May 09, 2008
Edmonds Out of a Job
The Padres sent Jim Edmonds packing today. The Tranaction Guy reflects on the release:
Releasing veterans and eating their salaries- it's what all the cool GM's are doing these days.
There are obvious signs of decline in Edmonds' game, but this does come off as somewhat hasty. Rather than eating $6M and replacing him with a Gerut/Scott Hairston platoon, the Padres probably should have given Edmonds a little more time to see if he had anything left to give. If not, at least you attempted to get maximum value out of the investment, and if Edmonds did happen to show some glimmer of his former self, perhaps San Diego could have gotten a warm body and some percentage of his salary paid off by another team.
I fault the Padres for trading for his big contract in the first place. Did they think a three-year decline in OBA and slugging for a player in his late 30s wasn't real? I know they were desperate for outfielders, but I can't believe they wouldn't be better off with whoever is at AAA.
Correction: The Padres traded for Edmonds, they didn't sign him.
This move probably opens up the opportunity for San Diego to call up Chase Headley, who is killing in AAA while he waited for a spot to open up.
They did not sign him, they traded David Freese to the Cardinals for him. The Cards signed him to a 2 year deal before last season.
This offseason several of my fellow Cardinal fan friends cried over the trade. I celebrated it. Redbird Nation will always love Jimmy for his years here, but it was time to hang it up. It's sad to see such a decline, but it happens.
You're right. Decline should've been duly noted. Just a sign why the Padres are in last place right now... deals like that, tell how a GM thinks.