That's right! Pat Burrell to the Padres. Now, before I get shot down because of his lack of offensive production with the Rays and his mockery of defending the left field position, lets look at some possibilities. First of all, our current outfielders are:
Tony Gwynn Jr. - .182, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 8 SB, 19 SO
Will Venable - .248, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 11 SB, 41 SO
Chris Denorfia - .375, 1 RBI, 1 SO
Kyle Blanks - .157, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 1 SB, 46 SO
Scott Hairston (DL) - .247, 6 HR, 14 RBI, 3 SB, 24 SO
with special guest appearances by non-starters
Oscar Salazar - .195, 1 RBI, 1 SB, 9 SO
Jerry Hairston Jr. - .221, 12 RBI, 4 SB, 12 SO
Matt Stairs - .172, 4 RBI, 1 SB, 12 SO
And before Venable's 4-for-5 strong performance last night against the Dodgers he was batting .223. The offensive production from our outfield is pretty much nonexistant. Jed Hoyer has put a plan in place to bring in players who can hit it out of the ballpark or use an elemnt of speed and athleticism that works in favor of PETCO Park. Purchasing the contract of Chris Denorfia is step one in the right direction. He fills the role of Scott Hairston while Scotty is on the DL and makes things happen with scrappy play, good hitting, and solid outfield defense. The next step is our left field situation. In my opinion, Salazar, Hairston Jr., and Stairs need to stay in their bench/utility roles. They are not starters and give us versatility on these long stretches of games. With Blanks having a sore elbow, striking out at a pace Mark Reynolds would be proud of, and just flat out not looking comfortable at the plate, either a stint on the DL or being optioned to Portland to get that swing back seems to be the smart move for our future bopper.
That leaves an opening in the outfield and while staying in house and calling up Luis Durango would be my first option, there are a couple of free agent outfielders with some pop who are available right now. The first one is Jermaine Dye. Right away, the problem I have with Dye is that he is going to cost some money and probably not be ready to go for a few weeks since he has had no real "spring training" this year. Do we have time to wait for that and will Moorad open the wallet in the middle of May? I don't think so. Another suggestion is Pat Burrell. Recently released by the Tampa Bay Rays, he just cleared waivers and can be had for $300,000. According to MLBTradeRumors, the Phillies are not interested at this time. So, what if we signed him, started him in left, bat him fourth behind Adrian. One, he's affordable. Two, since the beginning of 2007 he has hit .241 with 79 HR and 260 RBI. Three, he would return to the National League where he is more familiar with the ballparks and pitching. Four, he gives us a power threat in the lineup to balance out the speed.
I know it would be a bold move, but for the price and what seems to be the plan to give Durango more experience in AAA, Pat Burrell kind of makes some sense for our team right now. Just a thought...
