The Padres have claimed 26-year old righty starter/reliever Radhames Liz off waivers from the Orioles. Liz pitched in 25 games (14 starts) in AA+AAA last season and he was 4-4 with a 4.09 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. Liz also pitched in 2 games (0 starts) for the Orioles last season and he was 0-0 with a 67.50 ERA and a 7.50 WHIP. Liz has now pitched in 28 games (21 starts) in his major league career and he is 6-8 with a 7.50 ERA and a 1.89 WHIP. Liz has allowed 132 hits and he has walked 76 batters in only 110 1/3 innings in his major league career. The Padres obviously have fallen in love with his right arm as he can blaze the ball to the catcher in the high 90’s. It will be up to the coaches to teach Liz how to pitch. This was a good gamble for the Padres.

Bud Black did a solid job as the manager of the Padres last season leading the team to a 75-87 (46.6%) record. It seems to me that Black got his vote(s) from San Diego’s writers. Still, he deserved the recognition because of the improvement the team showed in the second half of the year. He has now been the manager of the Padres for 3 years compiling a 227-260 record (46.6%). Hopefully the front office of the Padres shows patience in allowing Black to remain the manager for a while because he gets the most out of his players.

23-year old switch hitting shortstop Everth Cabrera was tied for 8th in the N.L. Rookie of the Year voting with Dexter Fowler (Rockies), Gerardo Parra (Diamondbacks) and Colby Rasmus (Cardinals). Cabrera played in 103 games for the Padres last season and he was 96 for 377 (.255 avg, .703 OPS) with 59 runs scored, 2 homers, 31 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. Cabrera has come a long way since last winter when the Padres picked him in the Rule 5 Draft. He is penciled in as the starting shortstop for the 2010 season and beyond for the Padres as they really like him.

If the Yankees don’t want to spend top dollar for a starting pitcher over the winter then the Padres is one team they will be interested in calling. The Padres want to move veteran righty starting pitcher Chris Young and the Yankees could offer them Juan Miranda, Mark Melcanon and Edwar Ramirez to get the deal done. That would be a outstanding haul for the Padres. With Adrian Gonzalez likely to be traded over the winter Miranda would step right in to replace him. Melcanon and Ramirez both have live arms so Bud Black would likely turn them both into solid relievers.