With the deadline quickly approaching, fans are wondering just what their team is going to do. That is, if they haven’t made a move already.
There have been two big moves thus far and both have come in the American League’s Western Division. The Rangers acquired left-hander Cliff Lee from Seattle and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim acquired Dan Haren from Arizona late Sunday night.
As for the San Diego Padres, this is not the time to stand by and watch everyone else make moves to make their team better. It’s also not the time to make a lateral move that doesn’t make them any better than they are right now. If they want to wrap up their division, and do so in convincing fashion, then there’s a deal or two that they can make to put a pretty little bow on the NL West.
The Padres should be proud that they are still in first place at this point. Most thought they would be in last place in the division and be selling off multiple pieces to rebuild for the coming seasons.
Before the 2010 season even started, Newy Scruggs of NBC 5 in Dallas called the Padres “terrible” while broadcasting for 105.3 The Fan during spring training in Arizona. Seems that wasn’t exactly accurate.
Then, just last week during the Padres three game set with the Atlanta Braves, Fox Sports’ Jon Paul Morosi decided to throw his own dart at the Padres, essentially calling them “pretenders.” No disrespect to Mr. Morosi, but this was the same guy that expected the Padres to trade Adrian Gonzalez, Heath Bell, and Chris Young at this year’s trade deadline.
So, with just a few days left before Saturday’s non-waiver trade deadline, general manager Jed Hoyer and the Padres’ front office continue to work on the best trades that are available to them.
There have been several names thrown out there, but there’s no telling if any of them have actually stuck. We could go down the list of guys like Baltimore’s Ty Wigginton, Miguel Tejada, and Jeremy Guthrie, Cleveland’s Jake Westbrook, Seattle’s Milton Bradley among others, that have been talked about.
One name the Padres, along with the Giants, Angels, Red Sox, and others were after, was Royals’ outfielder David DeJesus. But, thanks to an injury last week, he will miss significant time which takes him off the trade market.
Orioles’ right-hander Jeremy Guthrie made it known that he would love to pitch in San Diego after a game against the Padres earlier this season, but MLB.com’s Corey Brock shot that rumor down a few weeks ago.
So who does that leave? While I’m not of the opinion that the Padres can watch the deadline go by without so much as a single trade, 619 Sports out of San Diego, via Twitter , sees things a little differently.
Are the Padres good enough to win the NL West as they are?
Not in my opinion.
Sure, they hold a slim three game lead over the San Francisco Giants, but a three game lead is nothing in the major league.
The Padres need to add another arm to the rotation and possibly another player or two to their infield depth.
Orioles’ short stop Miguel Tejada has been mentioned more than once as a possible replacement for injured second baseman David Eckstein. The Padres need to bring in someone that can stem the tide until Eck returns to the lineup. A few sources out of San Diego believe that Tejada’s addition could move him to the outfield once Eckstein is ready to come off the disabled list.
It may be a temporary bandaid, but the Padres need more than that in their starting rotation.
They currently have Jon Garland, Kevin Correia, Mat Latos, Clayton Richard, and Wade LeBlanc in the rotation, but they need another guy that can take the ball every fifth day and provide veteran leadership and ability. A guy you can count on to give you the best chance to win when the ball is put in his hands.
A few promising pitchers are the aforementioned Guthrie and Westbrook along with Arizona right-hander Edwin Jackson. I believe Houston right-hander Brett Myers would be the best fit, but he may not be dealt until the Astros figure out what they’re going to do with Roy Oswalt.
SI.com’s Jon Heyman weighed in on that exact topic via Twitter , saying that the Astros weren’t anxious to trade Myers. Heyman added that though the Astros may not be “anxious” to trade him, he thinks they eventually should.
Earlier today, a rumor surfaced that the Padres had acquired outfielder Jayson Werth from the Phillies. The Padres need another productive bat in the lineup and it was no secret that the team was looking for another outfielder.
The original rumor, reported by Jack Cronin of 1090 AM in San Diego, stated the Padres had sent “a couple of prospects” to the Phillies for Werth. I couldn’t see how the Phillies would take that little in return after all the reports that they were looking for high returns for the outfielder.
With just five days to go before the deadline, the rumors will be hot and heavy until the Padres actually make the moves they set out to make. They may be major moves or they may just be lateral moves, but the Padres can not let the deadline go by without so much as a whimper.
They need a proven starter and they need another bat in the lineup. Trades won’t stop after the July 31st trade deadline, but if the Padres want to sew up the NL West division before the end of July, they need to make the impact moves and do so now.
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