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The Padres made another preemptive roster strike with still a decent amount of time to go before the roster cut down date. Five days after the World Series, every team needs to trim its roster down to 40 players. The Padres were at 43 going into today and have designated lefty relievers Tommy Layne and Colt Hynes for assigned in order to get down to 41. The corresponding moves of reinstating Joe Wieland and Cory Luebke from the 60 day DL were just formalities. Five days after the World Series ends, all players on the 60 day DL must be reinstated to the active roster.
Tommy Layne had his 15 minutes of fame back in 2012 when he was whiffing guys left and right. In his debut against the Atlanta Braves on August 14, 2012 he struck out the side. He also struck out the heart of the order (Matt Kemp, Adrian Gonzalez and Hanley Ramirez) against the Dodgers in the 10th inning on September 4, 2012 and got his first win. He was unable duplicate such success in 2013 and rode the shuttle from Tucson to San Diego a few times as a result. By the end of the year he was considered expendable.
Colt Hynes was a 31st round pick for the Padres in 2007. He meandered through the Padres' minor leagues for seven season before finally breaking through in 2013. His lights out, high strikeout performances in San Antonio and Tucson caught the eye of the Padres brass who decided the 28 year old deserved a shot. Despite the feel good story, Hynes was not able to replicate his minor league success in the majors and was torched on many occasions.
Both players may stick around in the Padres organization. Being designated for assignment just means they are off the active roster and can be claimed by another other team that is willing to put them on their active roster. However, it is likely that no one will claim either. In that case they may be back in Padres uniforms come Spring Training and have a shot to earn another chance.
Joe Wieland and Cory Luebke still face uphill battles coming back from Tommy John surgeries and this move says nothing about their progress, unfortunately.
The Padres still have one move to make before the aforementioned deadline. Yasmani Grandal needs to be reinstated from the 60 day DL and so someone else must get removed off the roster. This could possible be another player designated for a assignment or it could be someone like Clayton Richard or Jesus Guzman being non-tendered and made a free agent. We shall see.