Padres Trade Melvin Upton Jr to the Blue Jays

After much activity surrounding Melvin Upton Jr.recently, the Padres traded him to the Toronto Blue jays for Single A 19 yr old Pitcher: Hansel Rodriguez.

So who is Hansel Rodriguez? With five days to go before the deadline, was this the best deal AJ Preller could get? What happened to the other deals? These are all questions Padre fans want answers to. The trigger was pulled only recently, so information is sparse.

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Baseball America reports that Hansel Rodriguez was signed for $330,000 by the Blue Jays in early 2014. He was an international signing from the Dominican Republic . He is a right handed pitcher standing 6 foot 2 inches and weighs 170 lbs. When he was signed, he was considered one of the top pitching prospects from the DR with a fastball in the mid 90’s.

Melvin Upton Jr.rumors had him linked to a Baltimore, San Francisco and Cleveland trade. So it sounds like AJ had competition bidding for his services. But was it real or merely a smoke screen? Probably days to weeks from now will we learn the real truth.

Melvin was having a strong comeback year for the Padres. It looked like he was having fun again. The San Diego fans were really starting to warm up to him I will always remember the steal of home and the “wow” catch that will forever be on the Padre “highlight” reel.

Hansel Rodriquez was in Single A level ball. He had pitched in 32 innings with a 3.62 ERA with 11BB/26 Ks. Certainly his best of the three years in Single A ball. These are not sterling numbers, so something must of really intrigued Preller.

Then there is the question of MONEY. It is being reported that the Padres will eat 17 million. WHAT? That seems like a lot. A player of his statue is worth 10 million a year and now all that the Blue Jays are paying is 5 Million TOTAL for the rest of this year and NEXT. I don’t get it. There were other teams looking at him and this is the best AJ could do?

I have been very supportive in all my posts about AJ’s trades, even the Drew Pomeranz one. BUT all this money for a Single A pitcher who looks good but is ranked #18 in a some what week Toronto’s minor leagues. MLB Prospect web page now has shifted Rodriguez to San Diego and rank him as the Padres’ #14 prospect. Hummm.

Next: Padres Asking For Enough In Trades??

But what ever it is, Preller must think adding another powerful arm to the organization will increase the probabilities of striking GOLD from somewhere in the system. Who knows two to three years from now Rodriguez could be that #1 starter.

I would have liked to know what the other deals were. Odd that the Padres were in Toronto last night. Upton Jr, who sat out last night, only has to cross the field to the other dugout. I will miss you Melvin. Good luck in the American League but please do not kill us the next two nights.

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