Blocked Prospect - Kyle Blanks

by Dr Orpheus on Mar 10, 2009 12:48 AM EDT Comment 22 comments

Kyle Blanks seems to be the odd man out as Adrian Gonzalez isn't going anywhere, so what should the Padres do?

There's already been some rumblings that the Padres are looking to trade Blanks for pitching, presumably to be used this season, as they're nearly vacuous in that department. Tim Dierkes of mlbtraderumors has compiled a good list in reference to the Tom Krasovic article including several out of option players.

But I guess this all comes down to what Blanks is worth. So, what is he worth? Juan Gutierrez? Hayden Penn and David Pauley?

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I'd say...

He’s worth a little more than two starters who have barely any ML experience coupled with any sign of major league success at all when they do see time. Also, they don’t have much potential. I’d say it’d be more along the lines of Nolan Reimold and Liz.

by maneatingbaby on Mar 10, 2009 1:54 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

That seems like a lot

A huge first baseman who in the long-term might be relegated to DH is worth a potential middle of the rotation starter who just averaged almost a K an inning in his first go at Triple-A and a pretty decent outfield prospect? I’m a bit skeptical. He’s very young and looks very good, but whichever team is trading for him has more leverage, as there’s little San Diego can do with him. The Pads would be better off trading Adrian Gonzalez for pitching and giving the job to Blanks, considering they’re probably at least three years away from contention, even in that division, and in a couple years Blanks might well be better than Adrian.

by Fanon on Mar 10, 2009 1:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Liz and Reimold...

seems like a very reasonable trade. Reimold’s upside is pretty limited, though he’s probably got the skills to have a career in the majors, and Liz has huge bust potential. I’d call him a potential middle reliever long before a potential middle of the rotation starter.

by DrunkIrish on Mar 10, 2009 1:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

trade deadline

all depends on where SD stands at the deadline … if their in it, Blanks could be shopped for current needs… if their out, Gonzo should go for a nice package… i don’t see why not

by ufo on Mar 10, 2009 5:50 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

or

they could just wait it out another year … i think the worst thing you can do is rush a trade, just wait for the right deal or right situation to play out…

by ufo on Mar 10, 2009 5:54 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

6'6, 270?

Holy crap, that kid’s big.

by Lunkwill Fook on Mar 10, 2009 11:00 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

every scouting report ive ever seen

highlights how athletic he is for a guy that size. The guy did steal 12 bases a couple years back. If he played football, he’d be a tight end

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by harendaman365 on Mar 10, 2009 8:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

He's athletic?

I doubt he stays that way for long. He’s an absolute hulk of a human. I had never seen him until the other day, he was on standing on 2nd when I flipped to a Padres game. The guy is absurdly big. But his body looked very soft to me.

Tools Whore

by Tyler on Mar 10, 2009 9:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

SD paper said Padres wanted Jordan Zimmermann for him

Several months ago, the Nationals inquired about Blanks, but those talks went nowhere once Washington deemed pitching prospect Jordan Zimmerman off limits."

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/mar/09/n9214819745-towers-shopping-bargain/?padres

by VladiHondo on Mar 10, 2009 11:32 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Washington Nationals: Home of half the first basemen in the league.

by Lunkwill Fook on Mar 10, 2009 11:54 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yep

And not looking to trade any of them.

by Fanon on Mar 10, 2009 1:50 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Padres Moves

Right now I would put feelers out for Gonzalez – he is a young cheap first basemen who away from Petco puts up monster numbers. He is under a great contract for two more years, with the third being a club option.

I agree with ufo that the worst thing you can do is rush a trade. But Gonzalez has a ton of value and will be a FA for his age 28 season. When he is a FA the padres still probably won’t be competitive.

A few teams could use Gonzalez (who would pay for him too) – Angles, Mets, Cubs (Lee is a FA after next season and is 33 now), As, Os, Ms, DBacks, Giants, and Maybe the Sox.

It would be worth while to see what the Padres could get for him.

Remember: baseball guys... baseball...

by Metty5 on Mar 10, 2009 12:35 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Absolutely

I agree completely. Gonzalez has put up great overall numbers that would probably be on the brink of staggering if he wasn’t in Petco. He’s had a SLG over .570 and OPS over .925 the past two years on the road.

I think you’re right that they won’t really be competitive by the time he’s due for free agency. He’s cheap now, but so a nice package of prospects would be cheap too. Why not deal him if they can get a good deal for him?

by mentalpowers on Mar 10, 2009 1:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

While I just advocated trading him above

I think the biggest problem is that he’s the face of the franchise, and grew up in San Diego. They’re going to take a huge PR hit when they trade Peavy, and it would be even worse if they traded Gonzalez, even if that meant they kept Peavy.

by Fanon on Mar 10, 2009 1:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

This is what I've understood as well

It doesn’t seem like the Padres would want to eliminate another face of the franchise as Brian Giles gets older and with the remaining possibility of a Peavy trade. That doesn’t mean he’s not the best chip they have, he’s probably worth more than Peavy, but it just doesn’t seem plausible.

by Dr Orpheus on Mar 10, 2009 6:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Might not be plausible

But that team is so awful, and looks to be so for a couple years, that they could trade him and people would forget about it by the time they were halfway decent again. They’ve got nothing.

by Fanon on Mar 11, 2009 2:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If...

Blanks dominates AAA this year he’ll make a case for the Pads to deal Gonzalez but it will have to be one heck of a year for them to trade a hometown kid with a team friendly contract for propects.

I see it more likely that they do a prospect swap with a team in need of a 1B and a plethora of pitching prospects…If all works out this season I see Toronto as being a possible destination with Brett Cecil and Brad Mills as top young pitching prospects and an unproductive 1B in Lyle Overbay…

by bunner on Mar 10, 2009 3:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs