Padres could trade from rotation depth to acquire a lefty bat or lefty reliever - MLB

With an abundance of arms at the back end of the starting rotation, the Padres could make a deal to acquire a left-handed hitter and/or a left-handed reliever, suggests Bill Center of U-T San Diego. Center writes that Burch Smith, Robbie Erlin, or Eric Stults could be expendable.

Smith and Erlin got their first taste of Major League competition during the 2013 season at the ages of 23 and 22, respectively. As such, they each would have plenty of time under team control going forward. Stults turns 34 years old on December 9 and is eligible for arbitration for the first time in his career after taking home slightly more than $507,000 over the past season.

Currently, the Padres’ bullpen is all right-handed. They aren’t exactly lacking in left-handed bats, with the strictly-lefty Yonder Alonso and Will Venable and the switch-hitting Chase Headley and Everth Cabrera.

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CLEARWATER, Fla. — Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins needs surgery for a torn ACL after injuring his left knee Thursday fielding a grounder in a spring training game and is expected to miss a significant amount of time.

The Phillies did not say when Hoskins would have the surgery or exactly how long the slugging first baseman might be sidelined.

Hoskins hit 30 homers with 79 RBIs last season for the reigning National League champions.

He was backing up to play a chopper on Thursday when the ball popped out of his glove. Sooner after, he fell to the ground and began clutching his left knee. Teammates gathered around him before he was taken off of the field.

Hoskins, a free agent at the end of the season who turned 30 last week, hit six homers in Philadelphia’s playoff run last season. The Phillies lost to the Houston Astros in the World Series.

The injury was another blow for the Phillies, who will be without top pitching prospect Andrew Painter for another few weeks because of a sprained ligament in his right elbow. And slugger Bryce Harper isn’t expected back until around the All-Star break after undergoing Tommy John surgery in November.