Padres Trade Rumors

Report regarding team's sale is 'highly speculative,' Padres say
"The Padres on Thursday described as "highly speculative" a report that John Moores, the club's majority owner since 1994, will sell 49 percent of the team as part of a divorce settlement with his wife, Becky. The report, by NBC 7/39, did not specify what percentage of the club Moores owns, who owns the shares to be sold, what would be done with the proceeds or how a sale would affect Moores' role with the club. In response, the Padres issued the following statement: "A recent news report stated that John Moores intends to sell 49 percent of the San Diego Padres as part of a divorce settlement with his wife, Becky. This report is highly speculative. "Obviously, since the Padres are part ..."
Teams can make pitch for Peavy, but to Towers it's just fact-finding
"Coming off a 99-defeat season, Padres General Manager Kevin Towers said Tuesday he considers no player "untouchable" and will find out the trade value of every player. Towers, speaking last Wednesday from Los Angeles, also said Padres ace Jake Peavy will not be exempted from his offseason fact-finding mission and that he would be shirking his duties if he did not find out Peavy's value on the trade market. "Are we going to shop Jake Peavy? No," Towers said. "It's a time of year to gather information. If it's something that makes sense, you've got to talk as an organization." Unless Towers gets dazzled, it appears Peavy, 27, will be with the club to open the 2009 season. But Peavy's ..."
Padres to release Iguchi, Tomko
"The Padres are releasing second baseman Tadahito Iguchi and pitcher Brett Tomko to open roster spots for second baseman Matt Antonelli and pitcher Wade LeBlanc. Both Iguchi and Tomko were told of the move after the team's 2-1 win over the Rockies today at Petco Park. Antonelli and LeBlanc are being summoned from Triple-A to join the Padres in Dodger Stadium, where the club will open a three-game series on Monday. Iguchi, signed as a free agent last offseason, declined comment through an interpreter. He is batting .231 with two home runs and a .292 on-base percentage. A Poway resident, Tomko had a 1.93 ERA in six games and 9.1 innings."
Extra rest for snakebitten Maddux
"Greg Maddux is getting an extra day off this week and will make his next start Friday in San Francisco rather than Thursday in Arizona. With Monday's off day for the team, Maddux will have six days' rest between starts. Chad Reineke, who won his major league debut Saturday against the Phillies, will start Thursday in Arizona on the normal four days' rest. Manager Bud Black explained the move was made to give Arizona a new look. "And Greg has a good history in San Francisco," Black said. That's true. Maddux's 30 wins against the Giants tie him with Phil Niekro and Don Sutton for the most against the Giants since they set up shop in San Francisco in 1958. Maddux is 7-1 with a 2.56 ERA in ..."
Will a major payroll reduction be on the table for next season?
"As part of a pitch to get Brian Giles to accept a trade to the Red Sox this past week, a Padres executive painted a stark fiscal picture for 2009, saying club owner John Moores might shrink the payroll to $40 million. The account comes from Giles' teammates, who say they now expect the club to slash payroll and wage full-scale rebuilding this offseason. General Manager Kevin Towers didn't say whether a payroll reduction is in the works for 2009, but said it's not true the club is planning tothe payroll to $40 million. "Moores has not given us a budget for next year," Towers said Saturday night. "So I don't know where (players) got the $40 million number from. There's been nothing set for ..."
Red Sox claim Brian Giles
"The Union-Tribune has learned that the Boston Red Sox have claimed Padres right fielder Brian Giles off the waiver wire, if only to keep him away from the two teams with better records in the American League. Thus, Boston entered a 48-hour period in which the Sox have exclusive rights to try to work out a trade with San Diego. Giles is not in today's starting lineup for the finale of the Padres' series with the New York Mets-- Jody Gerut's penciled in to play right field -- though Manager Bud Black said the day off was scheduled and Giles is available to play. "Just a regular thing," Black said. "Day game, 37-year-old player." The Red Sox wouldn't seem the most likely team interested in ..."
Red Sox place waiver claim on Giles, working on deal
"The Boston Red Sox have placed a waiver claim on San Diego right fielder Brian Giles, and are negotiating to acquire the 14-year veteran from the Padres. Giles, 37, is hitting .296 with a .391 on-base percentage, 61 walks and 44 strikeouts this season. Boston's interest in Giles might be spurred by concern about the health of third baseman Mike Lowell, who is battling a sore hip, and designated hitter David Ortiz, who has spent time on the disabled list resting a torn tendon sheath in his left wrist. Giles is earning $9 million this year, and his contract with the Padres has a club option for $9 million for 2009 that would climb to $11 million in the event he is traded. Giles has a limited ..."
Boomer Admits He's Probably Done
"David Wells admitted at Old-Timers' Day that he's basically done playing. "I'm not going to officially do it," he said of retiring. "I'm just going to just ride off into the sunset." The 45-year-old Wells pitched last year for the Padres and Dodgers but said yesterday he didn't get any takers this season. He claimed when you're finished playing "you want them to kick you out and I guess they did." As for the new Yankee Stadium being built, Wells said, "It looks good, but it's not Yankee Stadium. ... Maybe it'll put the baseball gods to rest. I don't think they can have as much success in that one as they did in this one.""
Dodgers may be trying to get Greg Maddux again
"On the eve of the non-waiver trade deadline, the Dodgers and San Diego Padres were in discussions about a potential deal involving pitcher Greg Maddux, according to baseball sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the talks. The deadline is 1 p.m. today. The Dodgers acquired the veteran right-hander Maddux at the trade deadline from the Chicago Cubs in 2006 and went on to reach the playoffs. He signed with the Padres as a free agent the next winter. Maddux, 42, is 4-8 this season with a 4.29 earned-run average. He has 351 career victories. He has a full no-trade clause in his contract and has said he would accept a move only to a contending team on ..."
Is Maddux on move to L.A.?
"Greg Maddux again told the Padres that he wants to stay on the West Coast, which probably leaves the Dodgers as the only potential trade partner for the right-hander going into Thursday's trade deadline. The Padres want to shed the final two months of Maddux's $10 million salary. General Manager Kevin Towers said he briefed Maddux on the trade market about two weeks ago and again Tuesday. "His position really hasn't changed," Towers said. "He only wants us to focus on West Coast-contending teams. That kind of eliminates our options, other than one club." Towers acknowledged that the Dodgers are probably that club. Dodgers GM Ned Colletti has traded for Maddux once, and it turned out to be ..."
These big names could be going, going, gone
"Between now and the end of the month, there figures to be at least a few big names being shipped around the league. Unlike in years past, trading partners aren’t waiting until the deadline to deal for big names like CC Sabathia or Rich Harden. But it still is fun to wait and see what happens July 31, when teams have to make moves without the players first clearing waivers. So who could be going to a new team between now and then? Here’s an educated (as in a Texas A&M education) guess regarding six big names who could have a new address by Aug. 1."
D-Backs exploring bringing back Clark
"The Diamondbacks appear to be exploring the idea of bringing first baseman Tony Clark back to Arizona. The Diamondbacks are believed to be one of several teams to have contacted the San Diego Padres regarding Clark, who is expected to be made available as the trade deadline approaches and San Diego continues to plummet in the National League West standings. Trading within the division wouldn't figure to be a concern for either side, as the teams made a trade a year ago this month when outfielder Scott Hairston was sent to San Diego in exchange for Leo Rosales."
Myrow's arrival could signal Clark's departure via trade
"Tony Clark is among the Padres players available to be traded this month, especially now that Brian Myrow is on the team. Clark and Myrow are stuck behind All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez -- who leads the majors in innings played -- and are ill-suited to a position other than first. The Padres still might option Myrow to Triple-A, but the 31-year-old has nothing left to prove in the minors, where he's compiled a career on-base percentage of .419 in nearly 2,500 plate appearances. In 87 games with Portland this season, the left-hander batted .324 with 10 home runs, earning a promotion Tuesday. It doesn't make sense to keep both Clark and Myrow."
Peavy, Maddux may get some extra rest before All-Star break
"Jake Peavy will get two more starts before the All-Star break. But he might get an extra day's rest before each start. Ditto for Greg Maddux. "We'll see how it works out," manager Bud Black said Monday, admitting that Peavy could be pushed back until Saturday, although Friday would be his normal fifth day. If he stuck to a five-day rotation, Peavy would start Friday night in Arizona and next Wednesday at Petco Park against Florida. But his time would come up again on the Monday of the All-Star break. "With days off the next two Thursdays before the break, it might benefit everyone to get an extra day," Black said."
Buyer beware: Team likely to begin purging
"A week ago, Sandy Alderson was waffling. He was wiggling. He was waiting. Rather than pick a pigeonhole he might later wish to leave, the Padres' Harvard-trained CEO cleverly characterized his ballclub not as buyers or sellers, but as watchers; "observers of our own team." It would appear he has now seen enough. "It's probably easier to see us as sellers at this point," Alderson acknowledged during yesterday's 9-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners. "If we were to be buyers, it would be hard to choose among catcher, shortstop, outfielder, starting pitcher, half the bullpen. There's not a shopping cart big enough.""
At this point, Padres say they're 'neither buyers nor sellers'
"The Padres are 13 games below .500 entering tonight's game, a series opener against the Minnesota Twins at Petco Park. With just more than half of the season remaining, the Padres are on pace to win 67 games and lose 85, which would be their worst record since dropping 98 games in 2003. Yet because their division is the worst in the major leagues to date, the Padres might be only one hot stretch away from joining the National League West race, such as it is. The Padres have until the evening of July 31 to trade players without running them through waivers. For now, their front office is all eyes. "We are neither buyers nor sellers at this point," Padres CEO Sandy Alderson said ..."
Young throws off mound for first time since Pujols line drive
"Chris Young said he was very encouraged Saturday after throwing off the mound for the first time since an Albert Pujols line drive left him with multiple nasal fractures and a fractured skull. Young, who was hit on May 21, said his arm and legs felt strong throughout the 40-pitch session but that his breathing was labored because of a deviated septum, which is to be realigned on June 30. "I felt strong," Young said. "Hopefully I can build on it." The timetable for his return will become clearer a few days after his surgery, but the pitcher said a return in late July is possible."
Chase Headley: Next stop, Yankee Stadium
"The San Diego Padres are expected to officially recall outfielder/third baseman Chase Headley on Tuesday, and he will make his season debut at Yankee Stadium. Headley m