 · October 29, 2021, 11:00 am
I can think of a few good Bullpen candidates........Lamet,Weathers and Paddack.
"If" all arms are healthy on Opening day I could see them in the "Arm Barn".
Darvish/Snell/Musgrove/Clevinger/Gore?
I would suspect Clevinger will still be limited so this gives us guys to make occasional starts to save Clev or to take over for him(give him a breather) in the middle of the summer.
#58 · October 29, 2021, 12:26 pm
Listen to an interview with Tom Verducci and he LOVED the hiring of Melvin.
A key part of his commentary was how well Melvin handled his pitching staff and specifically a bullpen that kept them fresh and effective plus lasted over seasons.
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Did see some speculation that Lamet would get non-tendered … the injury history is beginning to cross over the cost for potential I guess. Maybe re-signs at a lower cost (non-roster?). Estimated Arb for 2022 is $4.6MM and he would be a FA after 2023. They should have a good idea on his health profile … and maybe not really happy that Lamet opted to NOT go the Clevinger route with TJ given his 2021 availability.
#59 · October 29, 2021, 12:37 pm
Will be interesting to see if Melvin angles for some of his former players (we know most are low cost) but we key contributors in mind. Same logic with the new pitching coach who may have some important on Guardians’ pitcher (pitching prospects).
#60 · October 29, 2021, 2:45 pm
Love to get the top 2 WAR producers from the A's in 2021 - Olson and Bassitt. Both are going to get hefty raises in arbitration, probably somewhere around 8M each. Got to clear a lot of salary or include some top prospects to make that happen so the chances of this happening are slim. Our best available trade piece is probably Campusano unless there are still teams that think Gore will return his pre-2020 level of dominance with just a few tweaks over a short period of time. I don't see them parting with either Abrams or Hassell. Most likely it will fall to Melvin and Niebla to draw out the talents of the current team, many of whom have been underproducing for the past two years. Look forward to see what roster decisions are made in the next few weeks - that should give us a good indication of where this team is headed in 2022.