Padres News: Schedule of Upcoming Events

With the glaze of the recent World Series and another fun post-season fading from our memories, it is time to start seeing what will happen to the Padres and the rest of the MLB teams as they get ready for 2016. Last year Padres rookie General Manager A.J. Preller was one of the busiest participants in the winter meetings and the months that followed shaping the Padres team he inherited into the team he wanted. The results did not impress. Yet.

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Now the fun begins. The General Manager Meetings start today and go through Thursday, this time across the country in Boca Raton, Florida. At this point as previously reported a record 20 free agents have been extended qualifying offers, which puts a lot of players in flux as these meetings commence. Of course several high profile players like David Price and Yoenis Cespedes were traded mid-season and thus do not qualify for said offers. As teams weigh their strategies especially an ace like Price could dramatically alter the landscape.

November 13th is when players have until to accept those offers.

November 20th is the deadline teams have to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft. (Former successful Rule 5 Draft players include Dan Uggla and Josh Hamilton.)

December 2nd signals the last day to offer 2016 contracts to unsigned players on the 40 man roster.

December 7-10th is the Winter Meetings where a lot of conversations that started at the GM Meetings take fruition with actual deals. It was this stage last year that Preller emerged with a bang.

December 10th is the aforementioned Rule 5 Draft itself. We won’t really know about any “steals” here for a couple of seasons if ever.

By January 15th player arbitration figures are exchanged, with the Padres facing several key player cases in Andrew Cashner and Tyson Ross. How their hearings (or settlements) shape out might have a very big impact on the Padres payroll for 2016.

More from Friars on Base

• Jurickson Profar free agency update likely rules out Padres reunion
• Fernando Tatis Jr. may not take to outfield move after Xander Bogaerts addition
• Padres News: Fernando Tatis Jr. trade rumors, Seth Lugo chase, Manny Machado
• Padres barely missed out on high-end veteran starting pitcher
• This veteran DH target seems ideal for contending Padres roster

February 1-19th is the hearings regarding arbitration. The fewer the better for the Padres, as often times poor arbitration hearings can affect future negotiations in free agency.

That usually wraps up the off-season, unless Preller pulls another trade on the eve of the season starting, which will be April 4th this year against the Dodgers once again.

How will you fill your baseball needs until then? Keep reading here at FriarsOnBase.