Padres Officially Sign Garrett Richards, Carlos Asuaje DFA’d

In a move announced a few weeks ago, the Padres have thrown the leftovers from the first hot stove cooking into the microwave and rewarmed some news for baseball-starved and transaction-hungry fans.

As previously reported, Garrett Richards has been signed to a two year $15MM deal of which the Padres will only get one year (hopefully) of use from. Richards is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery performed last June and will most likely not see any action this season. Many have touted this deal as a gamble for the Padres; while healthy, Garrett has flashed top-of-the-rotation ability that could serve the team well if their contention window begins to open.

With the addition of Richards to the 40 man comes a subtraction, and the chaff from this deal comes in the form of Carlos Asuaje. Asuaje started last season with the major league squad but could not keep up at the major league level despite impressive numbers in El Paso. The AAAA-player tag appears to become more apt for the diminutive second baseman who earned both plaudits for admitting his own shortcomings via Twitter and derision for seemingly being more focused on his burgeoning e-gaming business. Carlos is currently playing winter ball with the Leones de Escogido in the Dominican Republic.

The arrival of Luis Urias at the cornerstone and the signing of Greg Garcia as a utility infielder made Carlos’ roster spot tenuous at best. Teams may look at Asuaje’s platoon split against righties and take a flyer for a utility role, though one can also see Carlos being outrighted to El Paso to provide depth for the team should no takers come calling.