In a move that is destined to turn Chavez Ravine into a giant yawn contest, the Dodgers have signed former Rangers pitcher Vicente Padilla to a minor league contract. Talk about a low-risk, low-reward move.
Padilla will pitch at Triple-A Albuquerque on Saturday before joining the big league team, and is expected to start against the Colorado Rockies on Aug. 27.
The good news on this signing is the Dodgers won’t have to pay Padilla much more than their ball boys, as the Rangers will eat the $8 million he’s owed after dumping him a couple days ago. The bad news is that he isn’t much better than the ball boys, even when you take into account his recent bout with swine flu.
(Speaking of swine flu, apparently the virus has hit a Japanese baseball team pretty hard. The team’s name? The Nippon Ham Fighters. Not kidding.)
Padilla turns 32 in late September, and at this point in his career, what you see is what you get. He’s going to walk some guys. He’s going to hit some guys (eighth all-time among active pitchers). And he’s going to give up some home runs (although, only 12 so far this season).His line this season (8-6, 4.92), is about on target with his career line (94-85, 4.36).
Is Padilla really any better than Charlie Haeger, Eric Stults or James McDonald? Seems doubtful, but with Hiroki Kuroda heading to the disabled list, I guess it doesn’t hurt to stock up on warm bodies.
Throw enough junk at the wall, something might stick.
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If you Twitter, and have been diagnosed as swine-flu free, you can follow me at @Bharks.