Padres Need to Go Farther

Recently, renowned baseball columnist Ken Rosenthal posed the question “Have the Padres gone far enough? However, in his article he argues that while trading Huston Street, potentially Chris Denorfia and Chase Headley is a good idea, he wonders if the interim GM team trading pitcher Ian Kennedy and Joaquin Benoit would be too far. Or not far enough.

Naturally, this was indeed the worst time for the Padres not to have a general manager with the trade deadline coming next week. Because Benoit and Kennedy are both under team control anyway for next season, Rosenthal argues that it should be the next general manager’s decision when to trade them, if to trade them, or leave the team with building blocks TO trade off.

I say blow it all up.

This team needs to get all the prospects they can get at a time when their veterans ARE performing at the level they are now TO get players. Kennedy is having a career renaissance this year and is healthy. Benoit is 37 years old and it is no guarantee he will be healthy or as effective next season.

Look at our friend Chase Headley for an example. In 2013, the Padres did not trade him soon after his breakout 2012 season when he won the NL MVP season. They did not make a trade in what was also a lost season. Now, they end up getting a couple of prospects or what Chase Headley did this year, it was a good trade. But Chase Headley in early 2013 could have gotten a LOT more!

That is why I actually like the Huston Street trade. Street was performing at an all-time high level, and they maximized that trade value to get good players. Let’s keep it going! Teams ALWAYS need relief help, especially a reliable set up man OR closer like Benoit. The A’s just released former closer Jim Johnson. The Orioles could use bullpen help. The Blue Jays. The Yankees. The Dodgers. Let’s get something done men and give the new general manager a minor league system with some bona fide prospects. Build up the ones we have, use the extra ones we get in trades this year to get a proven starting pitcher (upgrade over Kennedy) if we need to next year. Or an actual hitter.

If you leave these veterans for the new GM, they will join Carlos Quentin next year as three old guys about to break down and on the last years of their contract. The cycle will repeat of being forced to make a bad trade just to get rid of them (or have to release them due to ineffectiveness) and 2015 will be just like 2014 and 2013 and…

Be bold interim GM team. Make more moves, make them smart, and stock up a minor league system and let’s get younger sooner than later.