Brad Brach, Jaff Decker and Miles Mikolas Traded

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

The Padres have made a few moves today in order to open up room on the 40-man roster. The Winter Meetings are coming up on December 9th and Josh Byrnes may be expecting to need the additional spots. I doubt this flurry of moves is just to get into position to take a few guys in the Rule 5 Draft. It could however have something to do with an aversion to alliteration as both Brad Brach and Miles Mikolas now play for different teams.

Brad Brach was designated for assignment last week in order to clear room on the 40-man roster. This move could be considered somewhat surprising with Brach having put up very good numbers last season (3.19 ERA and 31 K’s in 31 IP). However, given the Padres depth at pitcher, he was one of the more logical choices to be removed from the 40-man. Brach was traded to the Orioles for minor league pitcher Devin Jones (scouting video). Jones struggled mightily last year in AA to the tune of a 5.84 ERA and 3.5 BB/9. He is basically a fastball-slider pitcher who is destined for the bullpen. His numbers could improve drastically next season with a full time move to the bullpen, thanks to his 93-95 mph fastball.

The Friars also traded Jaff Decker and Miles Mikolas to the Pirates for the club’s number 13 prospect, outfielder Alex Dickerson (scouting video). Decker was not likely to start the season with the big club after being added to the 40-man roster last season. Mikolas is a good reliever, however his K/9 numbers have dropped dramatically over the last few years, ending at a 5.9 K/9 this past season at AAA Tucson. In Dickerson the Padres are getting an excellent hitter who is coming off a career year in AA. This past season, Dickerson slashed .288/.337/.494 with 17 HR and 68 RBI. This trade seems to be a good one for all of the players involved.

Stay tuned for more updates should the Padres make more trades today. It might not be a good day to be named Brad Boxberger, Rene Rivera, Alexi Amarista or *gasp* Josh Johnson!