Padres Begin Offseason Roster Crunches

The 2014 Padres season has been over for about a month now and is now prepping for Winter Meetings and Free Agency. Some serious decisions will need to be made on players that will be hogging the current 40-man roster. Once the season is over, per Gaslamp Ball, rules say after the fifth day the World Series is over, the 60-day Disabled List goes away. All those players either need to be on the roster or have to be completely let go.

So far, the only players from the team to declare free agency are Pitchers Tim Stauffer and Josh Johnson, who was declined on his 2015 $4M option. Johnson spent the entire season on the Disabled List. Johnson though, would still like to find a way to stay in San Diego, which could be a boom-or-bust move again, so far it’s been bust.

You can pretty much place sure bets on Pitcher Eric Stults, who is a non-tender candidate, to be cut. Stults is due to make more money and the pitching staff getting younger and better. Also to be cut is least-fan favorite OF Carlos Quentin, who was getting paid the past few seasons to sit in the trainer’s room or overreacting to an expired rivalry with Pitcher Zach Grienke. It’s only a matter of time till he is designated for assignment.

Other grey-area moves will be some on injury ridden and disappointing players like Pitcher Casey Kelly, who is one piece still left from the Adrian Gonzalez trade from the Boston Red Sox. Corey Luebke, who whenever healthy has all-star stuff. Yonder Alonso, who’s been a disappointment from another trade and Ryan Jackson, who was suppost to be Everth Cabrera’s backup incase he was hurt, or too busy getting arrested. Judging by all these names listed, it seems like no-brainers.

Stayed tuned this coming week with Friars On Base as we’ll preview the free agency names that could improve the 2015 Padres roster.

Keep The Faith.