Friday, October 9, 2009

Roster Moves

October is a month full of roster moves, and we started ours yesterday. We added RHP Eulogio DeLaCruz to the 40-man roster and released RHP's Shawn Hill and Cha Seung Baek and OF Cliff Floyd.

We traded for DeLaCruz toward the end of spring training last year and because he was out of options, we were forced to outright him to the minor leagues when we needed a roster spot early in the season. Fortunately for us, he cleared waivers and had an excellent season in AAA, posting a 2.56 ERA as a reliever in 44 appearances in the PCL. Eulogio's fastball will run as high as 98mph which he complements with a plus changeup. If we had not added him back to the 40-man roster, he would have been eligible for minor league free agency after the World Series. Still just 25 years old, he has a lot of career in front him.

The three players we released all spent the bulk of the year on the 60-Day disabled list, meaning they did not count toward the 40-man limit on the Major League roster. However, shortly after the World Series we must reinstate those players to the active roster, at which time they DO count toward our limit. Furthermore, both pitchers would have been eligible for salary arbitration this winter, and Cliff Floyd was set to become a free agent. So, though we didn't necessarily need the roster spots today, we do anticipate needing them come November. Releasing these players does not prohibit us from re-signing them; however, should we re-sign them they would not be allowed to appear in a Major League game for us until the middle of May in 2010.

Like other teams, I'm sure we'll have more moves as the next month unfolds.

9 comments:

Eric said...

Paul,

Just wanted to say that I hope you stick with the Pads through the change of regime. Really looking forward to next season with this bunch.

Thanks,
Eric Ensminger

Josh Elwell said...

Would love to hear your thoughts on the logjam at 3B with Kouz and Headley in a future post... the rumor mill's in full force and any insight you can share would be great. Or, maybe that's something you can't comment on. Either way, thanks for back-to-back informative posts, keep 'em comin'!

Paul DePodesta said...

Josh Elwell,

We hope these types of problems increase in frequency in the coming years: four good young players for three everyday spots (Blanks, Venable, Kouz, and Headley). All four guys were very productive over the past few months.

WebSoulSurfer said...

Paul,

A question on Baek. Did he or will he undergo a Tommy John procedure for this current elbow injury or is he just resting and rehabbing?

If he is good to go for Spring training will the Padres consider signing him to a minor league deal as insurance for a very young pitching staff?

Duke Street Kings said...

welcome back Mr. Hybrid!!! lol

glad to see De La Cruz stay with the club. He has a true power fastball, now if only he can find the plate with the big boys.

Look forward to the offseason and your work with the new GM. I'm glad Simon...errr... Moorad and Garfinkle decided your worth as being an asset to the future of the club. How do they view this blog?

sdsuaztec4 said...

Glad to see you're back to blogging, Paul. Missed your thoughts!

zino said...

Might be fun to have a poll on the Kouz Headley at 3B issue and or the corner outfield spots... I second everyone's sentiment on you staying with Padres...
best,
zino

Unknown said...

Paul,
Question about the 'rules' of baseball teams - are they available to read. Items like this where a player who is released can be resigned can not play for the MLB team until mid-may, well, I'd like to be able to read all the rules...is this possible?

Wonko said...

Paul, which players not on the 40 man roster do you need to make decisions on before the Rule 5 draft?