In 2011 the Padres took a significant decline from 2010. they lost 19 more games and finished with only 71 wins. They started the 2011 season off without their biggest slugger, Adrian Gonzalez, because of a trade with The Red Sox. As the 2011 season went on, they traded their strong set up man Mike Adams to the Texas Rangers. When the off season struck The Padres made some trades and lost their fantastic closer.
The Padres traded their young and under rated starting pitcher Matt Latos to the Cincinnati Reds for Edison Volquez in a five player deal. Matt Latos is only 24 and has already proven what he can do at a big league level. In 2010 he posted a 2.92 ERA over 182 innings and in 2011 he posted a 3.47 ERA over 194 innings. They weren't getting much in return. Edison Volquez is 28 years old and over his 7 seasons in the big leagues he posted an ERA under 4.00 once, in 2008. Volquez has never pitched 200 innings and has repeatedly suffered injuries. Besides the other players The Padres got in this deal, they received the short end of the stick.
During the off season the Padres also traded for the right fielder Carlos Quentin. Quentin has been playing about 130 games a year and if he were to play 162 games he would hit about 32 home runs. Remember these numbers are for 81 games in US Cellular Field. If Quentin has to play 81 games in Petco Park, his home run total might as well be cut in half. We saw this with Adrian Gonzalez's transition form Petco Park to Fenway Park. I think the Padres traded for a slow, poor defensive, doubles hitter.
The bad off season for The Padres did not end there. They also lost their all star closer, Heath Bell. Bell signed a contract with the Miami Marlins. Over his career Heath Bell has a 127 ERA plus, which is rather good. He played five years with The Padres and now he's gone. With the loss of Mike Adams and Heath Bell, the back end of the bullpen is looking lonely for The Padres. The only knowledgeable names for The Padres that are still on the team are Luke Gregerson and maybe Orlando Hudson.
2012 is not looking good for The Padres.
The New York Mets have made another free agent signing in the form of Bartolo Colon. Colon will pitch for the Mets on a 2 year $20 Million contract. Colon posted a 2.65 ERAwith 190 innings pitched in 2013 at the age of 40 with the Athletics. The Mets will see if Colon has anything left in the tank and will likely be replaced by Harvey in 2015 when he returns from Tommy John surgery. For the second year of the contract Colon may be moved to the bullpen or be traded.
