Trades and other acquisitions, including promotions

[RobH]

I'm not looking forward to this season. What are you excited about? Seth Smith?

Any team starting counting on guys like Will Venable is a second tier team.

I'm excited about our starting pitching for one. Of course, they have to stay healthy, but that's a hell of a staff if they can stay that way. We also have guys coming back that can step in if someone goes down, so I think we're way better than last year with Volquez, Richard and Marquis out of the picture, and Cashner and Ross improving and dominating like they did in the second half of the year.

I'm excited to see a healthy Headley, Cabrera back at SS, a second year of development for Gyorko, and to see if Alonso can hit like he was before his injury, which was pretty darn good. I'm curious to see how Grandal comes back from his injury. I think Maybin can have a very good year. His wrist was bothering him a lot more than he was letting on, and now that's been fixed, and Maybin says he can't believe the difference.

I think some of our young pitchers can take up the slack in the BP and get valuable experience for future starting assignments. We've done this before with young pitchers, and they've all said that starting out in the BP helped them adjust to big league hitters.

I think we're in a lot better shape than last year, and with decent health, I think we'll finish with at least 85 wins. It may not be enough to get us into the playoffs, but let's get to that point and see how it goes.

[SFW]

I have no idea how you can not be excited about the Padres starting pitching. Best case scenario they are dominant, worst case scenario they are pretty good. A top three rotation of Kennedy, Cashner and Johnson can be keep the Padres in every series this season. While health will always be a concern (especially with Johnson), at least the team is willing to gamble and take a chance at a potential gem in Johnson. I would rather they do that then sign the typical over the hill veteran #5 starter then have done so many times throughout the last ten years.

They also have a 2 yr $14M offer to Joaquin Benoit. This Padres ownership is much different than before. While you might not like the decisions the GM is making, the ownership is obviously willing to spend a little money and try to win. As a Padres fan, I really can't ask for much more than that.

[Boltdog]

Starting pitching is fine, but the BP at the moment seems really tapped. What we don't need is to be the Dodgers of a few years ago, who could not sustain a lead once their starters left a game. Byrnes seems to think that AZ is the primary answer for most roster issues. If it isn't Carlos Quentin, now it's a single A-level pitcher named Pat Schuster. BA says his pitches are fringe-quality, but his delivery is what makes him unique. He spent the past 2 years at Visalia/ Cal League, but it's asking a lot of an A-ball pitcher to suddenly be effective at the MLB level and maintained on the roster for the entire season. Can't place our hopes on too many players like this.

Still don't like Alonso at first and Headley at 3B--If he does even moderately well, Headley will want an extended deal well above $12 mil. For an often-injured and streaky hitter, he's not worth it. I am hoping Pads see him as a player to spotlight and then trade before the deadline. Given our depth in the minors, we should have someone who can make the transition to 3B. And maybe Medica can replace Alonso and win the job, whenever Alonso gets injured again (a given). Just don't want to waste the great efforts of our starting pitching like we did last season--We need timely hitting, beyond just Cabrera.

I did like the trade for OF/1B Alex Dickerson last month. Along with Hunter Renfroe (and maybe Rymer), we should have some good-hitting prospects moving up soon, who can replace all our spot-hitters in the OF. But it's strange how Byrnes has done things this off-season. Maybe the uncertain futures of deadweight such as Quentin and especially Headley are hampering any aggressive moves going into 2014 season.

[Boltdog]

They also have a 2 yr $14M offer to Joaquin Benoit. This Padres ownership is much different than before. While you might not like the decisions the GM is making, the ownership is obviously willing to spend a little money and try to win. As a Padres fan, I really can't ask for much more than that.

And Pads are the frontrunner to sign Benoit, according to Buster Olney. They are supposedly offering a 3rd year option (likely with buyout.) So how much does this guy have left when he will be 36 years old this summer? Getting rid of Gregerson and bringing in Benoit at $7mil--Will they extend Street too? Lots of money tied up this season in two older relievers. Hope there is a backup plan in case they get injured...

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

Cashner and Johnson are huge injury risks. Many of the young pitchers people are excited about are injury risks. Quentin and Street are injury risks. Maybin, Headley and Alonso are injury risks. Not enough bats anyway. Benoit would be a good signing because he can close, too.

But not excited about Seth Smith, Ackley and Benoit (assuming the latter two sign).

Don't see how you can say ownership is much different when it claims poverty and then "invests" in risky assets like Quentin, Street and Johnson.

[SFW]

Padres and Joaquin Benoit agree to 2 yr $15M ($7.5M per year) contract. He posted better numbers than Gregerson last season and has closer experience on a contending team. So when Street goes down they now have a experienced closer in waiting.

Padres also rumored to be working a couple trades, possible for L/H relief pitcher.