The Padres have designated 27-year old righty swinging catcher Chris Stewart for assignment. Stewart played in 2 games for the Padres this year but he didn’t get any ABs. Stewart also played in 85 games in AAA-ball for the Padres this year and he was 66 of 266 (.248 avg, .731 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 7 homers and 39 RBIs. No loss here for the Padres as they like the catchers they have at the major league level.

The Padres have claimed 27-year old righty swinging infielder Jarrett Hoffpauir off waivers from the Blue Jays. He played in 13 games for the Blue Jays this year and he was 7 of 34 (.206 avg, .485 OPS) with 1 run scored. Hoffpauir has now played in 21 games in his major league career and he is 10 of 46 (.217 avg, .590 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs. Hoffpauir has been a solid hitter in his minor league career and the Padres are looking for offense wherever they can find it so I like this low risk move for them.

The Padres have declined 31-year old righty starting pitcher Chris Young’s option for the 2011 season valued at $8.5 million bucks. Young started 4 games for the Padres this year and he was 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. In his four years with the Padres, Young started 97 games in which he was 33-25 with a 3.60 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Young was good for the Padres when healthy but he just wasn’t dependable enough for the team to justify paying him big bucks.