The Padres have signed 26-year old righty swinging 1B Jesus Guzman to a minor league deal. Guzman played in 125 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 143 of 445 (.321 avg, .886 OPS) with 66 runs scored, 18 homers, 72 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. His only major league experience came with the Giants in 2009. In 2009, Guzman played in 12 games for the Giants in which he was 5 of 20 (.250 avg, .500 OPS) without any runs scored or RBIs. Guzman will get a shot to win a bench job next spring.

33-year old righty reliever Heath Bell and 22-year old righty starter Mat Latos tied for 8th in the N.L. Cy Young Award voting. Bell pitched in 67 games (0 starts) for the Padres last season and he was 6-1 with 47 saves, a 1.93 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. Bell has now pitched in 371 games (0 starts) in his 7 years in the majors and he is 25-20 with 91 saves, a 3.16 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. This is quite an honor for Bell as Brian Wilson (7th) was the only other reliever in the N.L. to even get a vote for this award.

Mat Latos might get one of these awards in the near future as he’s downright nasty. Latos pitched in 31 games (all starts) for the Padres last season and he was 14-10 with a 2.92 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. He has now pitched in 41 games (all starts) in parts of two years with the Padres and he is 18-15 with a 3.29 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. Latos is going to be a force for the Padres for quite a while.

UPDATE: (12/2/2010) - Heath Bell also tied for 25th in the voting for the N.L. MVP Award with outfielder Corey Hart of the Brewers and starting pitcher Josh Johnson of the Marlins.

Padres’ manager Bud Black won the National League Manager of the Year Award over Dusty Baker by one lone vote. Black deserved to win this award as no one picked his team to contend before the year started. He led the Padres to a 90-72 record (54.6%) and they weren’t eliminated from the playoffs until the year’s last day. Black now has a career record of 317-332 (48.8%) for the Padres in his four years with them. Look for Black to coach his team up again next season.

The Padres have lost 26-year old righty swinging 2B/SS Sean Kazmar on waivers to the Mariners. Kazmar played in 130 games in AAA-ball last season for the Padres and he was 137 of 499 (.275 avg, .707 OPS) with 70 runs scored, 8 homers, 53 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Kazmar’s only experience with the Padres came in 2008. In 2008, Kazmar played in 19 games for the Padres and he was 8 of 39 (.205 avg, .520 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 0 homers and 2 RBIs. The Padres shouldn’t miss him too much.

The Padres have acquired 23-year old righty swinging CF Cameron Maybin from the Florida Marlins for 26-year old righty reliever Edwin Mujica and 24-year old righty reliever Ryan Webb. Maybin played in 82 games for the Marlins last season and he was 68 of 291 (.234 avg, .663 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 8 homers, 28 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Maybin has now played in 168 games in parts of four years in the majors and he is 135 of 548 (.246 avg, .692 OPS) with 93 runs scored, 13 homers, 45 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. He does have one major weakness as he has whiffed 172 times so far in his career. Maybin has a huge upside and he will likely be the Padres’ starting CF in 2011 and beyond. Edwin Mujica pitched in 59 games (0 starts) for the Padres last season and he was 2-1 with a 3.62 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. He pitched in 126 games (4 starts) in his two years with the Padres and he was 5-6 with 2 saves, a 3.80 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. Ryan Webb pitched in 54 games (0 starts) for the Padres last season and he was 3-1 with a 2.90 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. In two years with the Padres, Webb pitched in 82 games (0 starts) in which he was 5-2 with a 3.19 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. I like this trade a lot for the Padres as Maybin has a huge upside while Webb & Mujica are replaceable.