Baseball in Fort Wayne

Posts Tagged ‘Sean Kazmar’

With the news that the Padres will release second baseman Tadahito Iguchi and pitcher Brett Tomko to make room for Wade LeBlanc and Matt Antonelli, anyone can see that the Padres are already making plans for next year. This is the latest in a series of moves that have involved bringing minor league talent to the Padres, and many of them have included former Wizards.

I gotta think there will be many more moves in the remaining days of the 2008 season that could spell opportunities for other former Wizards, which should also make for an interesting Spring Training as the prevailing speculation is that the Padres will continue to slash payroll.

As part of a pitch to get Brian Giles to accept a trade to the Red Sox this past week, a Padres executive painted a stark fiscal picture for 2009, saying club owner John Moores might shrink the payroll to $40 million. [SignonSanDiego -August 9, 2008]

GM Kevin Towers denies this claim, but then again, he also hasn’t seen the budget for 2009 yet. Yet, the Padres already field one of the lowest salaried teams in Major League Baseball.

The Padres don’t have any large contracts on the books for ’09; Giles would be their most expensive player at $9MM unless they choose his $3MM buyout.  After that it’s Jake Peavy at $8MM, Khalil Greene at $6.5MM, Chris Young at $4.5MM, and Adrian Gonzalez at $3MM.  By my count they have six arbitration-eligible players, including Josh Bard, Heath Bell, Scott Hairston, and Jody Gerut [MLBTradeRumors.com].

There is also speculation that John Moores’ divorce is a factor that may adversely impact the team.

California is a community property state, which means Becky Moores — the soon-to-be-ex-Mrs.-John — is in play and there already are indications that player payroll will be cut significantly in 2009 (it’s just over $70 million this year). That’s why the Padres already have worked hard to trade Giles and pitcher Greg Maddux this season, positioning themselves for an early start on the payroll-shedding process [CBSSports.com].

So what does this mean for former Wizards who are trying to crack a big league roster? Certainly, the Padres are trying to add by subtracting. There’s the possibility that the Padres may try to move Khalil Greene and his $6.5MM salary, shich might provide a spot for Sean Kazmar, who made his debut just a couple weeks ago. But the rookie is now learning how to play outfield (a la Chase Headley) during this season’s Arizona Fall League. The move could merely be an attempt to get him more at-bats, or it could mean there is nowhere to play Kazmar in the infield.

Kazmar will join the Peoria Saguaros in the AFL with pitchers Greg Burke, Cesar Carillo, Mike Ekstrom, Wilton Lopez, first baseman Kyle Blanks and outfielders Mike Baxter and Chad Huffman. All of them except for Carillo are former Wizards. If Blanks keeps playing the way he has lately, San Diego may have to move him or Adrian Gonzalez or find a place elsewhere on the diamond for one of the two.

Like Kazmar, Brian Joynt, who played third this season with the Wizards before his promotion to Lake Elsinore will see time in the outfield.

Baxter will also get time at an unfamiliar position. The outfielder hit .270 with seven home runs and 47 RBIs at Double-A San Antonio and will get some looks at catcher. This season has seen three different former Wizards serve the backstop role. Luke Carlin and Nick Hundley have seen the most time between the three, which might suggest Colt Morton could be moved to another team during the offseason. the starting catcher, Josh Bard may not be around for 2009 either if the Friars think Carlin and Hundley can do the job.

Longtime closer, Trevor Hoffman has had some troubles while attempting to nail down games this year. There is divided opinion about whether it is time for a change or not. The Portland pitcher who produced the most saves this year, Jared Wells, is now in the Seattle organization (traded earlier this season). That may bring about an opportunity for Greg Burke, who will see action in the AFL and has collected 23 saves at Double-A San Antonio. Lake Elsinore doesn’t have anyone who is ready to fill that void. And while Jackson Quezada collected 27 saves on minimal opportunities in Fort Wayne, that is probably too big of a jump from Low-A to the MLB (but then again, it worked out well for the Royals and Joakim Soria).

All this should make for an interesting winter and 2009 Spring Training. There should be some names that are familiar to Fort Wayne fans on the San Diego Roster come opening day. The best part is that we have the whole month of September to see some of these great former Wizards make the most of their opportunities. Chase Headley, Will Venable, Wade LeBlanc, Sean Kazmar, Josh Geer, Dirk Hayhurst, Matt Antonelli, Nick Hundley have joined Jake Peavy on the parent club roster and maybe some others will soon follow.

When you factor in the former Wizards who are with other organizations, there have been nine former Wizards to debut at the MLB level. This ranks second only to 2002, which saw 11 prospects (including Jake Peavy and Oliver Perez) hit the big leagues. With about a month to go, I am sure we’ll see at least 3-4 more.

I’m predicting we’ll see Dale Thayer (P-Rays), Brett Dowdy (SS-Padres), David Freese (3B-Cardinals) this season.

It wouldn’t be too surprising to also see Jon Link who had 35 saves with the White Sox’s Double-A Birmingham Barons and was named the Southern League’s Top Reliever of 2009. He was one of 15 players, and the only reliever, named to the league’s post-season All-Star team and was the lone Baron selected. He was one save shy of the league saves record. But given the Sox’s playoff race, he’s probably a 2009 debut.

Anyone else have thoughts on the Padres prospective 2009 squad and/or which prospects we’ll see make their MLB debuts this season (whether they are in the Padres’ system any longer or not)?

His unexpected call from Double-A San Antonio resulted in a Major League Debut for former Wizards infielder, Sean Kazmar, Wednesday night.

He was slotted in the San Diego Padres’ lineup batting 8th and playing shortstop.

Kazmar went one-for-two and collected his first career hit on the first pitch that he saw from Brewer’s pitcher, CC Sabathia, in the second inning.

“I think everyone I talked to said I should swing at a first-pitch fastball,” said Kazmar, who was 1-for-2. “The nerves were definitely there. It was very exciting … and very overwhelming. I’m glad I got it out of the way in the first at-bat” [source: mlb.com]

He was lifted for Luis Rodriguez in the fifth inning after his second at-bat when he lined out to second base.

Kazmar is the 68th former Fort Wayne Wizards player to make his MLB debut. He’s the third from the 2005 team; he joins Colt Morton and Chase Headley. He is the sixth former Wizard to debut in 2008; behind Luke Carlin, Jared Wells, Eddie Bonine, Leo Rosales, and Nick Hundley.

With the Wizards in  2004, Kazmar appeared in 5 games as a late season addition. He spent the entire 2005 season with the Wizards and appeared in 125 games where he hit .267 with 10 home runs 48 RBI, and seven stolen bases. He drew 44 walks and collected 469 hits in 469 at-bats.

Photo by Chad Gramling, 2005.

The just turned 24-year-old former Fort Wayne Wizard, Sean Kazmar, is hitting .264 with three homers, 39 RBI and a .333 on-base percentage has made 18 errors in the field with with Double-A San Antonio this season.

Those numbers aren’t exactly what I would call “Big League Watch List” material, but the Padres are short on infield depth and that might just mean an opportunity for Kazmar.

San Diego promoted the Double-A shortstop (and sometimes second baseman) today.  Luis Rodriguez is expected to start this evening’s contest, but he may see some action during the three-game series with Milwaukee.

Until late last season, Kazmar had been used primarily as a second baseman. 2008 marks the first year since being drafted in the 37th round (1112nd overall) of the 2003 draft that he has played short regularly. He started the season by hitting .just 198 over his first 48 games. Then he hit his stride and hit .314 over the next 63 games, including a .368 average over his last 10 games.

With the Wizards in  2004, Kazmar appeared in 5 games as a late season addition. He spent the entire 2005 season with the Wizards and appeared in 125 games where he hit .267 with 10 home runs 48 RBI, and seven stolen bases. He drew 44 walks and collected 469 hits in 469 at-bats.

UPDATE: The Padres/MLB.com have posted an article with quotes from Kazmar: “Kazmar Gets Unexpected Call“:

“He’s the best guy we have to play shortstop,” Padres manager Bud Black said. “He has shown a little bit of bat in the Minor Leagues. We saw him the last couple of springs, and he swung the bat pretty well. He’s a gritty, gutty-type player.”

Photo by Chad Gramling, 2005.