Padres Press Clips Friday, November 9, 2012

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1 Padres Press Clips Friday, November 9, 2012 Article Source Author Page Headley has silver bat to go with Gold Glove UT San Diego Center 2 Headley adds Silver Slugger to growing trophy case MLB.com Brock 4 Headley, Gregerson, Cabrera nominated for GIBBYs MLB.com Brock 6 Padres ready to move forward with two catchers MLB.com Brock 7 Liriano leads huge comeback for Peoria MLB.com Wild 9 A 2012 Silver Slugger Award for Chase Headley San Diego Reader Dodd 11 1

2 Headley has silver bat to go with Gold Glove By Bill Center Originally published November 8, 2012 at 5:03 p.m., updated November 8, 2012 at 7:27 p.m. The awards keep coming for Chase Headley. Headley Thursday won the Silver Slugger Award as the National League s top hitter at third base. Earlier, Headley was awarded the National League Gold Glove for his defensive play at third base. And on Wednesday, the 28-year-old switch-hitter learned he was one of five finalists for the National League Most Valuable Player Award. Headley hit.286 in 2012 with career highs of 173 hits, 31 homers and 115 RBI. He led the National League in RBI and easily eclipsed his previous career highs of 12 homers and 64 RBI. In addition to RBI, Headley led all National League third basemen in home runs, runs scored (95) and walks (86). Headley s Silver Slugger Award -- which was voted upon by National League managers and coaches and honors the top hitter at every position -- is the 19th earned by a Padre since the award was introduced in It marks the sixth time a Padre won both the Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger awards in the same season. I never really thought about the awards until I was named a finalist for the Gold Glove Award, Headley said Thursday night. I ve been overwhelmed by what is happening. The only other Padres to win both the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards in the same season were Hall of Fame right fielder Tony Gwynn who did it three times (1986, 87 and 89) -- catcher Benito Santiago (1988) and third baseman Ken Caminiti (1996). Gwynn won seven of the Padres previous Silver Slugger Awards. Santiago won four. Other Padres to win the Silver Slugger were catcher Terry Kennedy (the first in 1983), shortstop Garry Templeton, first baseman Fred McGriff, third baseman Gary Sheffield, Caminiti, left fielder Greg Vaughn and second baseman Mark Loretta. Loretta was the Padres most recent winner in Headley earlier was named the Padres Most Valuable Player by the San Diego chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) and was the National League s Player of the Month for both August and September. Headley also becomes just the eighth National League third baseman ever to win both the Rawlings Gold Glove and Louisville Silver Slugger Awards in the same season and first since Washington s Ryan Zimmerman in The Padres control Headley for two more seasons, although he is arbitration eligible for both 2013 and His $3.475 million contract of 2012 could double for Headley Thursday said he and the Padres have not discussed a possible contract extension. 2

3 Baker to stay? Before Yasmani Grandal drew a 50-game suspension Wednesday for violating Major League Baseball s policy against performance enhancing drugs, reserve catcher John Baker was a non-tender candidate as the Padres seek to find spots on the 40-man roster for prospects who need to be protected against the Rule 5 draft. But because Grandal won t be eligible to play until the end of May and Ali Solis has already been waived (and claimed by Pittsburgh), Baker now will probably be protected on the 40-man roster. Baker and Nick Hundley are the only Padres catchers currently on the 40-man roster. Grandal will not have to be protected on the Padres 40-man roster until he returns from the suspension. He will be allowed to participate in spring training and exhibition games, but will not be allowed to be on the field during the regular season once the gates are open to the public. 3

4 Headley adds Silver Slugger to growing trophy case Third baseman also won Gold Glove Award, is MVP finalist By Corey Brock / MLB.com SAN DIEGO -- Baseball's award season has been very kind to third baseman Chase Headley, who picked up his second noteworthy award when he won the National League's Silver Slugger Award on Thursday. Headley enjoyed a career year at the plate for the Padres, leading the National League with 115 RBIs to go with 31 home runs. Overall, Headley hit.286 with 173 hits in 161 games and was named the National League's player of the month for August and September. Last week, Headley won his first Gold Glove Award. Winners of the Silver Slugger Award were determined by voting done among Major League managers and coaches, who were asked to name the players at each position in each league who were the best offensively at their position. Voters were forbidden from voting for players from their own clubs. Headley is the first Padres player to win a Silver Slugger since Mark Loretta (second base) did so in Overall, Headley is the 10th player in franchise history to win the award. Hall of Fame outfielder Tony Gwynn won seven Silver Slugger Awards. "To Chase's credit, his mindset has shifted to where he's now the aggressor," manager Bud Black said during the season. "You can say that early in his career, the pitcher took it to him. Now he is taking it to the pitcher." Headley becomes just the eighth National League third baseman ever to win both the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards in the same season and first since Washington's Ryan Zimmerman in He is just the fourth player in Padres history to win both awards in one season, joining Tony Gwynn ( , 89), Benito Santiago (1988, 90) and Ken Caminiti (1996). Headley faced some stiff competition from Mets third baseman David Wright, who actually had a better WAR (7.8 to 7.5 for Headley) according to Fangraphs. Wright had a higher average (.306), on-base percentage (.391) and five more hits (178) than Headley. Throughout the season, Headley was humbled by his success, often deflecting attention to that of his teammates. "There have been so many more opportunities," Headley said in October of getting chances to hit with runners on base. "The second half has been incredibly enjoyable, especially being around these guys." With those torrid months of August and September, Headley became the first player in franchise history to knock in 30 or more runs in a month twice. "To have that [production] in San Diego, that's pretty amazing," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said in October. "He needs to be talked about a lot more than he has been. To have that kind of year in that place? Phenomenal." 4

5 Headley hunkered down this past winter in the batting cage, devoting himself to creating more loft on the ball. New hitting coach Phil Plantier flew to Tennessee to talk hitting and to look at his swing. The mechanical changes Headley made were actually minimal. Headley then put all of those elements together during the season. "It's fun to watch a guy figure it all out and see him piece it together," Plantier said. "I don't see any reason why this isn't going to be normal production for him for the rest of his career. This is not a fluke. This is very real." 5

6 Headley, Gregerson, Cabrera nominated for GIBBYs By Corey Brock / MLB.com SAN DIEGO -- Three Padres have been nominated for 2012 GIBBY Awards and, as you might expect, third baseman Chase Headley -- coming off a career season both offensively and defensively -- is one of them. Major League Baseball's A-listers will take home 2012 GIBBYs trophies -- the ultimate honors of the sport's awards season -- based on votes by media, front-office personnel, MLB alumni, fans and the Society for American Baseball Research. This year's GIBBY Awards feature nominees in 21 categories. Individual honors will go to the MLB MVP, in addition to the year's best starting pitcher, hitter, closer, setup man, rookie, breakout hitter, breakout pitcher, comeback player, defensive player, manager, executive and postseason performer. Headley, who led the National League in RBIs (115) and recently won his first Gold Glove Award, is a candidate for Breakout Hitter of the Year after hitting.286 with a career-high 31 home runs. He was the NL Player of the Month in August and September. Reliever Luke Gregerson has been nominated for Setup Man of the Year. Gregerson was 2-0 with a 2.39 ERA and 24 holds in 77 appearances. Shortstop Everth Cabrera is nominated for Play of the Year for a defensive gem he made in the hole against the D-backs, ranging far to his right into shallow left field and throwing out Justin Upton at first base from the grass. GIBBY trophies also will be awarded for the year's top play, storyline, hitting performance, pitching performance, oddity, walk-off, Cut4 topic and postseason moment, all from MLB.com's Must C highlight reels. In the Cut4 category, Crystal the Monkey -- famous for her parts in "The Hangover II" and "Animal Practice" -- is a nominee after delighting staff, coaches, players and fans during a visit to Petco Park. In the past four years, you, the fans, have cast more than 40 million votes across the various GIBBYs categories, none of which is restricted to individual League affiliation. You can vote as many times as you want until fan balloting closes on Sunday, Dec. 2, at 8:59 p.m. PT. Winners will be presented their GIBBY trophies at the MLB.com Greatness in Baseball Yearly Awards extravaganza during the Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tenn., on Tuesday, Dec. 4. 6

7 Padres ready to move forward with two catchers By Corey Brock / MLB.com SAN DIEGO -- For the first time in club history, the Padres had three different catchers make at least 50 starts in When asked about the Padres' depth at the position in September, general manager Josh Byrnes smiled. "I'd like to think it's a good problem to have," he said. That depth will now be tested after Wednesday's announcement that Yasmani Grandal will miss the first 50 games of the season without pay after testing positive for testosterone. Grandal, who turned 24 on Thursday, was projected as the Padres' starting catcher after showing well in his first Major League stint, when he hit.297 with eight home runs and 36 RBIs in 60 games. "Grandal got the opportunity and ran with it," Byrnes said in September. Barring any additions to the roster -- and the Grandal suspension won't likely mean the team will add a catcher this winter -- the team will go into the 2013 season with John Baker and Nick Hundley as its catchers. Before the Grandal suspension, Baker might have been a non-tender candidate. "We still have Hundley and Baker. We have decent coverage there," Byrnes said Wednesday. "Hundley had knee surgery at the end of the year. He's feeling good. Hopefully he'll be full go in Spring Training." Hundley, who signed a three-year, $9 million deal in March, was the team's Opening Day catcher. But he struggled at the plate, hitting.166 in 55 games before being sent to Triple-A Tucson. In August, Hundley had season-ending surgery to repair a torn right meniscus. Baker, who was acquired last winter from the Marlins, hit.238 in 63 games and earned rave reviews for his work with the pitching staff. The Padres only have two catchers -- Baker and Hundley -- on their 40-man roster. They lost Ali Solis to the Pirates on a waiver claim last month, though he didn't figure in their future plans. But the starting job for 2013 and beyond was clearly going to fall on Grandal's shoulders. Now, he won't be eligible to play until May 28 when the team is in Seattle for an Interleague series. So what will now become of Grandal? He will be eligible to participate in Spring Training and in exhibition games. After the Padres break camp at the end of March, Grandal will remain in Arizona to take part in the team's extended spring training program. He can work out with the Padres and take batting practice with the team as long as it's before the gates of the ballpark are open. 7

8 Grandal, who is on the restricted list and will not count toward the 40-man roster, will be eligible for a Minor League assignment that cannot exceed 10 days. That would likely occur toward the end of his suspension, a precursor to being reinstated to the Major League roster. 8

9 Liriano leads huge comeback for Peoria San Diego's top prospect doubles twice in 10-run inning in Arizona Fall League By Danny Wild / MLB.com Rymer Liriano's approach Thursday was simple: Wait for a fastball. It just took about eight innings for the rest of his teammates to get on board with the plan. Liriano hit a pair of doubles in the eighth inning to highlight a mammoth go-ahead 10-run rally on Thursday as Peoria came back to stun Scottsdale, 12-4, in the Arizona Fall League. "We were ready for fastballs," said the 21-year-old outfielder. "I took that approach, looked for it middleaway, and I was ready for the fastball, it was my pitch." Liriano, the Padres' No. 1 prospect, went 3-for-4 with three RBIs to raise his average to.358 for Peoria. He singled in the first, hit an RBI sacrifice fly in the fifth and added two doubles in the eighth -- including a two-run two-bagger off reliever Jacob Dunnington (Giants). Pirates prospect Vic Black, a first-round pick in 2009, was the victim of the Javelinas' outburst. "We were feeling comfortable at the plate, sitting on the fastball, reacting to breaking balls and just looking for a good pitch," Liriano said. "I was able to put a good swing on [the second double]." The Javelinas trailed entering the eighth, 4-2. Liriano doubled to begin the frame and took third on a wild pitch by Black before fellow Padres prospect Nate Freiman walked and Evan Bigley (Twins) followed with an RBI single. Phillies farmhands Zach Collier and Tommy Joseph drew consecutive walks, with Joseph's bases-loaded free pass tying the game. Peoria took the lead on an RBI single by Jeudy Valdez and made it 6-4 on another bases-loaded walk to Cody Asche (Phillies), which put an end to Black's afternoon. Dunnington came on and served up Liriano's two-run double to right. Freiman followed with a two-rbi single and Bigley capped the outburst with a two-run triple, his second of the fall. Liriano said his first double of the inning was on a fastball and the second, a line drive to right, came on a slider. Hitting to right field has been something he's focused on in batting practice, he said. "I'm really comfortable with hitting the fastball," said the righty-swinging No. 3 hitter who is batting.346 against right-handers this fall. Liriano has 15 hits, including two homers, and 13 RBIs in his last 10 games for Peoria. Playing alongside other Padres farmhands like Valdez and Cory Spangenberg has been a fun experience. "It's really great. I'm really happy with [my progress], but I need to learn some of the situations," he said. "I think I'm ready." Whether the top prospect will break camp with San Diego next spring remains to be seen, although he said earlier in the week that he feels he's "really ready" to play in the Majors. He reiterated that belief Thursday. 9

10 "Ultimately, it's the Padres' decision," he said. "I'll be ready whenever they want, I'll be ready." Liriano is coming off a solid year in which he hit.280 with eight homers, 61 RBIs and 32 steals in 127 games between Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore and Double-A San Antonio. Although his power and speed numbers dipped compared to his Midwest League MVP season of 2011, the raw talent he has makes him believe San Diego isn't far away. "He's a tremendous talent," Dusty Wathan, Liriano's manager on the Peoria Javelinas, told MLB.com earlier this week. "He's got a great arm, he can run... got some power, looks like he can hit the ball to all fields. So I think the Padres definitely have something special in him. It's nice to have a guy like that have an opportunity to play here and really get to judge him against the best of the best in the Minor Leagues right now." The Dominican outfielder known for his strong arm owns a.408 on-base percentage this fall and is batting.353 with runners on base. "Obviously, if he has a good year here in the Fall League, it'll definitely help him continue his progress toward the Major Leagues," Wathan said. "I think you'll be able to judge that a little more toward the end [of the Fall League season]." Twins prospect Kyle Gibson started for Peoria and allowed four runs on five hits and three walks over five frames. Phillies righty Tyler Knigge earned the win after throwing a scoreless seventh. Chris Gloor (Giants) was charged with a run on three hits and three walks in four innings in his sixth start for Scottsdale. Giants first-rounder Joe Panik went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Indians prospect Alex Monsalve finished 4-for-4 and knocked home two runs in the loss. 10

11 A 2012 Silver Slugger Award for Chase Headley Chase Headley becomes the 3rd San Diego Padres third baseman to ever win Silver Slugger Award. David Dodd, November 8, 2012 Chase Headley (pictured) will need to make some more room on his trophy mantle, as Hillerich & Bradsby the manufacturer of Louisville Slugger bats announced on Thursday that Chase has been awarded a Silver Slugger Award as the best-hitting third baseman in the National League. This follows Headley being named as the Padres Most Valuable Player by the San Diego chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America and then winning a Rawlings Gold Glove Award as voted on by MLB managers and coaches. As with the 2012 Gold Glove Award for Chase, the 2012 Silver Slugger is his first. Headley finished the season hitting for a.286 average and had 31 home runs with a league leading 115 runs batted in. Headley is the tenth player in the history of the Padres franchise to win a Silver Slugger. Terry Kennedy (1983), Gary Templeton (1984), Tony Gwynn (1984, '86, '87, '89, '94, '95, and '97), Benito Santiago (1987, '88, '90, and '91), Fred McGriff (1992), Gary Sheffield (1992), Ken Caminiti (1996), Greg Vaughn (1998), and Mark Loretta (2004) were the other Padres to be awarded the prize since its inception in Sheffield and Caminiti were the other Padres third baseman to have won a Silver Slugger. Since the two awards have been handed out, Headley becomes only the 8th National League third baseman to win both a Silver Slugger and a Gold Glove in the same season Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Winners: American League 1B Prince Fielder, Detroit Tigers 2B Robinson Cano, New York Yankees 3B Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers SS Derek Jeter, New York Yankees OF Mike Trout, L.A. Angels OF Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers OF Josh Willingham, Minnesota Twins C A.J. Pierzynski, Chicago White Sox DH Billy Butler, Kansas City Royals National League 1B Adam LaRoche, Washington Nationals 2B Aaron Hill, Arizona Diamondbacks 3B Chase Headley, San Diego Padres SS Ian Desmond, Washington Nationals OF Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates OF Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers OF Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds C Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants P Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals Notes: In addition to Chase Headley's recent awards, he was named a finalist for the National Leauge Most Valuable Player award as voted on by the Baseball Writers Association of America. The votes were cast by the end of the regular season and post-season play isn't considered. Chase joins Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers, Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Yadier Molina of the St. Louis Cardinals, and Buster Posey of the World Champion San Francisco Giants. The winner of the award will be announced on Thursday, November 16th, at 3PM PST. 11

12 The November MLB General Manager's Meetings are currently taking place in Indian Wells, California, but aside from the Blake Tekotte deal with the White Sox which occurred early, there isn't any chatter yet involving the Padres. Padres General Manager Josh Byrnes has hinted that the club might seek some pitching in free agency. One drawback to having to add a player to the 40-man roster is that it would take a spot away from a valued prospect, so it's difficult to say if the Padres will make a move before the Rule V draft in December, but stay tuned and we'll be on it if anything or anyone moves. 12