Quote from 3fingersplit on January 27, 2024, 7:23 am

I’m thinking that maybe with what is available in FA that the Padres are going to go with the young guys and it’s a baptism by fire season because is any of the lower tier guys really any better…other than they are already in the majors?

I for one would like to see some of our young guys get a chance because at the end of the day it’s still baseball…run, hit , catch, throw, pitch.

I’m going to just wait for the season and enjoy the game of baseball.

Quote from Randy Manese on January 27, 2024, 7:24 am

Or it could be Jankowski just didn't want to play for the Padres.  He re-joins a World Series championship team, plays under a players-manager in Bochy and apparently enjoyed his time there last year with the group of guys coming back.  What's wrong with that decision?  It's not always the money.  Free agent hitters, in particular, have to want to come here because PETCO has a history of suppressing their stats.  Would have liked him to land here but I can see why he didn't.

Quote from fenn68 on January 27, 2024, 8:08 am

RP Neris signs with the Cubs (nice contract) and leaves virtually nothing of any quality left in the FA RP ranks.

Since a lot of teams still want RP adds … IF the Padres would be willing to part with a De Los Santos, Wilson, Avila … ? … might get some offensive help.

Quote from Randy Manese on January 27, 2024, 8:35 am

Padres bringing 40 pitchers to Spring Training.  Of those 40, only Darvish, Musgrove, King, Snelling and Thorpe will only be looked at as SP.  The other 35 are in competition for the rotation, long relief, middle relief and high leverage situations.  Matsui and Go likely won't be traded but there are a lot of interesting arms among the other 33, both experienced and with potential, that could emerge and make others expendable.

A pitcher adding velocity or a new pitch or adjusting his mechanics to achieve better command/control could make a world of difference.  We used to build our bullpen almost from the ground up every year and have very good results.  Last year, we pretty much stood pat and the results weren't pretty.  Some of these 33 have no chance, but there is more here than we've had for a number of years.  Maybe we'll get a Patino comeback or have Krob dominate in ST - never know from where the next valued RP will come.

Quote from fenn68 on January 27, 2024, 10:29 am

I know Rule 5 selections are long shots even for teams that are not contenders but this spring Kolek has a legit chance of being the surprise.

In 2023 he was converted from a mediocre SP to RP. His velocity jumped from the low 90s to the mid 90s plus he a a quality breaking pitch. In the PCL last season he started rough but he had an excellent second half (very low ERA) and a ground ball rate near 60%. Some control issues to resolve but maybe the bullpen change last year is the move that released his talent?

A good showing in ST may allow the Padres to move a RP and keep him … still a bit of a long shot but that improvement after moving to the pen is intriguing.

Quote from Randy Manese on January 27, 2024, 11:55 am

Padres have signed the top international prospect for 2 years in a row - can they make it 3?  Haven't seen them tied to a top prospect in the Dominican or Venezuela (knew about Salas and De Vries at least a year out), but what about Japan?  There is an outside possibility that Roki Sasaki, arguably a better prospect than Yamamoto, may be posted by his Chiba team in 2024/2025.  Because of his age/experience, he will be subject to the international signing bonus rules vice professional free agency just like Ohtani was when he was posted.

Because the Padres will be under the first level of the CBT and did not sign a player with a Qualifying Offer (QO), they will have their full international bonus pool money in 2025, which will be at the tier below the small market teams.  So far, the Dodgers, Phillies, Astros and Twins have signed a QO player with Snell, Bellinger and Chapman still left to sign.  Given where the latter 3 may sign and where the others have already signed, the Padres may have a very good shot at Sasaki.

This is all speculation because we don't know what terms are in Sasaki's contract for 2024.  However, if he is posted in the next international signing window, despite the fact we have some high level pitching prospects on the horizon, Sasaki is better than all of them and ready to head a rotation after signing.   So, until the rumors start getting louder, we can dream!

Quote from fenn68 on January 27, 2024, 12:44 pm

Quote from Randy Manese on January 27, 2024, 11:55 am

Padres have signed the top international prospect for 2 years in a row - can they make it 3?  Haven't seen them tied to a top prospect in the Dominican or Venezuela (knew about Salas and De Vries at least a year out), but what about Japan?  There is an outside possibility that Roki Sasaki, arguably a better prospect than Yamamoto, may be posted by his Chiba team in 2024/2025.  Because of his age/experience, he will be subject to the international signing bonus rules vice professional free agency just like Ohtani was when he was posted.

Because the Padres will be under the first level of the CBT and did not sign a player with a Qualifying Offer (QO), they will have their full international bonus pool money in 2025, which will be at the tier below the small market teams.  So far, the Dodgers, Phillies, Astros and Twins have signed a QO player with Snell, Bellinger and Chapman still left to sign.  Given where the latter 3 may sign and where the others have already signed, the Padres may have a very good shot at Sasaki.

This is all speculation because we don't know what terms are in Sasaki's contract for 2024.  However, if he is posted in the next international signing window, despite the fact we have some high level pitching prospects on the horizon, Sasaki is better than all of them and ready to head a rotation after signing.   So, until the rumors start getting louder, we can dream!

Sure sounds as though if he gets posted next winter the Padres can (and likely would) clear out their international allocation to land him … that should be more than others can (would) do plus it sounds as if Darvish would be an active recruiter to land him.

The unknown is if Sasaki is taking the Ohtani approach and the money is less important than landing where he wants (he will get the big bucks soon enough).

Darvish / Matsui vs. Ohtani / Yamamoto … SD vs. LA … ???????

We can hope.

Quote from MrPadre19 on January 27, 2024, 4:02 pm

Anybody for a little Cabbage?

Trey Cabbage just DFA’d by Angels.

26yrs old

Left Handed 1B/DH

Last year in AAA:

.306/.379/596

30 HR

32 SB

The problem?

He strikes out “A lot”.

He’s basically Joey Gallo with speed and without the good OF defense.

 

Quote from fenn68 on January 27, 2024, 4:55 pm

Quote from MrPadre19 on January 27, 2024, 4:02 pm

Anybody for a little Cabbage?

Trey Cabbage just DFA’d by Angels.

26yrs old

Left Handed 1B/DH

Last year in AAA:

.306/.379/596

30 HR

32 SB

The problem?

He strikes out “A lot”.

He’s basically Joey Gallo with speed and without the good OF defense.

 

Not sure those stats are a good indicator … he was in the PCL and, I think, Salt Lake City … his early career was not all that impressive.