Padres Add Hughes and Draft Pick From Twins
Minnesota Twins pitcher Phil Hughes delivers to the Chicago White Sox during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Minneapolis, Sunday, June 22, 2014. (AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt)
The San Diego Padres have acquired Phil Hughes and the number 74 overall pick in next months MLB Draft from the Minnesota Twins.
The pick also comes with cash, as the Twins will send $812,200 to the Padres, which will be added to the Padres draft pool.
In the trade, the Padres dealt minor league catcher Janigson Villalobos to the Twins, who had a .253/.408/.322 batting line in 233 plate appearances at the Rookie level from 2016-17, however he hasn’t played anywhere this season so far.
Hughes was designated for assignment earlier this week by Minnesota. The Twins will consume all of his 2018 salary and a little over half of the $13.2 million owed Hughes for the 2019 season, while the Padres will be picking up approximately $7.5 million of Hughes’ contract.
The Padres now have $10,462,200 to spend on the draft which is the 7th largest total.
On top of that, the Padres now have four draft picks within the first 85 selections. They will surely do their homework in continuing the rebuild of this franchise. The 74th pick replaces the pick that the Padres lost when they signed Eric Hosmer in the offseason.
A.J. Preller has this to say about the trade, as he spoke to Kevin Acee of the UT. “The pick was definitely very important for the deal. The draft is the lifeblood of an organization. You want to be able to add as many quality players as you can.”
Preller is unafraid to make trades and is also a genius when it comes to scouting and evaluating talent. Expect the team to really utilize these upcoming picks to further advance the #1 system in all of Major League Baseball.
The Padres have traded for righty reliever Phil Hughes, who was designated for assignment by the Twins. Sounds like Minnesota will eat the rest of his ’18 salary and a little over half his ’19 salary, which is $13.2 million. Padres also acquire the No. 74 Draft pick.
— AJ Cassavell (@AJCassavell) May 27, 2018
Taking on Hughes is a gamble, but the Padres have had some success with reclamation projects.
Darren Balsley will be expected to turn Hughes around into a productive pitcher once again. He was 0-0 with a 6.75 ERA this season for the Twins, pitching mostly out of the bullpen. He has also come off of two different surgeries for thoracic outlet syndrome, which contribute to his poor start.
James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.
Worth pointing out that the Twins’ GM is Thad Levine, who worked closely with Preller in the Texas Rangers organization. Probably made it easier for the two to reach a deal.
The 2018 draft is supposed to be very deep, so it will be exciting to see what Preller can acquire with the extra picks/pool money.
Thanks for the speedy delivery on this article. Really appreciate what you guys do. As an expat living in Russia, you guys are a life saver!
thank you
James, thanks for the article. If I were your editor, however, the use of the word genius, is subjective.
Normally the use of “genius” is subjective, yet here it is objectively inaccurate. “Preller is unafraid to make trades and is also a genius when it comes to scouting and evaluating talent” The first part of that sentence is relatively correct, but, more accurately, he is unafraid to make bad trades. He may even be good at evaluating talent, to some degree, but, objectively speaking, he continues to make horrific trades and signings. He paid $13 million for a bust/AAA pitcher who should not be on the roster (and very likely will not in a month or two … or even as a result of this trade!) Now he paid $7.5 million for the 74th pick in the draft?! (and maybe even gave up a talented prospect) Hughes should not be on the roster, and almost assuredly the Padres will cut him while still having to pay him millions next year. At least we can then add him to the list of players the Padres pay millions to as they play for other teams.
If Preller made it rain gold, you would complain the raindrops are too heavy… enough said.
Au contraire, if I may say so, it is quite the opposite. I love your website, and you have a lot of great stuff on here, but it (often you, and many contributors) lack objectivity. Furthermore, when that is pointed out, or a glaring error (not subjective) on the part of Preller, there is often minimizing, rationalizing, etc. If he were to trade the top 20 prospects for Max Stassi he would be called a genius, a rock star, etc. If he signed ANOTHER first baseman to a $100+ million contract he would be lauded. If he traded a couple of top prospects THIS YEAR for a 1 year rental of an average-ish third baseman then, well, we should just accept his genius, we should just say that those prospects weren’t going to help anyway, etc. Please, HAVE SOME OBJECTIVITY! If that is not your goal here, fine, just say that openly. Either way, I do appreciate your website and all that you do.
We all have an opinion. I respect yours. I have no agenda. I just write what I feel. Enjoy and thank you
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Keep up the great work James (and all you other contributors). Writing about the big league club is tough right now, but you guys keep churning out great articles. Thank you.
We appreciate that. Thank you