Padres Press Clips Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Transcription

1 Padres Press Clips Wednesday, December 23, 2015 Article Source Author Page Matsuda, Padres Mateo likely to play in Japan UT San Diego Lin 2 Hall will eventually come calling for Hoffman MLB.com Bloom 5 New pitchers in Padres system finishing winter work Padres.com Center 8 Caminiti tops my list among Padres third basemen Padres.com Center 9 Organizational report: The Padres are not rebuilding USAToday.com Perrotto 12 Trevor Hoffman s Hall of Fame case ESPN.com Schoenfield 16 brings up closer controversy 1

2 Matsuda, Padres Mateo likely to play in Japan A few pre-christmas notes on the Padres By Dennis Lin 6:17 p.m. Dec. 22, 2015 Updated, 9:09 a.m. Dec. 23, 2015 The Padres recently have expressed interest in Japanese free agent Nobuhiro Matsuda, but according to a source, the club is now under the impression the third baseman will return to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. The Hawks, Matsuda s longtime team, reportedly have offered him a five-year deal, well beyond anything he would receive from a major league club. The Padres have not made a formal offer, a source said. Matsuda, 32, is coming off a season in which he hit.287 with a career-high 35 home runs. Regarded as a solid defender, he likely would not approach the same power numbers stateside. Currently, the Padres primary option at third base is the switch-hitting Yangervis Solarte. Second baseman Cory Spangenberg is capable of filling in across the diamond, while newcomers Jose Pirela and Carlos Asuaje figure to join the infield mix during spring training. Mateo likely headed to Japan While it appears Matsuda will remain in Japan, Padres reliever Marcos Mateo looks likely to join him. Mateo has an agreement in place with the Hanshin Tigers, a source confirmed. The deal is pending a physical, which Mateo underwent Tuesday. Mateo, 31, saw his first major league action in four years with the Padres last season. The right-hander went 1-1 with a 4.00 ERA in 26 games, recording 33 strikeouts and nine walks over 27 innings. The Tigers, who could make Mateo their closer, are expected to pay cash for his rights. 2

3 Baumann a bullpen candidate Mateo may be leaving, but the Padres did add a bullpen candidate Monday, signing left-hander Buddy Baumann to his first major league contract. Baumann, who had been a career minor leaguer in Kansas City s system, recently drew a fair amount of interest as a six-year free agent. He s a guy that we watched this year, Padres General Manager A.J. Preller said. (Special assignment scout) Steve Lyons was big in terms of recommending him. He may not have big stats, but he s a competitor, a strike-thrower, has started and relieved, attacks with a good fastball. Baumann has been effective against same-handed opponents; last season with Triple- A Omaha, he held left-handers to a.148/.225/.222 batting line. He joins Drew Pomeranz and Jose Torres, both acquired from Oakland, as lefthanders recently added to the 40-man roster. As far as the overall bullpen picture, the Padres, after trading closer Craig Kimbrel and setup man Joaquin Benoit, are hoping their coaching staff and Petco Park can help them field a more cost-effective relief corps. The club recently signed another career minor league pitcher in Cesar Vargas and acquired Luis Perdomo (via trade from Colorado), Josh Martin and Blake Smith through the Rule 5 draft. On the relief side, it s probably going to be a little bit of an open competition, Preller said. We re going to keep adding options for (Padres manager Andy Green) to have. Notable The Padres have not officially decided on roles for Pomeranz and right-hander Brandon Maurer; both young pitchers have experience starting and relieving. While spring training is two months away, the club may be leaning toward giving Maurer an opportunity to start. The 25-year-old throws three quality pitches (fastball, slider, change-up) and has been working on bringing back his curveball. Assuming Mateo s release, there soon could be 38 players on the 40-man roster. In addition to designating catcher Josmil Pinto for assignment to make room for Baumann, the Padres have released reliever Jay Jackson. Pinto s departure leaves 3

4 Derek Norris, Austin Hedges and the newly acquired Christian Bethancourt as the catchers on the roster. We d love to have a 45-man roster, but ultimately we have some catching options, Preller said. You re always looking at the the back (of the roster). As you go to add some guys, you have to potentially subtract guys. We ll see how the waiver process with Pinto goes. Right-hander Brandon Morrow, who returned to the Padres on a minor league deal, will compete for a rotation job as a non-roster invitee, Preller said. Morrow, who made just five starts last season and underwent shoulder surgery in August, is expected to be ready for spring training. 4

5 Hall will eventually come calling for Hoffman By Barry M. Bloom / 12:17 PM ET NEW YORK -- Former Padres closer Trevor Hoffman will be inducted into the Hall of Fame someday soon -- if not this year, his first on the ballot. Hoffman faces the age-old dilemma of how eligible voters from the Baseball Writers' Association of America view relievers in general, and one-inning closers in particular. Thus far, only six pitchers who spent at least parts of their careers as closers have been inducted into the red-bricked museum on upper Main Street in Cooperstown, N.Y. -- Hoyt Wilhelm, Rollie Fingers, Dennis Eckersley, Bruce Sutter, Rich "Goose" Gossage and, most recently, John Smoltz. The BBWAA has only elected 119. Here are the caveats: Eckersley and Smoltz were also highly effective starters and Sutter is the only pitcher in the Hall who spent his entire career as a closer until injuries ended it prematurely. Even the great Mariano Rivera, eligible in 2019, made 10 starts early on for the Yankees on his way to a record 652 saves, 42 more in the postseason. Hoffman, a converted shortstop, would be the second pitcher in the Hall to never have started a game, his 1,035 appearances all coming in relief. He's the all-time National League leader with 601 saves, but the question is whether that will be enough for voters to eventually carry him in. Note that Fingers had 341 saves, Gossage had 310 and Sutter had 300, but all of them pitched in an era when closers were used for multiple innings. Should Hoffman be penalized because of the way his managers -- mostly Bruce Bochy with the Padres -- used him? Eckersley, with 390 saves along with 197 wins, was the first of the era to be turned into a one-inning closer by manager Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan in 1987, when all of them were with the A's. "I think the numbers are what they are," Hoffman said recently. "I think I pitched in an era that was riddled with people's concerns about players doing it fairly. I did it honestly. I felt like I was one of two guys, Mariano and myself, who stood out. Not to take anything away from Billy Wagner, who had a great career. Mine was pretty good. So we'll just leave it at that." 5

6 Wagner is also on the ballot for the first time this year. He had 422 saves during 16 seasons for five teams and is highly regarded. Lee Smith, third on the all-time list behind Rivera and Hoffman with 478 saves, is in his 14th season on the ballot and really has never generated any traction. Neither did John Franco (424 saves) nor Jeff Reardon (367), who fell off the writers' ballot after failing to generate at least five percent of the vote and aren't likely candidates for the Expansion Era Committee, either. Writers of their era considered Sutter, Gossage and Fingers to be seminal closers who had massive impacts on the way the game was played and managed late last century as bullpens became a major factor. In the famous "Bucky Dent Game No. 163" in 1978 that gave the Yankees the American League East title over the Red Sox, few remember that Gossage actually saved the game three times that afternoon at Fenway Park: Once for Ron Guidry in the seventh inning and twice for himself in the eighth and ninth. In the end, Carl Yastrzemski popped out foul to third baseman Graig Nettles with runners on first and third to send the Yankees on to what would eventually be a World Series win over the Dodgers. That would never happen today, nor would it ever have happened in Hoffman's time. Three relievers at the least are now asked to do the job Goose did that day. Hoffman was workmanlike, and almost every time he was used -- particularly in his 16 seasons for the Padres -- got the job done within the parameters he was asked. The Padres were an inferior team for most of the Hoffman era, winning the NL West four times and losing the 1998 World Series in a sweep to Rivera's Yankees. Consequently, Hoffman didn't excel in the postseason, logging four saves, a win and a 3.46 ERA in 12 appearances. All that notwithstanding, the Padres won 1,128 games when Hoffman was available after he arrived in the June 24, 1993, fire sale trade that sent Gary Sheffield to the Marlins. With 552 saves and 54 wins, Hoffman contributed to an astounding 53.7 percent of San Diego's wins before he left for the Brewers as a free agent after the 2008 season. Comparatively, with much better players surrounding him, the Yankees had 1,613 wins when Rivera was available to pitch during his 19 seasons. With his 82 wins and 652 saves, Rivera contributed to 46 percent of the Yankees wins during that period. 6

7 The Yankees made the playoffs 17 times in Rivera's 19 seasons, winning the World Series five times to go along with seven AL pennants. That gave Rivera a huge sample size in the postseason and he parlayed that into those 42 saves, eight wins and an 0.70 ERA in 96 additional appearances to his 1,115 during the regular season. Hoffman and Rivera will always be regarded in the same breath. After all, Major League Baseball has named its annual awards for the top relievers in each league after them. But because of the way he performed under the harsh lights of the postseason, the perception is that Rivera was a much more dominant pitcher than Hoffman, making him an almost certain first ballot Hall of Famer, which Hoffman is not. Rivera did it with one pitch, a nasty split-fingered fastball. Hoffman's calling card was a changeup that he developed after missing all but nine September outings during the 2003 season because of surgery to correct an impingement in his right shoulder that Spring Training. How dominant, though, was Hoffman? Opposing batters hit.211 against him,.188 with two out and.150 with two strikes. He had 1,133 career strikeouts, and 536 on 0-2 counts. He walked 307 in 1,089 1/3 innings, had a WHIP and a dominant 0.84 ERA in his 601 saves. He blew only 95 saves -- an average of 5.28 a year -- in 18 seasons. Those are just the highlights. Only those who were in San Diego for much of Hoffman's career knew what to expect every time he came sprinting out of the bullpen to the strains of AC/DC's "Hells Bells" at either Qualcomm Stadium or Petco Park. Game over. All of this and more is why the pearly gates of the Hall eventually will swing open for Hoffman. If not now, someday very soon. 7

8 New pitchers in Padres system finishing winter work Buchter, Baumann, Humber pitching in off-season By Bill Center / San Diego Padres 9:23 AM ET The Latin American winter league seasons are winding down. The regular season in the Dominican Republic ended Dec. 21. The Mexican and Venezuelan leagues complete their seasons on Dec. 29. And the Puerto Rico season ends Jan. 4. Most players in the Padres system playing winter ball have already returned home. But several recent additions to the Padres family are popping up in the statistics for the first time. Two examples are 28-year-old, left-handed relief pitchers Ryan Buchter and Buddy Baumann. Buchter is 3-0 with 10 saves in as many chances with a 0.72 earned run average in 23 appearances for Culiacan in Mexico. Buchter has allowed 14 hits and10 walks with 35 strikeouts in 25 innings. Baumann, who the Padres signed to a Major League contract earlier this week, had a 4.50 earned run average in five appearances for La Guaira in Venezuela. On the right-handed side, Phil Humber, 33, was 1-2 with a 3.18 ERA in four starts covering 17 innings for Gigantes in the Dominican Republic. And Luis Diaz, 23, is 1-1 with a 1.71 ERA in 11 starts for Caracas in Venezuela. Diaz has allowed 43 hits and 21 walks with 43 strikeouts in 58 innings. Catcher Rocky Gale, 27,who took over behind the plate for Austin Hedges with Escogido in the Dominican Republic, finished with a.315 batting average in 20 games in the Dominican Republic. Several other performances of note: --Infielder River Stevens, 23, is hitting.300 in 20 games with Canberra in Australia. --Infielder Luis Urias, 18, is hitting.280 (30-for-107) with Obregon in Mexico. --Center fielder Manuel Margot, 21, finished his play in the Dominican Republic with a.218 average with three homers and 11 RBIs in 25 games for the playoff-bound Toros. Meanwhile, Rymer Liriano, 24, finished the Dominican season with a.196 average (20-for-102) with three homers and 13 RBIs in 34 games for playoff-bound Licey. 8

9 Caminiti tops my list among Padres third basemen His bat places Phil Nevin at No. 2 on the list Ken Caminiti is one of the more dynamic players in the history of the San Diego Padres. He is also one of the most controversial. Caminiti is the only Padre ever to be named the National League's Most Valuable Player. But that 1996 honor was tainted by Caminiti's post-retirement admissions that he used PEDs during Substance abuse plagued Caminiti throughout his playing career and he died at the age of 41 on Oct. 10, 2004, of what was ruled a drug overdose. As controversial as Caminiti's life was, in my book he is still the best third baseman in Padres history. In four seasons with the Padres, Caminiti helped transform a team that was rebuilding from a fire sale into a division winner in 1996 and the National League pennant winner in Caminiti's 1996 season - on defense as well as offense - was a highlight film unto itself. In addition to being named the National League's MVP award, Caminiti also won the league's Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards at third base. In 1996, Caminiti hit.326 with 40 home runs and 130 RBIs. I picked Caminiti as my top Padres third baseman over what he did in four seasons - again on defense as well as offense. Because I like offense at third, No. 2 on my list of all-time Padres third basemen is Phil Nevin. My third pick is Chase Headley because of his longevity at the position and his spectacular 2012 season. Selecting the final two spots on my Top 5 was not easy. Although he played less than two full seasons for the Padres, Gary Sheffield was spectacular and gets my nod at No. 4. I gave the fifth spot to Kevin Kouzmanoff over Sean Burroughs, Graig Nettles and Luis Salazar, who played 551 games as the Padres third baseman over seven seasons as a utility player. Here are my 5 Padres third basemen: 1.KEN CAMINITI ( ): In four seasons with the Padres, Caminiti hit.295 with 121 homers and 396 home runs. He had a.384 on-base percentage and a.540 slugging percentage for a.924 OPS. Among 9

10 qualifying players, Caminiti is the Padres all-time leader in slugging percentage and OPS. He ranks fourth in batting average and on-base percentage and also ranks seventh in homers. His WAR as a Padre was As a Padre, Caminiti was named to two National League All-Star teams and was voted a starter in He won three straight Gold Glove awards for his fielding from , joining Tony Gwynn as the only Padres to win three straight Gold Gloves. Caminiti's 1996 season is one of the best all-around seasons in Padres history. He had 37 doubles to go with the 40 homers. He also scored 109 runs with a.408 on-base percentage and a.621 slugging percentage for a OPS. The slugging, OPS and RBI (130) totals are the highest single-season marks in Padres history while his 40 homers rank third and his 109 runs rank fifth. Caminiti and center fielder Steve Finley came to the Padres as part of an 11-player trade with Houston on Dec. 28, PHIL NEVIN ( ) - Nevin was an offensive force as a Padre from Primarily a third baseman for his first four seasons with the Padres, Nevin also caught, played first and in the outfield. In seven seasons with the Padres, Nevin had a.288 batting average with 156 homers, 158 doubles, 573 RBIs plus a.359 on-base percentage and a.503 slugging percentage for a.862 OPS. Among Padres career leaders, Nevin ranks third in homers and RBIs, fourth in slugging percentage, fifth in OPS, tied for eighth in doubles and ninth in runs scored (428). But he was even more potent while playing third where he had a.297 batting average with a.531 slugging percentage with 92 homers and 316 RBIs in 425 games. He made the 2001 National League All-Star team during a season when he had career highs of 41 homers and 126 RBIs while hitting.306 as a third baseman. Nevin had a 17.7 WAR as a Padre. 3.CHASE HEADLEY ( ) - Headley's 680 games at third are the most in Padres history. In 2012, the switch-hitter had a breakout season, batting.286 with career highs of 31 homers and 115 RBIs (becoming the only Padre to ever lead the National League in RBIs). But in five other full seasons as a Padre, Headley never hit higher than.289 with 13 homers and 64 RBIs. Headley had a career.266 batting average as a Padre with 70 homers and 310 RBIs in 680 games. He had a.349 on-base percentage with a.415 slugging percentage. Headley's 908 games as a Padre (he also spent a season in left field) are the sixth-highest total in Padres history. He is fifth on the Padres all-time list with 873 hits, fourth in doubles (186), 10th in RBIs and seventh in walks (377). He is also the franchise's all-time leader with 844 strikeouts. Headley's WAR as a Padre was GARY SHEFFIELD ( ) - Sheffield spent an amazing 1 1Ž2 seasons as a Padre and led the National League in hitting in 1992 with a.330 mark. During that only full season as a Padre, Sheffield had 34 doubles, three triples and 33 homers with 100 RBIs. His batting average is the ninth-best singleseason mark in Padres history while his.580 slugging percentage and.965 OPS are both the fourth-best, single-season marks in Padres history. He finished third in the 1992 National League Most Valuable 10

11 Player voting and won the league's Silver Slugger Award at third base. He was also a member of the National League All-Star team. In 212 games as a Padre third baseman, Sheffield hit.319 with a.372 onbase percentage and a.547 slugging percentage. He had 46 doubles, five triples and 43 homers for 135 RBIs. His WAR as a Padre was 5.8. The Padres acquired Sheffield from Milwaukee in a trade on March 26, On June 24, 1993, Sheffield was traded to Miami as part of the Padres' infamous "fire sale." One of the three little known players coming to Padres in that deal was a young relief pitcher named Trevor Hoffman. 5.KEVIN KOUZMANOFF ( ) - Again, the fifth spot on my list was the most difficult to pick. Burroughs had a solid.280 batting average and.338 on-base percentage in four seasons ( ), but hit only 10 homers and drove in only 126 runs at a production position. San Diego native Nettles played three seasons ( ) at the end of his distinguished career with the Padres and was a key member of the 1984 National League championship team. But he hit only.236 with the Padres with 49 homers and 168 RBIs in 364 games. Salazar played 551 games at third as a Padre and hit.268 between 1980 and Kouzmanoff hit 59 homers with 240 RBIs in three seasons as a Padre with a.262 batting average. During his three seasons as the Padres third baseman, Kouzmanoff's defense improved dramatically. 11

12 Organizational report: The Padres are not rebuilding John Perrotto, Special for USA TODAY Sports1:33 p.m. EST December 22, 2015 Sports Weekly takes an in-depth look at each major league organization during the offseason, from the major leagues to the farm system. We start with teams with the worst records and move up. The first move A.J. Preller made when he took over as San Diego Padres general manager in August 2014 was hiring a man who had a 39-year head start on him in professional baseball. So it is not surprising that Preller leans heavily on vice president of scouting operations Don Welke, who began his career in 1965 as a scout with the Cincinnati Reds, for advice. Don Welke says that first you ve got to have ability and then you ve got to have stability, Preller said. Preller is in the process of balancing those for the Padres. He blew up the roster last offseason and made a number of trades and free agent signings that brought in recognizable names, including right-hander James Shields, closer Craig Kimbrel, catcher Derek Norris and outfielders Matt Kemp, Justin Upton,Melvin Upton Jr. and Wil Myers. A trendy pick to win the National League West, the Padres stumbled to a record and fourth-place finish. It was their fifth consecutive losing season and seventh in the last eight years. So Preller is having another busy offseason trying to find the right formula. This time, though, he has been trading veterans, including Kimbrel, right-handed setup reliever Joaquin Benoit, first baseman Yonder Alonso and infielder Jedd Gyorko. For the most part, the Padres have been getting young players back, highlighted by a four-prospect package from the Boston Red Sox for Kimbrel that included highly touted shortstop Javier Guerra and center fielder Manuel Margot. While neither will start the season in the majors, they are expected to be a big part of the future. The Padres also landed four players in the Rule 5 draft. All must be kept on the major league roster all season or be placed on waivers and offered back to their original clubs. The 2003 Detroit Tigers are the only team to even keep as many three Rule5 players in one season. But Preller said the Padres weren t rebuilding. We re trying to get some balance on the roster, Preller said. We re trying to get more athletic players up the middle, more left-handed bats, taking some of the money we were spending on the bullpen and spreading it out throughout the organization. I wouldn t say it s a reboot, a rebuild or a retool. We re just trying to become a better team and a better organization. 12

13 The Padres will have a new manager, Andy Green, who spent last season as the Arizona Diamondbacks third-base coach after four seasons managing in their farm system. The Padres fired ninth-year manager Bud Black last season after a start and then booted interim manager Pat Murphy on the last day of the season. He s prepared. He studies and works at his craft, Preller said of Green. He s very honest, and he s prepared to have tough conversations with players. He s sharp. He s the type of person who ground through the system as a player and manager. He met the challenge, got a big-league opportunity as a coach and was part of the reason why the Diamondbacks showed so much improvement last season. Where the Padres stand at each position (*prospect): Catcher: Norris was acquired from the Oakland Athletics in a trade last winter after being selected to the All- Star Game in Norris struggled at times in switching to the NL but hit a career-high 14 home runs despite playing his home games at pitcher-friendly Petco Park. However, the 26-year-old might serve the Padres better as a trade chip in an attempt to land a shortstop. The Padres have depth behind the plate, adding two former well-regarded prospects this offseason by trading for the Atlanta Braves Christian Bethancourt and claiming Josmil Pinto off waivers from the Minnesota Twins. Austin Hedges is the catcher of the future but showed during his time in the majors last season that he needs more seasoning. Depth chart: Norris, Betancourt, Pinto, Hedges, *Rocky Gale. First base:the Padres hoped Myers potentially potent bat could make up for his lack of range in center field last season, but that didn t work out. So he will move to first base in 2016 after the trade of Alonso to Oakland. Injury-plagued Myers has hit.235 with 14 home runs in a combined 147games over the last two seasons since winning the American League Rookie of the Year award in 2013 with the Tampa Bay Rays. At 25, he has plenty of time to develop, but it is also fair to question whether Myers will turn into a star or just a solid everyday player. Depth chart: Myers, Brett Wallace, *Marcus Davis, *Trae Santos, *Ty France. Second base: Cory Spangenberg will get a crack at full-time duty after Gyorko s trade. The left-handed hitter was the Padres first-round draft pick in He hasn t developed much power but has the ability to get on base, runs well and is a sure-handed fielder. Right-handed hitting Jose Pirela, acquired last month from the New York Yankees in a trade, is likely to spell Spangenberg against left-handed pitchers. Depth chart: Spangenberg, Pirela, *Taylor Lindsey, *Carlos Asuaje, *Nelson Ward. Third base: Yangervis Solarte is penciled in as the starter, but the Padres have interest in signing Nobuhiro Matsuda, a free agent from Japan. Matsuda, 32, hit a career-high 35 home runs for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks last season, but part of the power surge came from fences being brought in at his home ballpark in Osaka. Solarte has developed into a solid hitter with some power in his two major league seasons but profiles better as a super-utility player than as an everyday third baseman. Depth chart: Solarte, *Casey McElory, *Gabriel Quintana, *Duanel Jones, *Luis Tejada. 13

14 Shortstop: Alexi Amarista also profiles better as a super-utility player, though he stands to be the openingday shortstop if the Padres are unable to upgrade at the position. Amarista, 5-6, isn t much of a hitter, and his strength is versatility, playing every position in the field except catcher and first base in the major leagues. Prospect Jose Rondon will begin the season with Class AA San Antonio, but Guerra will be right behind him with high-class A Lake Elsinore (Calif.). Depth chart: Amarista, *Rondon, *Guerra, *Roddy Giron, *Peter Van Gansen. Left field: Jon Jay was acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals for Gyorko in a winter meetings trade and is tentatively set to play left, though he could move to his natural position of center field if Melvin Upton is traded. The Padres also would like to take a look at right-handed-hitting Jabari Blash, a Rule 5 pick from the Seattle Mariners by way of a trade with the Athletics. Blash, 6-5, belted a combined 32 home runs in 116 games with Class AAA Tacoma (Wash.) and Class AA Jackson (Tenn.) last season while posting a.271 batting average and.946 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. Depth chart: Jay, *Blash, Pirela, *Nick Schulz, *Nick Torres. Center field: Upton rejuvenated his career after the Braves forced the Padres to take his contract as part of the Kimbrel trade on the eve of the 2015 regular season. The Padres would need to eat a lot of money in order to trade Upton, as he has two years and $31.9 million left on the five-year, $72.3 million contract he signed with Atlanta. Prospects Rymer Liriano, who profiles better as a right fielder, and Travis Jankowski have seen a bit of major league time. The center fielder of the future, though, is Margot, who likely will begin next season with San Antonio. Depth chart: Upton, *Liriano, *Jankowski, *Margot, *Alberth Martinez. Right field: Kemp was the biggest of the big names to join the Padres before last season after being acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers in a trade for catcheryasmani Grandal, who went on to be selected to the All- Star Game. Kemp is still an effective offensive player but no longer the star-caliber hitter he was in 2011 when he was runner-up in the NL MVP voting. A string of injuries has taken its toll on Kemp, 31. Alex Dickerson won the Big Ten Conference Triple Crown while at Indiana and is one of the best pure hitters in the organization. Depth chart: Kemp, *Liriano, *Blash, Pirela, *Dickerson. Starting rotation: Shields generated headlines when he signed as a free agent in February, but right-hander Tyson Ross again was the Padres ace in 2015 despite leading the NL with 84 walks and 14 wild pitches. Ross has a 3.07 ERA in 516 2/3 innings with 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings in the three seasons since the Padres acquired him from the Athletics. Shields pitched at least 200 innings for a ninth consecutive year but turns 34 on Dec. 20, and the Padres would be willing to offload the three years and $65 million left on his contract. Shields can also opt out of the deal after next season. Right-hander Andrew Cashner has the stuff to be a No. 1 starter but didn t pitch like one last season, though he is a strong bounce-back candidate with free agency looming after next season. Luis Perdomo, a Rule 5 pick from the Cardinals, will compete for one of 14

15 two open rotation spots along with fellow righties Colin Rea, Odrisamer Despaigne and Johnny Hellweg and lefties Robbie Erlin and Drew Pomeranz. Depth chart: RHP Ross, RHP Shields, RHP Cashner, LHP Erlin, *RHP Rea, *RHP Perdomo, RHP Despaigne, *RHP Hellweg, *RHP Justin Hancock, *RHP Elliot Morris, *RHP Ryan Butler *RHP Zech Lemond. Bullpen: Closer is a question mark after the trades of Kimbrel and Benoit, though right-hander Brandon Maurer is likely to get first crack if the Padres don t acquire anyone. Last season was Maurer s first both with the Padres and as a full-time reliever. The 25-year-old made a fairly seamless transition from the rotation to the bullpen. Pomeranz, acquired from the Athletics in the Alonso trade, or Erlin figures to be the primary lefty. Right-handers Kevin Quackenbush and Nick Vincent had a leg up on being setup men. The bullpen picture is quite unsettled beyond that, though, and the Padres will try to find room for right-handed Rule 5 draftees Josh Martin(Cleveland Indians) and Blake Smith (Dodgers). Depth chart: RHP Maurer, LHP Pomeranz, RHP Quackenbush, RHP Vincent, *RHP Martin, *RHP Smith, RHP Jon Edwards, *RHP Leonel Campos. Top five prospects Excerpted from BaseballHQ.com s 2016 Minor League Baseball Analyst. To order: baseballhq.com/mlba Hunter Renfroe, OF: A strong hitter, Renfroe projects to be slugging right fielder, as he owns aboveaverage power, a vicious uppercut stroke and excellent bat speed. Patient at the plate, he also swung and missed frequently in 2015 (132 strikeouts in 133 games). Renfroe exhibits good arm strength and good range in the field. At 24, he will start at Class AAA, but will likely find his way to the majors by midseason. 2. Manuel Margot, OF: Lean and quick, Margot makes easy contact and uses his good speed to wreak havoc on the bases. He profiles as a leadoff hitter, and though his power hasn t developed (six home runs in 2015), the tools are present. He patrols center field with good range and an average arm. Margot, 21, has the chance to be an impact player and will likely join Renfroe in the outfield at Class AAA. 3. Javier Guerra, SS: Guerra, 20, is an instinctual shortstop with nimble, smooth actions and has the skills and arm to be an impact defender. He surprised in 2015 with his power, as he drove balls to all fields and hit 15 home runs. He will expand the zone and lunge at breaking balls, but moving up to high Class A in 2016, there is time for refinement. 4. Michael Gettys, OF: Gettys is a good athlete who struggled (.231 batting average with lots of strikeouts) but showed improvement by year s end. At 19, he was young for full season Class A ball, but has the bat and foot speed to expect improvement. His pitch recognition is subpar, but he can hit the gaps with natural strength and plays excellent center field-defense with a strong arm. He will return to Class A. 5. Colin Rea, RHP: Rea is a 6-5 starter who reached the majors after a breakout season. He lacks a dominant pitch but thrives with pitch movement, deception and good angle to plate. Rea throws all of his pitches for strikes and keeps the ball low in zone. At 25, he will be strongly considered for a spot in the Padres rotation 15

16 Trevor Hoffman's Hall of Fame case brings up closer controversy David Schoenfield ESPN Senior Writer Trevor Hoffman, the longtime closer for the San Diego Padres, appears on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time, and his case is a hot-button issue on how to evaluate relief pitchers, particularly modern closers who have spent their entire career accumulating high save totals while pitching limited innings. There are five relievers in the Hall of Fame: Hoyt Wilhelm: The first great longtime reliever, Wilhelm finished with 228 saves and a 2.52 ERA. That save total pales in comparison with Hoffman's 601, but Wilhelm pitched in a different era. Wilhelm won 143 games compared with Hoffman's 61 and pitched 1,100 more innings, with a lower ERA. Rollie Fingers: The mustachioed one went with a 2.90 ERA and 341 saves. He topped 100 innings nine times as a reliever. Hoffman's career high was 90 innings, and he topped 80 just three times. Fingers pitched 700 more innings than Hoffman, essentially the equivalent of 10 additional 70-inning seasons that modern closers now throw. Fingers was also the key reliever on three World Series winners with the Oakland A's, including the 1973 World Series, in which he pitched 13⅔ innings. Goose Gossage: He came on the scene a few years after Fingers and lasted forever but is from the same generation. He went with a 3.01 ERA, 310 saves and 800 more innings than Hoffman. While Fingers was elected on the second ballot, it took Gossage nine years to get in. Bruce Sutter: He had a dominant stretch, leading the league in saves five times in six years, but he had a short career, finishing with 300 career saves and 40 fewer innings than Hoffman. Sutter was one of the first relievers to be used primarily with a lead, but he still topped 100 innings five times. A bit of an odd selection by the BBWAA, given the length of his career, he might have received extra credit for popularizing the split-fingered fastball. Dennis Eckersley: He spent the first part of his career as a good starter but made the Hall of Fame based on his 390 career saves and five-year stretch from 1988 to 1992 when he went 24-7 with a 1.91 ERA and 220 saves. My point here: None of these guys are really comparable to Hoffman. The first four pitched when closers were used differently, so we can't really compare save totals, and Eckersley was a hybrid starter/reliever. In terms of career WAR, they rank like this: Eckersley: 62.5 Wilhelm: 50.1 Gossage: 41.8 Hoffman: 28.0 Fingers:

17 Sutter: 24.5 For Hoffman supporters, this makes the case pretty simple: He's second to Mariano Rivera on the all-time saves list, pitched a long time, and even had more career value than Fingers or Sutter. Then there's this take from Joe Sheehan, via his highly recommendednewsletter subscription: In thinking about Hoffman and the Hall of Fame, I keep coming back to Andy Benes. He may have disappointed Padres fans by being a league-average starter rather than a superstar one, but he was an All-Star and he picked up award votes a handful of times. When he hit free agency, which he did twice, he was paid the going rate for top-tier starting pitchers. At no point during his career did anyone suggest that Benes should stop throwing 200 innings a year and start throwing 70. If they had, would he be on a ballot today? Benes is why I can't get behind the idea of Trevor Hoffman for the Hall of Fame. I don't know for sure that Benes could have done what Hoffman did, but I know that many pitchers have done so. I am certain that Hoffman could not do what Benes did, and I'm just as certain that what Benes did, be a good starting pitcher for a decade, was more valuable than what Hoffman did, which is to be a short reliever and then a one-inning reliever for 15 years. I happen to agree with Sheehan. Most voters appear to disagree with us. Ryan Thibs keeps track of public Hall of Fame ballots. Through 91 voters, Hoffman is sitting at 63 percent. This indicates he won't get in this year, but that's a strong starting position, and he'll get next year or the year after. Meanwhile, Curt Schilling is at 57 percent, Mike Mussina at 53 percent and Edgar Martinez at 53 percent. Martinez, seemingly hurt by being a DH for most of his career, is being outpolled by an even more extreme specialist. The rationale, I guess, is this: Closer is a position, and Hoffman was clearly one of the best. In looking at Win Probability Added, which gives more weight to usage patterns, Hoffman does rank second among relievers: 1. Mariano Rivera, Hoffman, Gossage, Wilhelm, Joe Nathan, Jonathan Papelbon, Billy Wagner, 29.0 Closers aren't being compared to players at other positions, but only to the small subset of other closers. That's the Hoffman Hall of Fame argument, not whether he was actually more valuable than Martinez or Mussina or Schilling, which he wasn't. No GM would ever have traded any of those three for Hoffman. 17

18 So Hoffman is getting a lot of Hall of Fame support while deserving starting pitchers such as Schilling and Mussina are struggling to get 50 percent of the vote after years on the ballot. And don't forget that Schilling was one of the best postseason pitchers ever. While the other five Hall of Fame closers all pitched for World Series champs, Hoffman gakked up his lunch in arguably the five biggest games of his career: 1996 NLDS Game 3: With the score tied in the ninth, he gave up a two-run homer to Brian Jordan, and the Cards won the series NLCS Game 1: Hoffman blew a 2-1 lead in the ninth but got the win when the Padres scored in the 10th World Series Game 3: With the Padres up 3-2 in the eighth, he gave up a three-run homer to Scott Brosius. The Yankees won the game to take a 3-0 series lead regular season Game 161: In a game the Padres needed to win to clinch a playoff spot, Hoffman blew the lead in the ninth, and the Padres lost in tiebreaker game: The Padres scored twice in the top of the 13th against the Rockies, but Hoffman allowed three runs in the bottom half. Hoffman was a great closer. But he wasn't a greater player than Edgar Martinez or Larry Walker or Alan Trammell or Schilling or Mussina. I don't have a Hall of Fame vote (yet), but Hoffman wouldn't make my ballot of