The Padres are talking about blockbusters, and it has nothing to do with the end of late fees.
Big deals. Big names. Huge change in the Home Team's tune.
"It has been our intention and we have been working for some time on the theory that if there's a deal there to be made, we can make it," Padres Chief Executive Officer Sandy Alderson said last night. "That doesn't mean we're going to acquire Alex Rodriguez. Nor does it mean we're looking for a fringe player."
What it does mean, evidently, is that the position previously espoused by Padres owner John Moores is now inoperative. When Moores said the Padres were operating "all-out" last month; when he insisted there was no more "wiggle room" in his player payroll, he may have overstated the situation by just a smidgen.
The minor deal disclosed after last night's 3-2 loss to San Francisco – pitchers Darrell May and Tim Redding for New York Yankees reliever Paul Quantrill – may only be the first in a series of midseason moves.
Alderson indicated that the Padres are in a position to act now and to act aggressively; that they need not off-load costly contracts in order to acquire quality players. Furthermore, Moores' claim that his hands are tied by baseball's debt service rule is now being characterized as an economic exaggeration.
"We have some issues with respect to the debt service rule," Alderson said. " . . . (But) If we don't make a deal between now and July 31, it won't be because of the debt service rule."
Alderson was standing on the dirt in front of the Padres' dugout, virtually the same spot Moores stood on June 4 when he cast doubt on his club's ability to obtain pennant insurance in a series of unequivocal and widely unpopular statements.
The subject surfaced because manager Bruce Bochy and General Manager Kevin Towers had alluded to major deals under discussion in separate interviews. If austerity is not yet an afterthought at Petco Park, the organizational tone has undergone an overnight change worthy of Ebenezer Scrooge.
"We've discussed big names with other clubs," Towers told MLB.com. "Big, big deals. It's not something that's imminent, but it could come back."
Some of the deals under discussion are surely driven by management's desire to pare its payroll obligations and gain more maneuverability, but cost is not the only consideration. The Padres' recurring efforts to trade first baseman Phil Nevin, for example, are motivated in part by his cantankerous personality and in part by the closing window on his limited no-trade clause.
Starting next year, Nevin's list of teams to which he can refuse trades expands from eight to all. Since the Padres are unlikely to offer Nevin a contract extension when his current deal expires after next season, it probably behooves them to move him now rather than risk losing him without compensation.
Earlier this season, the Padres discussed a deal with Boston that would have sent Nevin, third baseman Sean Burroughs and pitcher Brian Lawrence to the Red Sox in exchange for first baseman Kevin Millar, third baseman Bill Mueller, outfielder Trot Nixon and expatriate Padres pitcher David Wells. Those talks have since been tabled, but they suggest that the Padres are open to large-scale operations.
"We've still got some work to do," Towers said late last night. "We're looking to find some dollars within scouting and baseball operations. But come the end of July, we should have the ability to go out and do something."
Given their multiple medical issues, however, the Padres are not yet sure which holes will most need plugging as the July 31 trading deadline approaches.
Today, the top priority still looks like starting pitching, especially in light of Adam Eaton's problem finger. Yet the continuing uncertainty surrounding catcher Ramon Hernandez (wrist) and center fielder Dave Roberts (knee) tells Alderson to "keep some powder dry."
Until their circumstances crystallize, the Padres can count only on sustained speculation. July is the month when bad baseball clubs face up to their flaws and look toward the future. It is the time when good teams seek swift improvement.
"It's normal in baseball at this time," Bochy said before last night's game. "It's always been that way. Clubs are calling about your players, but there's nothing really going on. . . . "
The words had barely escaped Bochy's mustache before the manager caught himself in hyperbole and signaled that wheels were not only in motion, but picking up speed.
"It's part of the game," Bochy said. "I think it's getting to be decision time for a lot of ballclubs. They're sending feelers out and I'm sure we're doing the same."
This is not to say money is no object for the Padres. But it may not be an insurmountable obstacle.