Padres not adding much to Portland Beavers in off season
While the Mariners have done plenty to stack the deck for Portland Beavers division rivals the Tacoma Rainiers, San Diego has done little to bolster the Beavers this off season. Padres top prospect, Jaff Decker, stands to start the year playing for Class A Lake Elsinore. It's possible we might see Decker in a Beavers uniform before the year is out. A very sparse list of non-roster invites for the Padres suggests they've already got most of the team locked down going into the 2010 spring training. It also means they haven't signed many minor league contracts during the off season.
Reliever Mark Worrell joined the Padres before the 2009 season, in a trade for shortstop Kahlil Greene, only to wind up on the DL with Tommy John surgery keeping him out for the year. With a minor league contract for 2010, it seems highly likely Worrell will start the year with the Beavers to see if he can handle working in the Padres bullpen.
The Padres picked up Chris Denorfia, who spent most of 2009 with A's Triple-A Sacrameto team, as a potential fit in an already crowded outfield. Denorfia did well at Sacramento, batting .271 with 9 home runs, 49 RBIs and 15 stolen bases, but he's competing for a spot amongst Scott Hairston, Kyle Blanks, Tony Gwynn and Will Venable. This is great news for the Beavers, as Denorfia will likely start the year in Portland.
Luis Durango did quite well in a brief stint with the Padres at the end of 2009, going 6 for 11 in his major league debut, but it seems more likely he will start the year with the Beavers to further develop into an everyday player. Expect Durango to join Chad Huffman in the Portland outfield. Huffman also has major league potential but isn't likely to crack the Padres opening day roster.
The one other non-roster invite for the Padres is Matt Stairs, who has largely become a bench player. We last saw him in the 2009 World Series as the Phillies DH in Game 2. If he doesn't make the Padres roster following spring training, Stairs will likely announce his retirement, so either way he has no bearing on the Beavers season.
The biggest news for the Beavers will be former San Diego All Star catcher Terry Kennedy as manager, presumably being groomed for a shot at the big league post in the not too distant future.
