The Padres on Friday took modest steps toward their goal to cut around $50 million from last season’s payroll, trading reliever Scott Barlow to the Cleveland Guardians for a younger, cheaper bullpen option and non-tendering catcher Austin Nola and reliever Tim Hill — and their rising salaries.
The club also non-tendered outfielder Taylor Kohlwey and reliever Jose Espada, both of whom made their big-league debuts in 2023. Both immediately become free agents, as do Hill and Nola.
Friday’s moves shave about $9 million off the 2024 payroll.
In exchange for the 30-year-old Barlow, who had a 3.07 ERA in 29 1/3 innings after the Padres acquired him at the deadline for two minor leaguers, the Padres receive a familiar face: reliever Enyel De Los Santos.
The 27-year-old right-hander spent two seasons in the Padres’ minor-league system before he was traded to the Phillies in December 2017 for shortstop Freddy Galvis. De Los Santos was 10-2 with a 3.18 ERA, 123 strikeouts and a 1.11 WHIP over last two years in the Guardians’ bullpen. De Los Santos will save the Padres nearly $6 million compared to Barlow; MLBTradeRumors.com projects he will earn $1.2 million in 2024 in his first year of arbitration eligibility, while Barlow was in line for a $7.1 million payday in his walk year.
De Los Santos figures to step into the middle relief role that Barlow filled so well after the trade deadline.
The 33-year-old Hill had been a fixture in the Padres’ bullpen the last four years, but he was projected to earn $2.5 million after posting a career-worst 5.48 ERA. He is also recovering from ligament surgery on his finger.
Likewise, Nola found himself in a similar predicament complicated by injury. Nola’s OPS bottomed out at .452 last season, forcing the Padres to option him to Triple-A El Paso in mid-July. The 33-year-old catcher ultimately finished the season on El Paso’s injured list due to an eye-movement condition related to the pitch that struck him in the face in spring training. He faced live pitching in the fall instructional league in Peoria, Ariz., as he began to forge a path back to the field.
Nola would have commanded a $2 million salary or more had the Padres kept him.
Nola, Hill, Kohlwey and Espada could all return to the organization on minor league deals.
A look at 2024 payroll projections based on the players on the Padres’ 40-man roster as of Nov. 17, 2023.
(San Diego Union-Tribune)
Friday’s moves shaved the Union-Tribune’s estimated opening day payroll, based on current 40-man roster options, from about $187 million to $178 million. That number would quickly surpass the reported $200 million target as the Padres line up replacements and/or reunions with free agents Blake Snell, Michael Wacha, Seth Lugo and Nick Martinez.
Which is why there is thinking throughout the industry that the Padres may have to trade Juan Soto to stay on budget.
The four-time Silver Slugger is a free agent after this season, is expected to top $30 million in his final year of arbitration and could help address several needs on the trade market — if Padres President of Baseball Operations A.J. Preller can wrap his head around moving his most productive player from a disappointing 2023 season.
Soto turned down a 15-year, $440 million offer with the Nationals before he was traded to San Diego in August 2021, so a lo ng-term extension with the Padres ahead of free agency is a long shot, especially as the marching orders even before Chairman Peter Seidler’s death were to cut payroll from $250 million to around $200 million.
Another place the Padres could save: Trent Grisham could see his salary rise from $3.175 million to $4.9 million in his second year of arbitration, according to MLBTradeRumors.com.
The 27-year-old Grisham hit .198/.301/.353 over his 1,452 plate appearances since mid-June 2021, but he has power in his bat and is a two-time Gold Glover, and thus not at all a clear non-tender candidate as Nola and Hill were.
By remaining on the 40-man roster on Friday, Grisham is guaranteed a big-league contract. However, the Padres could still shop him ahead of next month’s winter meetings in Nashville.
