Padres making smart gamble on Phil Hughes
The San Diego Padres’ starting rotation is an absolute mess, so gambling on Phil Hughes to help clean things up is a smart gamble by the club.
The Minnesota Twins made the decision that Phil Hughes was no longer good enough to help their rotation when they decided to designate him for assignment. That doesn’t mean he’s a hopeless case. The Padres are smart to give Hughes a shot to benefit from a change of scenery.
The price to acquire Hughes certainly wasn’t a significant impediment for the Padres. Catcher Janigson Villalobos has some talent, but he’s not what anyone would call a high level prospect. It would be a significant surprise if he ever sees any meaningful major league action.
The real price for San Diego is the $12 million and change it willl need to pay Hughes over the next two seasons. The Twins sent $14 million to the Padres to help offset Hughes’ salary in the trade, but it still represents a significant cash outlay for San Diego. Even so, it’s worth the gamble.
At the moment, the Padres only have two reliable starting pitchers. Tyson Ross has been excellent and Joey Lucchesi has been very solid. After that, things have been pretty dicey for Andy Green’s club.
Clayton Richard has an era of almost 5.00 in his 11 starts. That makes him the third-best starter on the team. The fourth and fifth turns in the rotation have been horrible. Bryan Mitchell and Eric Lauer have ERAs north of 6.00 in their combined 13 starts. Jordan Lyles has shown some ability, but it’s still up in the air whether or not he’s better off in the bullpen. Luis Perdomo got four starts but it’s unlikely he’ll get another given his poor performance.
Suffice it to say the team can use some additional starting pitching. If the Padres can get Hughes anywhere close to the way he pitched two years ago for the Twins, he can become their number three starter. Acquiring a player with that sort of potential for a catcher who’s unlikely ever to make the majors is a pretty solid personnel move.
Some might question why the Padres would make this move since they’re in last place in the NL West. The reality is they are only 6.5 games behind the Rockies for the division lead. Making a savvy move like this to stabilize the rotation might be enough to get the Padres back in the race.
It’s also possible Hughes could rehabilitate his value enough to become a valuable trade asset for San Diego later in the year. The starting pitching market is projected to be very thin at the deadline. Much like the Reds are trying to do with Matt Harvey, the Padres could acquire Hughes with the intention to flip him quickly.
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No matter what happens, the Padres have made a calculated risk in bringing Phil Hughes into their clubhouse. It’s a move with a lot more upside than risk, though. Don’t be surprised to see San Diego really benefit from this low risk move.