TEAM PREVIEW - 2010 San Diego Padres

San Diego Padres
Mgr. Bud Black # 20
2009 record, 75-87
Fourth Place, NL West

The San Diego Padres succeeded on at least one account if slashing payroll was foremost on the team’s agenda, a cut of nearly 50 percent from $73 million to $43 million was the largest drop in the majors. Ahead of the Florida Marlins whose $36 million payroll was actually up $15 million from the previous year. Like Dodger’s owner Frank McCourt, Padres owner John Moores has been financially drained by expensive divorce proceedings that began just after the 2007 season. Since then Moores has been trading or selling any and all players with lengthy or expensive contracts in order to make a sale of the team more affordable for potential buyer. Still in the process of a complicated transfer of ownership, to a group led by former player agent Jeff Moorad, that will take more than a few years to complete, as Moores remains in control of the team the liquidation sale of its players will continue.

A last place finish almost seemed guaranteed at the outset of the 2009 season but a late surge that saw the Padres go 37-25 down the stretch combined with a lackluster performance by the Arizona landed San Diego in fourth place five games in front of the cellar dwelling Diamondbacks.

Slugging first baseman Adrian Gonzalez was an All-Star for the second straight season and remains the Padres only marquis player hitting a fifth best in the NL 40 home runs with 99 RBI and a .277 average. Gonzalez is in the final year of a $4.5 million contract with a club option of $5.5 million for 2011. With the exception of pitcher Chris Young Gonzalez is the team’s most high paid player and could be dealt before Opening Day.

As of this writing the Padres had approximately $23 million committed in salary for the 2010 season and no financial commitments beyond then. Closer Heath Bell (6-4, 2.71,79 K, 69 IP), who, led the National League with 42 saves last year, is due $4 million this year and starting pitcher Kevin Correia is owed $3.6 million. Newly acquired infielder Jerry Hairston Jr. has a $2.1 Million contract while his brother Scott Hairston who had filed for arbitration at the time of this writing will most likely receive something between $2 and $3 million. Second baseman David Eckstein and pitcher Mike Adams are both signed at $1 million for the year. The rest of the players signed by the Padres are right around the major league minimum $400,000. Veteran outfielder Matt Stairs (259 career home runs in 17 seasons) who once hit 38 home runs in 1999 with Oakland agreed to a minor league deal and will attempt to crack the big league roster this spring.

Correia led a hodgepodge Padres pitching staff, that employed 15 different starters, going 12-11 with a 3.91 ERA in 198 innings. Former ace Jake Peavey was 6-6 with a 3.97 ERA in 13 starts before being dealt to the Chicago White Sox for four anonymous minor leaguers in another salary dumping measure on July 31st. Chris Young was 4-6 with a 5.21 ERA in 14 starts before shoulder surgery ended his season in August.

The Padres .242 team batting average was the worst in the National League. Tony Gwynn Junior’s .270 was second on the team behind Gonzalez with left fielder Chase Headley at .262. Third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff hit 18 home runs with 68 RBI and was dealt to the Oakland A’s for Scott Hairston and infielder Aaron Cunningham.

There’s not much else to report here except that the Padres have acquired seven pitching prospects in the team’s salary dumping deals including Clayton Richard, Adam Russell, Aaron Poreda, Sean Gallagher and Ryan Webb, who will all get chances to prove themselves this spring.

Anything other than last place in the NL West would be a surprise again this season.

Arrivals: INF, Jerry Hairston Jr. INF, Aaron Cunningham
Departures: 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff