Per the Sun, O's looking at Izturis

[SilentJames]

Would you trade Hayden Penn for Greene? Olson could very easily turn into Penn...

I know we are afraid of Olson becoming Maine, but the fact is he's not a hard thrower and has to rely on his control. And right now his control is off and he may never shake off the stage fright to get it better.

Had Greene had his 2007 #'s, there's no way you could get him for just Olson.

And when you have Liz, Bergesen, Hernandez, Berken and Penn as well as the Big Three behind him, you can afford to take that risk. Olson's upside is likely a #4-5 starter or swingman. Greene while he's 29 is a year removed from being one of the top SS's in baseball.

Would you have traded Jeremy Guthrie for Greene?

Because he could easily become Guthrie as well. We are not really in a position to be trading any pitchers right now considering the situation we are in now.

Especially not for Greene, who is not much of a long-term solution. Odds are he is here for a year and then gone. Then back to square one.

[Sports Guy]

I certainly could live with Izturis more if we get Tex.

Really, I could live with a lot of poor decisions if we add Tex.

[SilentJames]

I certainly could live with Izturis more if we get Tex.

Really, I could live with a lot of poor decisions if we add Tex.

Tex really is the lynch-pin of this offseason. And I have to say it feels good to agree with you for a change SG.

[JTrea81]

The #1 commodity in the sport is young pitching...

I disagree, the #1 commodity in baseball right now is top ML ready position prospects especially middle infielders.

Young pitchers are a crapshoot.

[tennOsfan]

Count me as thankful that we turned down Olson for Greene. Olson can become a decent starting pitcher, and perhaps soon. I'd rather have that than one year of an average shortstop. We can do better, and I bet the Padres wind up getting less.

[Sports Guy]

I disagree, the #1 commodity in baseball right now is top ML ready position prospects especially middle infielders.

Young pitchers are a crapshoot.

You can disagree all you want but you are completely wrong.

And, btw, you keep talking about MI being the hardest to get...That is false.

True SS prospects are tough to get but there are a lot of second base types out there, either guys who play second or guys who need to move from SS.

So, your idea there is false.

[JTrea81]

Would you have traded Jeremy Guthrie for Greene?

Because he could easily become Guthrie as well. We are not really in a position to be trading any pitchers right now considering the situation we are in now.

Especially not for Greene, who is not much of a long-term solution. Odds are he is here for a year and then gone. Then back to square one.

Olson is nowhere near Guthrie. He throws a fastball at 88-90 MPH. Guthrie throws 94-96. Both had location issues, but Guthrie can throw low and away. Olson likes to pitch inside and when you don't have a blazing fastball you'd better have darn good control when you do that.

At some point you've got to take a risk, and there's a possiblity we could lock up Greene for a couple of seasons for a very low price and get an .800+ OPS SS with great defense in return. If that costs us a future #4 starter I can live with that because we've probably got 3-4 #4 starters in the organization.

[SilentJames]

I disagree, the #1 commodity in baseball right now is top ML ready position prospects especially middle infielders.

Young pitchers are a crapshoot.

Then why aren't the Padres able to get rid of Greene?

Why aren't teams beating down the Orioles door for Roberts?

Why do the Pads want to get RID of Greene?

By your logic the Padres are being run by a bunch of dyslexic Chimps.

Pitching is number one because it is such a crapshoot. Olson has minor league credentials and had a rough first run through the majors. And if I had a nickle for every reliable, to very good, major league starter that had a rough season or two at the beginning of their career I could buy the Orioles.

[JGuthrie46]

I can't believe some "fans" actually thought Olson for Greene was a good deal. You're here talking about how horrible Izturis is at batting? Here are Greene's numbers in 2008:

.213BA .260OBP .339SLG 10HRs 35RBIs, I know he only played 105 games but still not very encouraging.

In 2007, he hit: 27HR .254 .291 .468, just look at his on base percentage. The only encouraging aspect I can see to this is his 27 homeruns through 153 games. The only good offensive year he had was wayy back in 2004. It's sure that he's not a good hitter, he might be a gold glove defender but is he worth a 24 year old former 1st rounder who pitched consistently and solidly in the minors? No, we should give Olson more show faith and he'll get the hang of it.

[Sports Guy]

Olson is nowhere near Guthrie. He throws a fastball at 88-90 MPH. Guthrie throws 94-96. Both had location issues, but Guthrie can throw low and away. Olson likes to pitch inside and when you don't have a blazing fastball you'd better have darn good control when you do that.

At some point you've got to take a risk, and there's a possiblity we could lock up Greene for a couple of seasons for a very low price and get an .800+ OPS SS with great defense in return. If that costs us a future #4 starter I can live with that because we've probably got 3-4 #4 starters in the organization.

Olson is/was a much better MiL pitcher than Guthrie was and he did it at a much younger age.

As for Greene and the risk...Why take that risk with a solid young pitcher though?

Why not just let him go somewhere and then sign him as a FA after next year?

[JTrea81]

You can disagree all you want but you are completely wrong.

And, btw, you keep talking about MI being the hardest to get...That is false.

True SS prospects are tough to get but there are a lot of second base types out there, either guys who play second or guys who need to move from SS.

So, your idea there is false.

2B is just as barren in the minors as SS as far as top prospects go.

It's why guys like Roberts and Hardy would be in such demand.

[clapdiddy]

Count me in on being against Olson for Greene. If Greene had put up a .750 OPS, I'd certainly do this deal, but you really don't know what you're going to get from him.

Olson has the chance to be a back of the rotation starter, and that's far more valuable to this team right now.

I would like to have Greene, but I don't want to lose a solid young arm for a guy making that money. I thought this would be more of a salary dump on SD's part anyway. I wouldn't mind us taking on the salary for a year.

[Sports Guy]

2B is just as barren in the minors as SS as far as top prospects go.

It's why guys like Roberts and Hardy would be in such demand.

You are just wrong....Second base, for whatever reason, is like the redheaded step child of the baseball team.

Second baseman don't get that high praise as far as top prospects go but there are many many more second baseman out there than SS...Most of the good SS prospects are really probably better suited for 2nd...Guys like DeJesus, Lillibridge, Donald, etc....they are all probably second baseman.

If we needed to get a second baseman instead of a SS, it wouldn't be difficult at all.

SS is the position that is hard.

But pitching always trumps everything.

[hoosiers]

Nice to see AM looking at so many avenues. I count 8 MLB SSs in the article with all being better than what we had last year.

Olson sounds like an initial asking price for Greene by the Pads. Hopefully, that prices goes down to a lesser pitching prospect of the Berken/Bergesen variety and then it might get interesting. Like Olson, Bergesen and DHernandez have CA roots and might also peak the Pads interest.

I have no issue with Izturis - in the absence of a quality long term opportunity, take a cheap, superior defensive SS with a mediocre bat.

[Mackus]

I certainly could live with Izturis more if we get Tex.

Really, I could live with a lot of poor decisions if we add Tex.

I don't even really think Izturis is a poor decision. Its not a great move, or even a good one, but its a way to improve SS easily. His defense will be at Castro's level while his offense won't be at the 560 OPS our SS were at last year. It won't be good offense, but bad is better than what we had last year.

I'd prefer trading for Greene (obviously not for Olson though), but there is a pretty decent chance (although less than 50/50) that Izturis will be better than Greene next year, and obviously he's cheaper and wouldn't cost us any talent.