IBC

BlueJays trade Christofer 21-Torin, 2024 Draft Pick 131 to Padres for 2024 Draft Pick 112

Pretty straight forward ... I had a specific pitcher targeted for pick 112 but Dan took at 107. Thought about another pitcher but the more I dug into him the less excited I was about drafting him so I dropped in the draft to get a SS/2B the scouting community is split on as will be seen when I post some reviews later.

Obviously, Dave moves up in the draft ... which is crawling once again.

Marlins trade Jordan Romano, Jeremy Pena, Calvin Faucher to Padres for Geraldo Perdomo, Jacob 22-Melton, Blake 24-Burke

Nils got some good young talent. Perdomo, a 25 year young switch hitter who projected to have a .340 OBP, is a solid SS who would have been the Padres lead off hitter in 2025. Melton is a well regarded CF prospect known for his power/speed combination and has ranked well: BA HOU #2, MLB HOU #3, BP HOU #4. Burke is powerful 1B and recent draftee.

Like many teams, the Padres are dealing with a multitude of injuries to both their starting and relief pitchers so adding Romano and Faucher to the pen arms was the key. I have followed and liked Pena since he played baseball at the University of Maine. He is a slightly better fielding SS then Perdomo (as wrell as 2 years older) with more power and comparable steals who will likely bat 6th in the revamped Padres line-up. .

Yankees trade Nolan Jones, Luis 0-Ortiz to Padres for Ryan 22-Clifford, Walker 24-Janek

Z gets younger and adds raw potential ... Walker Janek was deemed to be the best Catcher available in the 2024 draft. I had 2 good "24" Catchers so I could afford to trade him. Clifford is powerful 1B/COF with a strong arm who will likely become a COF in real life as he appears to be blocked by Pete Alonso. Both are young and targeted for a major league career.

The Padres, not surprised but not thrilled to be ranked in the bottom third of the IBC in the currently unfolding power ranking (nice work from Pat and Nils) continue to try win now. In real life, Jones is having a stinky year with the Guardians so this might be his best ZiPS projection he will see as his 109 OPS+ is slightly better than Will Brennan's 105. And his FR rating at COF defense does not bode well for home games in spacious Petco Park. But his AV D rating at 3B could be helpful against RHP if/when the Padres try to load up with lefties as he does to project against RHP. The real get is Luis Ortiz to strengthen and lengthen the Padres SP rotation - particularly in the beginning of the season when we have many pitchers on the IL. His projected 105 ERA+ will slot him near the top after Cortes gets his couple of starts before going on the IL. And he had a decent year in real life with the Pirates and is even better this year with the Guardians. "What is interesting about Ortiz’s last season was the strides he made in his pitchability and continuing that into this year. With the addition of a cutter beginning last season, it provided him a pitch that he commanded the best (111 Location+) and a pitch that he can use on the inner half of the plate against lefties" as detailed here: https://pitcherlist.com/stuff-vs-result ... uis-ortiz/.