Padres Offseason Preview

Even though the playoffs are still in full-swing, 90% of baseball is in full-blown offseason mode. The Padres showed a lot of promise in 2012, although they have a long way to go, before taking the field in 2013. I used the numbers that www.mlbtraderumors.com crunched for arbitration, as well as the salaries that are already committed in 2013. The contract information comes courtesy of Cots Contracts.

2013 Committed Salaries: Huston Street ($7M), Carlos Quentin ($9.5M) Nick Hundley ($2M), Yonder Alonso ($1M), Chris Denorfia ($2M), Yasmani Grandal ($750K), Cameron Maybin ($3M), Cory Luebke ($500K), Mark Kotsay ($1.3M). Total committed: $27 million.

September 28, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants left fielder Xavier Nady (12) slides into third base with a triple past San Diego Padres third baseman Chase Headley (7) during the fourth inning at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-US PRESSWIRE

The Padres are pretty light on the commitments, and they do not have any bad contracts. The Quentin deal could be questionable, but at $9.5 million, the Padres probably could not do much better on the free agent market. The Maybin deal will start to get more expensive in the coming years.

Arbitration-eligible Padres(estimated salaries): Chase Headley ($8.3M), Clayon Richard ($5M), Edinson Volquez ($4.6M), Will Venable ($2.5M), Tim Stauffer ($3.2M), Luke Gregerson ($3.2M), Dustin Moseley ($2M), Joe Thatcher ($1.1M), Micah Owings ($1.2M), Everth Cabrera ($1.2M), John Baker ($900K), Kyle Blanks ($600K) : Projected Arbitration costs: $33.8 million.

I expect many non-tenders in this class. I think it is safe to say that Stauffer, Owings, and Moseley will all be non-tendered. All are coming off injuries, and the Padres would be better served going in a different direction. I could see Thatcher and Baker non-tendered as well. The Padres will go into 2013 with Nick Hundley as the backup, and the Padres simply will not have a place for Baker. I think Kyle Blanks will get another look as well.

Free agents: Jason Marquis: Marquis need a nice job for the Padres in 2012, and I would like to see him brought back, if the price is right. Marquis made $3 million in 2012. If the Padres can sign him for less, it would be worth exploring.

From my estimation, the Padres have between $50-55 million committed to next year’s squad. The Padres had a payroll of $55 million this year. In order for the team to acquire talent from outside of the organization, they will need to raise the payroll. The Padres could look to make other moves, but on the surface, it would seem like they do not have a lot of financial flexibility. San Diego is expected to target starting pitching, and it will be interesting to see in what direction they will go in.