The Padres have signed 28-year old righty swinging 2B/OF Chris Burke to a minor league deal. He played in 86 games for the D-Backs last season and he was 32 for 165 (.194 avg, .583 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 2 homers, 12 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Burke has now played in 445 games in his major league career in which he is 286 for 1,185 (.241 avg, .681 OPS) with 168 runs scored, 22 homers, 106 RBIs and 36 stolen bases. Burke will have a good chance of making the Padres as a reserve player in 2009.

The Padres have re-signed 28-year old righty starting pitcher Mark Prior to a minor league contract. Prior did not pitch last season due to injury. He has now pitched in 106 games (all starts) in his major league career and he is 42-29 with a 3.51 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. He has whiffed 757 batters in 657 career innings in the majors which shows what kind of stuff he has when he is healthy. This was worth the risk.

The Padres have claimed 23-year old righty Jae-Kuk Ryu off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays. Ryu pitched in 1 game (0 starts) for the Rays last season and he was 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.75 WHIP. Ryu has now pitched in 9 games (5 starts) in his major league career and he is 1-3 with a 7.49 ERA and a 1.82 WHIP. Ryu has potential so this was a good risk for the Padres and they might have something here.

The Padres have claimed 26-year old righty starting pitcher Virgil Vasquez off waivers from the Boston Red Sox. Vasquez started 27 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 12-12 with a 4.81 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. He has also pitched in 5 games (3 starts) in his major league career in which he is 0-1 with a 8.64 ERA and a 1.92 WHIP. This was a good low risk/high reward move for the Padres as Vasquez was once a very highly thought of prospect in the system of the Detroit Tigers.

UPDATE: The Padres have designated Vasquez for assignment but they hope he will clear waivers and stay with the team.

UPDATE II: The Padres have lost Vasquez on waivers to the Pirates.

The San Diego Padres have signed 28-year old righty Kevin Correia and 25-year old righty reliever Oneli Perez to minor league contracts. Correia pitched in 25 games (19 starts) with the Giants last season and he was 3-8 with a 6.05 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP. He has now pitched in 170 games (46 starts) in his major league career and he is 14-22 with a 4.59 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. Look for Correia to possibly win a spot in the starting rotation for the Padres in 2009. Oneli Perez pitched in 38 games (1 start) in AA + AAA ball last season and he was 2-3 with 2 saves, a 5.93 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP. The fact that Perez whiffed 76 batters in 60.2 innings in the minors last season which definately caught the Padres’ eyes.