PADRES MAKE CUTS IN BASEBALL OPERATIONS
The Padres have notified 25 baseball operations employees their contacts will not be renewed when they expire at the end of the month.
About three-quarters of those not returning have been working in player development as minor league coaches or instructors.
The Padres join a number of teams that have already made cuts among their UEC (uniform employee contracts) personnel. Those under UEC pacts include major league coaches, minor league coaches and training staff, as well as some members of the front office.
Where numerous teams laid off or furloughed some UEC personnel in the spring, the Padres did not. They did institute tiered pay reductions at that time.
“During the season we felt it was important to keep the group together through the contract period,” Padres General Manager A.J. Preller said Thursday. “For right now, with the continuing situation with some of the uncertainty due to the pandemic, seeing where the minor league season and major league seasons goes, we felt like it was important to be clear with our people. … It’s going to be a unique 2021. Next year is going to be a different set of challenges. If people’s responsibilities were not there or maybe not going to be there, we wanted to let the group go.”
As part of Major League Baseball’s ongoing restructuring of the minor leagues, it is believed the Padres will not have teams in the Arizona League in 2021 and will no longer field a rookie-level club. Some in the game anticipate Single-A will be contracted so there is no longer a high-A and low-A. The expectation is also that the minor league season will be shortened and organizations will do more player development with their minor leaguers at an alternate site. Other alterations to the traditional minor league structure are also possible.
Additionally, there is concern that the ongoing pandemic could lead to the start of major league spring training being delayed. That would also affect the start of minor league spring training.
The Padres cuts this week reduced their UEC personnel by about 14 percent.
The cuts included at least one person in the scouting department, though the organization has determined maintaining a full scouting operation in advance of next year’s draft is paramount.
Cronenworth honored
His peers think Padres second baseman Jake Cronenworth was the National League’s outstanding rookie in 2020.
The 26-year-old Cronenworth kicked off awards season Thursday by being honored with the Players Choice version of the NL Rookie of the Year honor. The other finalists were Phillies third baseman Alec Boehm and Brewers reliever Devin Williams.
The NL rookie of the month in August, Cronenworth hit .285/.354/.477 with four homers and 20 RBIs in seizing a starting job in his first year in the big leagues.
The NL Rookie of the Year, as voted by the Baseball Writers Association of
America, will be announced after the completion of the World Series.
Other Players Choice awards included Rockies reliever Daniel Bard beating out Padres right fielder Wil Myers as the NL’s comeback player of the year.
The players selected the Twins’ Nelson Cruz as the Marvin Miller Man of the Year and Freddie Freeman as the player of the year and the NL’s outstanding player.
The Reds’ Trevor Bauer was named the NL’s outstanding pitcher.
In the AL, Jose Abreu was named the outstanding player, Shane Bieber the outstanding pitcher, Kyle Lewis the outstanding rookie and Carlos Carrasco the comeback player of the year.
Gold Glove finalists
Manny Machado and Trent Grisham were named NL Gold Glove f inalists. Those awards will be announced Nov. 3.
Machado is vying for his third Gold Glove and his first since 2015. The Rockies’ Nolan Arenado is going for his eighth straight NL Gold Glove at third base, while the Marlins’ Brian Anderson is looking to win his first.
Grisham is a first-time finalist in his second bigleague season. His seven defensive runs saved led NL center fielders. Fellow NL finalists Cody Bellinger and Ronald Acuña Jr. accounted for five and two defensive runs saved, respectively.