Padres recent struggles doom season
By john • Jul 3rd, 2008 • Category: adrian gonzalez, brian giles, edgar gonzalez, greg maddux, major leagues, matt antonelli, michael barrett, nick hundley, san diego padresAfter dropping 10 of their last 11 and having the worst record in baseball it’s clear the San Diego Padres will be sellers at the trade deadline.
However the problem for the team is that they don’t have a ton of talent they can trade.
The only productive pieces of the Padres lineup do not figure to be on the block. Adrian Gonzalez will need to remain on the team if the Padres hope to win any games for the remainder of the season and there doesn’t figure to be too much of a market for 37-year old outfielder Brian Giles even if he has an on-base percentage above .400.
Minor league journey man Edgar Gonzalez has made a nice story for the team but there doesn’t figure to be much of a market for a 30-year old in the mist of his first big league season. Outfielders Scott Hairston, Jody Gerut and Paul McAnulty also won’t entice any GM’s to start dialing up San Diego either.
Had Michael Barrett hit even water this year a team might be willing to take him on as a second catcher but hitting just over .200 any return on him would be minimal.
The rotation has a couple of possibilities. One is left hander Randy Wolf (5-8, 4.59 ERA) and the other being Greg Maddux. (3-6, 4.04 ERA) Maddux however has been shelled for 14 earned runs in his last two outings totaling just 10 1/3 innings. The 350 game winner has not picked up a win in over a month and is 0-3 with a 4.42 ERA in his last ten starts.
San Diego’s two biggest chips may be relievers Heath Bell and Cla Meredith.
With few chips to cash in things don’t figure to lighten up in San Diego this year.
Another disappointing note for the Padres is the struggles of both catcher Nick Hundley (.232, 12 HR)
and infielder Matt Antonelli (.192, 3 HR) at the Triple-A level.
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