Quote from Randy Manese on November 22, 2020, 12:16 pm

I'm thinking there is probably going to be some movement prior to the Rule 5 draft to open up a couple of slots on the 40 man roster.  This may come by way of trades or non-tenders in order to get more flexibility on the current roster.  Leaning toward not offering contracts to Garcia and Wingenter if trades do not clear a few bodies.  This will allow the signing of FA without having to make the move afterward and/or picking up possibly one Rule 5 person if that person has the skills to fill our bench role or pitching needs.  In my opinion, I think there will be many options available to replace Garcia.  I'm not opposed to getting reacquainted with Renfroe but he is what he is - don't expect him to be an everyday player, especially against RH pitchers.  I wouldn't offer him more than 2.5 Million.  He is good defensively and has some pop, so that is the only reason I would bring him back, since he isn't as bad against LH pitchers as Hosmer.  This would allow Myers to move to 1st and have a better defensive OF in right.

Quote from MrPadre19 on November 22, 2020, 3:00 pm

Who’s available in free agency we would rather have than Pham?

Michael Brantley would be approx twice as expensive and would require a 2-3 year deal....but could become our DH once it’s available.

Jackie Bradley would cost about the same but would be an improvement defensively (if he was willing to play LF) by a wide margin....but at what cost offensively?

Plus we could sign Profar for about the same cost......would you rather have Profar or JBJ with all else equal?

I wouldn’t mind signing Adam Eaton and putting him in LF or moving Myers over.

But I’m not sure what he will cost vs. Profar/JBJ.

For the record I m still firmly in the “keep Pham for LF” camp as I think he will be motivated to have a great season...barring injury of course which has to be a consideration I suppose with Tommy.

But if we can get a player to cover LF for the next 2-3 years that might be ideal.....would AJ consider extending Pham if he has a good start to the season?

Suddenly our once crowded OF situation is anything but going forward at this point.

 

 

Quote from fenn68 on November 22, 2020, 3:55 pm

Love to have a better option than Pham for now and the longer term ... just don’t see it this winter unless they go big with Ozuna ... but doubt that will happen.

Pham ... although not good defensively .... is a RHH (Padres need that in their line-up) and if the DH arrives in 2021 ... a good secondary slot for him. Have to expect he returns to his offensive form ... long enough track record. So, the $8MM is justifiable.

However, at his age, might not be too willing to extend him at a premium price without actually seeing him play in SD. Might just take it year by year and look for the upgrade out of next winter’s FA class ... or via a trade (Preller always surprised as when he landed Pham and Grisham last winter).

I guess the most straight forward (and probably feasible) route is tender Pham ... non-tender Garcia ... use part of the additional $10-15MM rumored after the Clevinger deal to sign Profar ($5-6MM / year ... 2 or 3 years) to initially be the super sub and if the DH arrives in 2021 ... Profar to LF / Pham to DH. Still money left over for that RH closer (Yates at <$5MM) and a innings eater veteran SP on a 1 year deal.

Pham (and Davies) depart in 2022 opening up $16MMish (less arb increases) to focus on that longer term LF/DH.

Note: would avoid a LHH add with Hosmer, Cronenworth, Grisham having struggles vs. LHP ... need a strong RH bat to separate them in the line-up. Two strong RH bats between the LHHs give a problem to opposing mangers with the 3 man rule if they are thinking about bringing in a LHP.

Quote from WindsorUK on November 23, 2020, 6:24 am

1. Quote from Randy Manese on November 22, 2020, 12:16 pm

I'm thinking there is probably going to be some movement prior to the Rule 5 draft to open up a couple of slots on the 40 man roster.  This may come by way of trades or non-tenders in order to get more flexibility on the current roster.  Leaning toward not offering contracts to Garcia and Wingenter if trades do not clear a few bodies.  This will allow the signing of FA without having to make the move afterward and/or picking up possibly one Rule 5 person if that person has the skills to fill our bench role or pitching needs.  In my opinion, I think there will be many options available to replace Garcia.  I'm not opposed to getting reacquainted with Renfroe but he is what he is - don't expect him to be an everyday player, especially against RH pitchers.  I wouldn't offer him more than 2.5 Million.  He is good defensively and has some pop, so that is the only reason I would bring him back, since he isn't as bad against LH pitchers as Hosmer.  This would allow Myers to move to 1st and have a better defensive OF in right.

I'm with you Randy.

Hunter is a Gold Glove caliber defender with a cannon attached to his right shoulder. The fact he's also capable of knocking down the Western Metal Supply Company building with his prodigious power would make him a really good platoon option, if we could get him on the cheap.

 

Quote from hoffy51 on November 23, 2020, 6:42 am

I say no. There was a reason they traded him. A lot of strikeouts and very low on base percentage. Those are things the Padres are trying to avoid. Secondly, he would only be of use as a DH (if MLB even has the DH) against left-hand pitching. I would not put him in right because that means moving Myers, and I think one of the reasons Will did so well last year was that they put him in one position and left him there. Therefore, I say no way.

Quote from fenn68 on November 23, 2020, 7:07 am

Just say NO to Renfroe!

He is the model for the type of player the Padres are trying to get away from ... low contact ... low OBP. He was a disaster last season. Avg .156 ... OBP .252 ... benched. I can get that from Ona ... cheaper. Renfroe is sub-,300 OBP for his career.

plus don’t move Myers off RF. Finally he is being productive with stability in RF. Don’t fall back into trap of thinking he can be bounced around and stay productive.

stick with Pham in LF. Also, with his swing / approach, doubt Renfroe can hit consistently as a part-time player.

Quote from hoffy51 on November 23, 2020, 9:05 am

Amen!

Quote from Brian Connelly on November 23, 2020, 9:10 am

The great Greg Garcia debate rages!!  LOL.  I really like GG; don't "have it out for him".  I just think his picture is in the dictionary next to the definition of: "MLB player negatively affected by depressed payrolls due to Covid in 2021".

FENN, you keep stating the argument for keeping him as "we don't have anyone else".   Preller is not going to stand pat with the current bench.  He may choose to go very cheap first half of season, then make trade/s at deadline if neccy; but he is going to add SOME players SOMEwhere to the mix.  Not just FA's.  Could be trades. With all our RP's, I see  a MLB for MLB piece trade (RP for Util position player) as a very logical, high probability outcome.  Who those player/s are changes everything.

Not likely to sign anyone now before Non Tender deadline, and you may be right; Preller may be willing to gamble the 20%(?) of GG's arb salary to keep him now as insurance before ST starts.  But even that small amount of $ does count against the relatively small ($10-15-20? MM) "pile" available...

 

Quote from Jeremy Hill on November 23, 2020, 9:31 am

Renfroe is a career .258/.339/.573 hitter against lefties. That's elite production. Hosmer is a career .250/.297/.364 hitter against lefties. That's a massive upgrade and would make the outfield defense better too. He would make a lot of sense as a starter against lefties and defensive replacement/pinch hitter in games started by righties. Just have to start thinking of him as a potentially elite platoon player instead of looking at him as an everyday guy.