Padres will keep slugging Gonzalez while listening to trade offers

Added on Oct 05, 2010 by Ted Sillanpaa in

MLB

The San Diego Padres didn’t waste any time planning to figure out a way to finish the playoff run they were on through the bulk of the National League West campaign.

The Padres, who led the NL West for most of the season, were eliminated from playoff contention in a 3-0 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday. After finishing two games behind the division-winning Giants, San Diego general manager Jed Hoyer announced Monday that the club the option on first baseman Adrian Gonzalez’s contract for 2011.

Gonzalez, 28, hit 31 home runs with 101 runs batted in. His .298 batting average in the middle of a relatively punchless Padres lineup made him invaluable in San Diego – and makes the $5.5 million deal he’ll have in 2011 about half what he’d be worth on the open market.

Hoyer acknowledged that the Padres would be pressed to pay Gonzalez the money he’ll attract as a free agent after the 2011 season and said that the club would entertain, at least, offers for Gonzalez this winter.

While the Padres are anxious to keep Gonzalez around, Hoyer is less interested in keeping shortstop Miguel Tejada in San Diego. Tejada, who hit third and just ahead of Gonzalez, can help the Padres but not for the $6.6 million he’s due next season. Tejada had eight home runs in 253 at-bats after arriving in San Diego in a trade deadline deal.

** The postseason begins Wednesday and they will be a showcase for Texas Rangers left-hander Cliff Lee, who’ll become a free agent at the end of the playoffs. The 32-year-old is considered by many the premiere lefty in baseball and expect his postseason work to attract a world of attention from potential suitors.

Lee opens the playoffs for Texas against Tampa Bay’s David Price on Wednesday.

Even with a recent history of back problems, Lee will command one of the richest contracts ever awarded a starting pitcher … in large part because the New York Yankees are very interested in him and when the Yankees get involved, the salary starts to go through the roof.

** Speaking of starting pitchers and rich contracts, the Giants could leave veteran Barry Zito off of the postseason roster. Zito was abysmal in the second half of the season, after a disappointing career in San Francisco following his signing a $127 million, seven-year deal to join the Giants.

Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Jonathan Sanchez are set to start the first three games against the Braves. Rookie Madison Bumgarner had an ERA of 3.00 and, even at just 21 years of age, pitched brilliantly down the stretch. It’s unlikely that Zito, with an ERA of over 4.00 and without a win in his last 14 starts, would be in the playoff rotation at any point.

Given that Zito has struggled with command, and that he lacks strikeout stuff, it’s possible that he won’t even find a spot in the bullpen. The Giants have leftys Javier Lopez and Jeremy Affeldt, both pitching well. Second-year southpaw Dan Runzler is a hard-thrower with a nasty slider who, despite control issues, would be a more logical third lefty if the Giants opted to keep three southpaws.

If Zito and outfielder Aaron Rowand fail to earn spots on the postseason roster, the Giants will have voluntarily sidelined nearly $40 million in 2010 salaries.

** Justin Morneau will miss the Minnesota Twins postseason for the second straight season. He’s officially out for the playoffs, still recovering from the concussion he suffered in mid-summer. The Twins indicated that Morneau has yet to perform basic baseball-related skills without being bothered by the lingering symptoms of the concussion. He has yet to run and slide or do any other quick-reaction movements.

** Cincinnati Reds’ manager Dusty Baker was rewarded for his club’s NL Central title with a two-year contract extension on Monday. Baker hopes to snap a streak of bad luck in the postseason.

His 2002 San Francisco Giants team blew a five-run lead that they carried into the seventh inning of Game 6 of the World Series against the Angels. Instead of winning the world title that night, the Giants lost and then fell in Game 7. In 2003, Baker managed the Chicago Cubs to the NL Central title only to see their playoff dreams fall to pieces in the infamous Bartman Game where fan Steve Bartman interfered with left fielder Moises Alou and … well, Cubs fans don’t want to be reminded of the rest of the story.0

** The NL West playoff series between the Giants and the Braves features a match-up of the two frontrunners for the Rookie of the Year award. San Francisco catcher Buster Posey will be on the field with Atlanta right fielder Jason Heyward.

Heyward won a job in spring training and then hit 18 home runs and batted .277 with 72 RBIs with a .393 on-base percentage for Atlanta.

Posey also had a big spring, but was with Triple-A Fresno until nearly the end of May. He still hit 18 home runs and drove in 67 runs – virtually matching Heyward’s totals. Posey hit .303 after his average tumbled in the final weeks of the season when he struggled over his final 40 at-bats. He was just 1-for-11 in the three-game series against the Padres, but the hit was the home run that accounted for the Giants final run on Sunday.

Given that Posey has the best throwing arm of any catcher in baseball, and that he became the Giants clean-up hitter and best clutch hitter upon arrival, the San Francisco rookie should have the inside track on the award.

** The Mets fired manager Jerry Manuel, but don’t expect a quick move to hire 70-year-old Joe Torre. Torre, who left his post as manager of the Dodgers, said he was interested in considering the Mets’ job. However, the Mets are a team in disarray and will be looking for a general manager as well as a manager. Omar Minaya was let go Monday, too. It’s hard to imagine Torre taking a job with a rebuilding team without, at least, knowing who the general manager will be.