Mike Cameron has been suspended for the first 25 games of the 2008 season after testing positive for a banned stimulant. This will hurt his free agency which might keep the Padres in the race for his services because they will be cheaper than they would have been. Cameron played in 151 games last season for the Padres and he was 138 for 571 (.242 avg, .769 OPS) with 88 runs scored, 21 homers, 78 RBIs and 18 stolen bases.

The Padres have claimed 24-year old righty Mauro Zarate off waivers from the Marlins. He pitched in 5 games for the Marlins this season and he was 0-0 with a 10.80 ERA and a 2.40 WHIP. But, it was his work in the minor leagues that caught the Padres eyes. Zarate pitched in 56 games in three levels of the minors and he was 4-3 with 2 saves, a 2.10 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. Zarate is a fly ball pitcher so he could have some success at Petco Park.

The Padres decided one year of Marcus Giles was more than enough as they cut him loose. Giles played in 116 games last season for the Padres and he was 96 of 420 (.229 avg, .621 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 4 homers, 39 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Giles will have a hard time finding a team that will let him compete for a starting job after his pathetic performance of last season for the Padres. We’ll see how Brian Giles responds to his brother getting the axe in San Diego.

Greg Maddux loves pitching at Petco Park because of it’s huge field that makes it a great pitcher’s park. He keeps moving up the all-time lists in major league history in a lot of statistical categories as he continues to defy age. Maddux has now pitched in 711 games (707 starts) in his major league career and he’s now 347-214 with a 3.11 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Maddux has now pitched 4814.1 innings and he’s allowed 4,522 hits, walked 969 batters and whiffed 3,273 batters. He’s piled up those impressive numbers by having pinpoint control as he’s only walked 1.81 batters per 9 innings in his career and that has made up for his lack of dominant stuff. He’s looks like he would be your math or science teacher in school….but in reality….he’s one of the greatest pitchers of all-time.

The Padres have released outfielder Brady Clark and they have claimed reserve infielder Luis Rodriguez off waivers from the Twins.  Clark did a solid job for the Padres down the stretch when injuries decimated the outfield.  He played in 21 games for the Padres and he was 15 for 49 (.306 avg, .812 OPS) with 6 runs scored and 6 RBIs. 

Luis Rodriguez played in 68 games last season for the Twins and he was 34 for 155 (.219 avg, .584 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 2 homers and 12 RBIs.  He has now played in 206 games in his career and he is 108 of 445 (.243 avg, .650 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 6 homers and 38 RBIs.