According to a Nicaraguan newspaper (link is in Spanish) Vicente Padilla will be scouted by Rene Gayo and the Pittsburgh Pirates next week, possibly during his next start down in Nicaragua. Padilla pitched just nine relief games this past season for the Los Angeles Dodgers before going on the DL with a forearm injury, then extending the DL stay due to a neck injury which required surgery. Padilla also missed part of spring training and the beginning of the season due to injury.
Padilla is 34 years old and has pitched in the majors since 1999 compiling a 104-90 4.31 record in 237 starts and 93 relief appearances. In 2010 for the Dodgers he had a 6-5 4.07 record in 16 starts with a 1.08 WHIP and 84 strikeouts in 95 innings. In two starts in the Nicaragua based professional league, he has thrown 13 scoreless innings, allowing seven hits and one walk while striking out 11 batters. He fastball has been clocked consistently at 94 mph and he has shown great control on all of his pitches. He is quoted in the article as saying he has experienced no discomfort in either his forearm or neck during two starts.
According to the article, he has expressed interest in signing with the Pirates to help “re-launch” his career.
UPDATE: According to Rob Biertempfel, a source with the Pirates has denied the report from the Nicaraguan newspaper and the quotes from Padilla’s agent about scouting him this week. The Pirates are currently holding meetings in Bradenton that include Rene Gayo and it is possible their plans have changed since Thursday afternoon when the original article ran. We will update this post if anything changes.
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball.
When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.
Padilla pitched pretty well last year with the Dodgers and it was a surprise when they took him out of the rotation to pitch in relief. Then he got hurt.
If he’s cheap and definitely healthy, what’s to lose in signing him?
Washed up AND cheap? Sounds like a deal.
Why waste the time on a guy who has never been anything more than a #3 starter at best, and that career best was about 10 years ago, while the player hasn’t been consistantly healthy for a full season in years. Sounds very Piratey to me.
If his fastball really is consistent at 94 and he really is healthy, I’d take a shot on him.
Old guys who had past success can be surprising sometimes. Look at how excellent Bartolo Colon pitched last year for the Yankees in a very tough division to pitch in. He was their best pitcher for a while. Interestingly, Colon is a free agent. Why don’t the Pirates try Colon?
Anyone who has watched the Pirates for many years ought to remember them taking Rick Reuschel off the out-of-work scrap heap and ending up with an ace number 1 starter. I think he even won 20 games for the Giants after he left the Pirates, and he was in his 40’s.
Good Ol’ Rick Reuschel!!! he was the man for us…I take a shot on Padilla he is better then most of what we have and he is a veteran. Sure he has had some injuries recently but he isn’t what I would label as “injury prone” like Bedard. It’s a high reward/low risk signing if we get him….