The Padres have released 27-year old righty reliever Mark Worrell. He pitched in 25 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball this season and he was 1-4 with a 5.45 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. Worrell did whiff 34 batters in only 33 innings in the minors so I expect he will get signed by another team soon. His only taste of the majors came in 2008 with the Cardinals for whom he pitched 4 games (0 starts) in which he was 0-1 with a 7.94 ERA and a 2.12 WHIP. The Padres’ bullpen is so deep that they won’t miss Worrell at all.

32-year old righty closer Heath Bell has been solid once again for the Padres in 2010. Bell has pitched in 33 games (0 starts) this season and he is 3-0 with 21 saves, a 1.93 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. In four years with the Padres, Bell has now pitched in 256 games (0 starts) in which he is 21-14 with 65 saves, a 2.63 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. Bell was rumored to be leaving the Padres via trade all last winter but they were smart to keep him. The Padres are 45-30 on the season and a lot of those games have been close ones making the closer very important to the outcome of their contests.

The Padres have acquired 26-year old lefty swinging catcher Kyle Phillips from the Blue Jays for a player to be named later. Phillips has played in 19 games in AAA-ball this year and he is 17 of 66 (.258 avg, .643 OPS) with 9 runs scored and 8 RBIs. He got his first taste of the majors last season with the Jays playing in 5 games in which he was 5 of 18 (.278 avg, .722 OPS) with 1 run scored and 2 RBIs. Phillips will likely go to AAA and get call if something happens to either Yorvit Torrealba or Nick Hundley.

28-year old lefty swinging 1B Adrian Gonzalez is swinging a hot stick despite not having much help in the lineup. Gonzalez has played in 69 games for the Padres this year and he is 78 of 252 (.310 avg, .961 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 15 homers and 47 RBIs. Gonzalez leads the Padres in runs scored, homers and RBIs showing just how dominating he has been this year. No other player on the Padres has more than 7 homers or 25 RBIs. So if the Padres are going to continue to contend this season they are going to need to find at least one more bat to help support Gonzalez in the starting lineup.

The Padres have a nice time share going on behind the plate and they have to be really happy with the production they are getting. 26-year old Nick Hundley and 31-year old Yorvit Torrealba are sharing the time almost evenly which has kept them both fresh this year. Hundley has played in 39 games for the Padres this season and he is 35 of 127 (.276 avg, .792 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 4 homers and 21 RBIs. Hundley has more power while Torrealba knows all of the tricks behind the plate. Torrealba has played in 32 games for the Padres this year and he is 31 of 112 (.277 avg, .708 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 1 homer, 15 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The Padres hope that their pair of catchers keep up the good all around work as the pitching staff appears to like throwing to both of them.