First year general manager of the San Diego Padres A.J. Preller proved on Sunday that there's never a bad time to make a blockbuster trade in the MLB. After a very busy offseason which saw the Padres steal the headlines at baseball's winter meetings in December by making acquisition after acquisition to remodel the outfield with such names as Matt Kemp, Justin Upton and Wil Myers as well as Derek Norris behind the dish and Will Middlebrooks in the infield, only to add the cherry on top a month and a half later in the form of pitching ace James Shields, Preller has helped morph the Padres from the doormat of the NL West to a potential contender. And on the eve of Major League Baseball's Opening Day, San Diego made yet another deal to revamp the franchise.
As if Padre fans weren't already ecstatic to turn a new leaf and witness a team with the potential to send the franchise to the postseason for the first time since 2006, they were given one final gift from their new general manager before the start of the season in the form of All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel. Preller made a deal to land Kimbrel and outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. aka BJ Upton from the rebuilding Atlanta Braves. The Friars managed to kill two birds with one stone with the trade as it helped solve their crowded outfield problem by sending outfielders Cameron Maybin and Carlos Quentin to Atlanta and also helped them add some extra depth to the back end of the bullpen with the acquisition of one of the best closers in the game. The Braves also landed right-handed pitcher Matt Wisler in the trade, who is one of San Diego's top prospects as well as Minor Leaguer Jordan Paroubeck and a Draft pick.
Taking on the hefty contract of the struggling Melvin Upton Jr. was less than ideal for the Padres who are now looking at an Opening Day payroll near the $109 Million mark which is a franchise record, but chances are they wouldn't have been able to land Kimbrel without it being a package deal and taking Upton as well. Unlike his brother Justin who is due to be a free-agent after the season, the 30-year old Melvin Upton is under contract until 2018 and is owed over $45 Million over the next three seasons. As for Kimbrel, the 26-year old fire-baller is owed $46 Million over the next four seasons with a club option to buy out in '18. But if the All-Star reliever can continue to duplicate the numbers he's produced in each of his first four seasons, there's little doubt the club would choose to part ways. Since being called up to the bigs in 2010, Kimbrel owns the lowest ERA in all of baseball at 1.43 with a minimum of 250 innings pitched and his 186 saves over the last four seasons are the most in the Majors during that span. With four consecutive seasons of 40 saves, a feat reached only three other times, Kimbrel will have a chance this year to become the first pitcher in MLB history to make it five straight seasons of 40 saves.
Padres skipper Bud Black was expected to give the ball to reliever Joaquin Benoit to close out ballgames, but chances are he'll now be moved to a setup role in the eighth as Kimbrel is assigned closing duties. With some pundits predicting the Padres to snap their playoff drought the moment they signed James Shields, they've gotta be licking their chops now that San Diego's chances just got a lot better. But since they were basically being declared a wild card team before Preller's latest blockbuster trade, does this now make them a potential favorite to knock off the consensus NL Western division champion L.A. Dodgers whom they open the season against and maybe even put them in the discussion for an NL Pennant? That's a question yet to be answered, but one thing that is for certain is that A.J. Preller and the Padres will more than likely be buyers at the trade deadline and not sellers.
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With many new faces in new places this upcoming MLB season like every year following the off-season, two players who will see a drastic change more so than others due to their new surroundings will be Mat Latos and Carlos Quentin. Having dealt such talent as first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and reliever Mike Adams last season, the San Diego Padres made another trade this off-season to continue the franchise's path to rebuild. After making his Major League debut in 2009, the year 2010 saw starting pitcher Mat Latos make his way onto the big league scene with a breakout season where the 24-year old right-hander capped off his first full year with a trip to the All-Star Game by compiling a 2.92 ERA in 184.2 innings to go along with his 14-10 record and 189 strikeouts. Latos would miss the beginning of the 2011 season due to an injury sustained to his throwing arm, but would respond much better than his 9-14 record indicated with a respectable 3.47 ERA and WHIP of 1.18.
But just when it began to look like the Padres had found their long-term answer for an ace, the team shipped Latos to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for former All-Star pitcher Edinson Volquez along with first baseman Yonder Alonso, catcher Yasmani Grandal and pitcher Brad Boxberger, all of which are former first-round Draft picks and are highly touted prospects. For Volquez who has been unable to duplicate the success from his breakout season in 2008 due to injuries and a suspension, if he can stay healthy he could very well regain form while benefiting from one of the league's more pitcher-friendly ballparks in San Diego's Petco Park. Meanwhile, Latos will be forced to make the transition to one of the more hitter-friendly ballparks in all of baseball in Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park which will demand more precision in Latos' pitching location, or that fly-ball that normally resulted in an out could very well end up being a souvenir.
If both hurlers can find success in their new homes, the Padres might have very well found their new ace while the Reds hope to build a formidable tandem at the top of the rotation led by Latos and Johnny Cueto.The Padres followed up their acquisitions from Cincinnati by adding a power hitter to the lineup in Carlos Quentin. The hard hitting slugger will be sent from the Chicago White Sox where he's served the last four years to his home town of San Diego in return for Minor League pitchers Simon Castro and Pedro Hernandez. Quentin is projected to be the team's starting left fielder come opening day where he'll join an outfield cast of Cameron Maybin and Will Venable. Since dealing Adrian Gonzalez last December to the Boston Red Sox, the Padres have ranked among the worst teams in all of baseball in the home run department which just so happens to be Quentin's bread and butter. After seeing minimal playing time in the NL West with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Quentin amassed a monster 2008 season in his first full year, batting .288 while hitting 36 home runs and driving in 100 RBI's to receive his first of two All-Star nods.
Though he hasn't quite matched those numbers from 2008, logging 24 HR's and 77 RBI's just a season ago, Quentin has remained productive and should generate a majority of San Diego's offense next season. Playing in Petco Park, however, could hurt his home run numbers. If he can pull the ball to the left side of the field though like he's been known to, he should fare well. With pitching being their strong point the last few years, the Padres could once again depend on the pitching staff and bullpen in 2012, something that will be a lot more difficult now with former All-Star closer Heath Bell now setting up shop in Miami. Unlikely to compete for a division title this upcoming season, San Diego appears to be making the right moves that could spring them back to the top of the division and lead to success the franchise has been starving of since bidding a farewell to such Padres as Trevor Hoffman and Jake Peavy.Follow me on Twitter: @FraserKnowsBest
