When you fire your GM, you give his replacement carte blanche to burn it all down and sell everything off. You do that in the middle of the season when you actually have some useful relievers, you’re definitely gonna make some trades because everyone wants bullpen help in the middle of the year. That’s where the Padres find themselves right now. Even though they don’t yet have a replacement for the fired Josh Byrnes.
Jon Heyman reports that the Padres are receiving calls about Huston Street and Joaquin Benoit. Both of them are having excellent seasons, with Street posting a sub-1.00 ERA and Benoit doing almost as well. Each have closing experience and each would be attractive targets for contenders seeking help for the back end of the pen. Contract-wise, Street is making $7 million this season with a $7 million club option for 2015 and Benoit is making $6 million this season and $8.5 million in 2015 and a 2016 club option. Both of those represent relative bargains for closers these days and the deals are quite tolerable even if they’re used as setup men.
Heyman has the Tigers, Angels, Blue Jays, Orioles, Brewers and Marlins as possible landing spots for Street and Benoit. But really, almost any and every contender at least kicks the tires on bullpen arms in July most years.
