Padres Rumors: Quentin To Waive No Trade Clause?

One of the major question marks heading into spring training for the San Diego Padres is what the heck is going to happen with Carlos Quentin? There is no real room for him in the outfield, unless a awful string of injuries occur.  Quentin brought a first baseman mitt to give the Padres some options on what to do with him.

Of course, you could just try and deal him this Spring, preferably to a American League team.

According to Dennis Lin of UT-San Diego, Quentin may be willing to do just that.

Beyond Quentin’s willingness to audition at a new position, he would consider waiving his no-trade clause for an American League team.“There will be a lot of eyes seeing how well I’m doing, and I’ll be open to the opportunity to be moved, if that comes about in spring training,” Quentin said. “My main goal is to have a successful year and be in a position to be successful. I feel good now. You can’t count on your health throughout a long season, and everyone knows the AL has the DH that would allow me to get at-bats without putting the wear and tear on my body. That’s the realistic part of it, and I’m well aware of it.”

The Los Angeles Angels, with Josh Hamilton facing a lengthy suspension, may need another bat. The Minnesota Twins could use some extra pop. The Toronto Blue Jays just lost Michael Saunders for half the year with a torn meniscus. Cleveland could use some right-handed pop. Tampa Bay needs pop in general behind Evan Longoria.

Quentin has a $10 million mutual option for 2016 with a $3 million buyout. For the buyout to go into effect he has to play a total of 320 games from 2013-2015.

A.J. Preller is going to be a busy man with all of the outfield questions the Padres have. One of them is what to do with Quentin, and the fact that he would move to the AL makes him that much more attractive for a team to deal for him.

Of course Quentin has to prove he’s healthy, otherwise it may just be a sunk cost for the year.

Next: New Candidate At First?

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