The Padres have dealt 33-year old righty reliever Mike Adams to the Rangers for 20-year old lefty starting pitcher Robbie Erlin and 21-year old righty starting pitcher Joe Wieland. Erlin came into this season as the Rangers’ #4 prospect according to Baseball America. Erlin has pitched in 20 games (19 starts) in A+AA-ball this year and he is 8-4 with a 3.34 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. He has only given up 98 hits while whiffing 123 batters in his first 121 1/3 innings in the minors this year, which is impressive. Even more impressive though is the fact that Erlin has only walked 12 batters so far this season. Erlin has now pitched in 51 games (36 starts) in his first three years in the minors and he is 14-7 with 1 save, a 2.74 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. Joe Wieland has pitched in 21 games (20 starts) in A+AA-ball so far this year and he is 10-3 with a 1.80 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. Weiland has only allowed 113 hits while whiffing 132 batters in his first 129 2/3 innings in the minors this year. Like Erlin, Wieland has outstanding control as he has only walked 15 batters so far this year. Wieland has now pitched in 79 games (70 starts) in his first four years in the minors and he is 30-17 with a 3.32 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP.

Mike Adams pitched in 48 games (0 starts) for the Padres this year and he was 3-1 with 1 save, a 1.13 ERA and a 0.73 WHIP. He pitched in 209 games (0 starts) in his four years with the Padres and he was 9-5 with 1 save, a 1.66 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP. Adams was outstanding for the Padres and he is going to be missed. That being said, this was still a very impressive haul for the Padres as Erlin and Wieland are big time prospects.

The Padres have dealt 33-year old righty swinging LF Ryan Ludwick to the Pirates for a player to be named later. Ludwick played in 101 games for the Pirates this year and he was 90 for 378 (.238 avg, .674 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 11 homers, 64 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He played in 160 games in his two years with the Padres and he was 134 for 587 (.228 avg, .659 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 17 homers, 90 RBIs and 1 stolen base. It’s going to be interesting to see how the Padres will score runs now seeing how Ludwick was the only player on the team with more than 6 homers or 36 RBIs. I hope the player to be named later is a solid prospect.

The Padres have placed 29-year old righty starting pitcher Dustin Moseley on the 15-day disabled list with a left shoulder injury that will likely require surgery. Moseley has pitched in 20 games (all starts) for the Padres this year and he is 3-10 with a 3.30 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Petco Park has a way of transforming average and below average pitchers into solid ones. Moseley came into this season working in 80 games (32 starts) in his first five years in the majors and he was 12-11 with a 5.28 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. The Padres hope that Moseley gets back to doing good work when he finally gets healthy.

UPDATE: (8/4/2011) - Dustin Moseley is going to undergo season ending surgery on his left shoulder.

27-year old lefty starting pitcher Clayton Richard underwent season ending shoulder surgery yesterday. Richard pitched in 18 games (all starts) for the Padres this year and he was 5-9 with a 3.88 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. He has now pitched in 63 games (all starts) in his first three years with the Padres and he is 24-20 with a 3.84 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. This was expected when Richard first went on the D.L. but it’s still a big loss for the Padres as he has pitched well since coming over from the White Sox.

The Padres have released 32-year old switch-hitting shortstop Alex Cintron. Cintron has played in 17 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 21 for 60 (.350 avg, .894 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 1 homer and 6 RBIs. It’s interesting to me that a team that just can’t hit would give up on Cintron so quickly with the way he was hitting in AAA.