The Rangers have acquired Vicente Padilla from the Phillies for a player to be named later.
Padilla has one year left of arbitration eligibility (according to my brother who follows the Phils and lives in Philly). He made $3.2 Million in 2005. His 2005 stats:
9-12, 4.71 ERA, 27 G, 27 GS, 147 IP, 146 H, 79R, 77ER, 74 BB, 103 K, 22 HR
Not wonderful, but at this point, we need what we can get. He wore uniform #44 in Philly, which was last worn by Jason Botts, so Padilla will probably have that in 2006.
The more I think about this, the more it’s probably a good idea for us. I’m sure we won’t be giving up anything of value. PTBNL’s never are. Padilla isn’t the greatest – he had some promise a few years back, but doesn’t seem to follow through. However, when healthy, he’s at least an innings eater, and that alone should help. It’d be awesome if he could turn it around, and have a 3 era with a 1 whip. :) But that isn’t likely. The Ballpark in Arlington and Citizens Bank Park are both launching pads, so I don’t think his numbers will jump all that much, really.
The word in the news stories I’ve been reading is that the return for Padilla won’t be anyone on the 40 man roster, which is probably good. I’m also pretty sure it won’t be any of our non 40 man roster blue chip guys. Assuming the Phillies want pitching back, these are some names I see possibly going up there:
Oklahoma (AAA)
Ryan Bukvich
Matt Riley
Tulsa (AA)
Wil Rodriguez
Agustin Montero (was banned for steroids)
Ron Mahay (middle reliever)
We shall see. If they get Mahay, that would be three former Ranger pitchers the Phillies would have (the others being Julio Santana & Aaron Fultz).
News stories:
Texas Rangers site story
MLB.com news article
Padilla’s roster page on Phillies site
Dallas Morning News Story
Ft Worth Star Telegram Story
My roster page for Padilla
Phillies Fan Blog Perspective on Trade
Mlbtraderumors.com take on move
he will both thrill and frustrate you.