San Diego Padres AM Talk: Sonny Gray Updates/Look Around NL West

The San Diego Padres are still rumored to be in the mix for Sonny Gray. Also, what has the rest of the National League West been up to?

Good Sunday morning, San Diego! To the millions of people traveling back home or to college after this Thanksgiving weekend, safe travels and best of luck (I made that trip back home yesterday to avoid today’s chaos!). News out of Major League Baseball was nothing compared to yesterday’s college football action, however, let’s walk through a few San Diego Padres updates and take a look around the rest of the NL West, just to keep up to date with the competition.

It has been well documented and expressed by New York front office staff that the Yankees want Sonny Gray out of town. The Evil Empire has already traded for former Seattle Mariners starter James Paxton and they figure to be favorites to sign former Arizona Diamondback ace Patrick Corbin and have expressed interest in Yusei Kikuchi.

Per MLBTradeRumors, the list of potential landing spots for Gray includes San Diego, Oakland, Texas, Atlanta, and Minnesota.

At Yankee Stadium, Gray posted a 6.98 ERA, .315 BAA, .406 OBP, 6.8 K/9, 5.3 BB/9, and gave up 11 home runs (59 IP). On the road, those numbers dropped significantly to a 3.17 ERA, .223 BAA, .295 OBP, 9.9 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, and gave up just three home runs in 71 IP. Most in the industry believe that Gray is a solid mid-rotation arm, away from Yankee Stadium and won’t cost very much in a potential trade. He only brings one year of control before becoming a free agent after the 2019 season, helping any of the above-mentioned teams vying for his services.

Around the NL West

There hasn’t been much noise out of the NL West, outside of a few minor league depth signings and roster-clearing moves ahead of the Rule-5 draft, but there have been some interesting developments to keep an eye on.

The Arizona Diamondbacks will enter 2019 with a new-look roster, potentially void of any familiar high-profile names. Patrick Corbin is a free agent and more than likely won’t be returning. The team also believes they will be able to move starting pitcher Zack Greinke and not have to pay him any of the $95.5 million owed to him. Philadelphia appears to be the frontrunner for Greinke, especially if they cannot sign Corbin, per the previously linked report.

Nothing much has come from a potential trade of All-Star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, yet. The Twins, Astros, and Cardinals have “checked in” but as Ken Rosenthal has pointed out, nothing seems to have progressed past a check-in.

In Colorado, Jon Gray has been in the discussion on a number of potential trade ideas from local writers and the national media, as pointed out by our friends over at Rox Pile. Gray went 12-9 with a 5.12 ERA in 2018, leading the league in earned runs allowed with 98. However, he did strike out nearly 10 hitters per game and walked less than three. Nolen Arenado’s name has also been thrown around as one of the top upcoming free agents in next year’s free agent class. On a recent conference call, Rockies front office staff stated that the team is currently working on a long-term deal for Arenado, but talks appear to be in the very early stages.

More from Friars on Base

• Padres fighting with hated rival to sign quality veteran relief pitcher
• 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

The Dodgers have been more active in offseason discussions, reportedly in talks with the Cleveland Indians about starting pitching and catcher Yan Gomes. Yasmani Grandal accepted the Dodgers’ qualifying offer, but many in the industry believe he will be signing elsewhere, hence the LA connection to Gomes and Miami Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto. Both of those names confirmed by Ken Rosenthal. It will be interesting to keep an eye on how the Dodgers address the catching position, with Keibert Ruiz (#2 LA prospect and #3 catching prospect in baseball) coming off a solid season in AA and eyeing a major league call-up in the near future.

Last but not least, the San Francisco Giants. Not much has come out of San Francisco, the Opening Day opponent of the San Diego Padres. The biggest question facing San Francisco is what will they do with Madison Bumgarner? Did the Mariners trade of James Paxton to New York for a low return hurt Bumgarner’s value on the market? Probably. Brand new President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi has been pretty quiet since his hiring. The upcoming Winter Meetings should tell us more about the direction San Francisco will go this offseason.

Safe travels, San Diego Padres fans! If you aren’t traveling, keep enjoying those leftovers (if you have any left) and our last day of the holiday weekend before we head back to the office tomorrow.