Eaton to depart as Padres' turnover continues

By: BRIAN HIRO - Staff Writer | Tuesday, December 20, 2005 11:30 PM PST ∞

SAN DIEGO ---- The long-discussed trade of Adam Eaton to the Texas Rangers came to fruition Tuesday, when the Padres agreed to unload their No. 2 starter in a six-player deal that will significantly alter the look of their 2006 roster.

The Padres will send Eaton, reliever Akinori Otsuka and minor-league catcher Billy Killian to the Rangers for pitcher Chris Young, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and outfielder Terrmel Sledge. The trade, which was confirmed by a club source, will not be official until the players pass physicals.

Eaton is scheduled to fly to Dallas today for his exam, but an announcement could be delayed because Otsuka is in his native Japan.

"I'm looking forward to the challenge of something new," Eaton said by phone Tuesday. "I expect good things to happen."

The Padres had discussed trading Eaton to the Rangers since the general manager meetings in early November, with Gonzalez, catcher Gerald Laird and outfielders Kevin Mench and Laynce Nix among their original targets.

According to reports, earlier talks broke off when Texas balked at including Laird in the deal.

But the teams revisited the trade, with different players involved, in part because the Padres were wary of receiving nothing in return for Eaton, who could be a free agent after next season. Eligible for salary arbitration this winter, the 28-year-old right-hander was set to be offered a one-year contract by the Padres after negotiations on a long-term deal quickly died.

Eaton said last Saturday that his agent and the Padres were $6 to $8 million apart on the terms of a three-year pact, leading him to question how much the club valued his services. He also ripped the club over what he perceived as unfair treatment of free agents Trevor Hoffman and Brian Giles, calling it "disgusting."

Eaton was less critical when he spoke with Padres GM Kevin Towers early Tuesday afternoon, saying he would be open to returning to San Diego under the right circumstances.

"They had to do what was best for the team now and in the future, and I'm not in that plan," said Eaton, who went 11-5 with a 4.27 ERA last season. "They couldn't afford what it was going to take to keep me. I don't have any ill feelings. They're just trying to run a business.

"But I'd like to think (Towers) already regrets it. My biased opinion is that the Padres lost out when they traded me."

Towers declined to comment on the trade until it's official.

The Padres will save a considerable amount of money in the transaction.

Eaton made $3.2 million in 2005, the second season of a two-year contract, and stands to be awarded about $5 million in arbitration. Otsuka is owed $1.75 million in 2006 after his option was exercised on Nov. 8.

The Padres will pay Young $500,000 next season and $600,000 in 2007 as part of a three-year, $1.5 million deal that includes an option for ë08. Gonzalez and Sledge both are protected players with fewer than three years of service time.

Young, 29, a towering 6-foot-10 right-hander, will slide into Eaton's spot in the Padres' rotation, which features Jake Peavy, Woody Williams, Chan Ho Park and potentially youngsters Clay Hensley or Tim Stauffer. Young enjoyed production similar to Eaton last season, going 12-7 with a 4.26 ERA in 164 2/3 innings as the Rangers' No. 2 starter behind Kenny Rogers. He's a former baseball and basketball star at Princeton.

Gonzalez, 23, could share time at first base with Ryan Klesko, another left-handed slugger. The CIF Player of the Year as a senior at Chula Vista's Eastlake High in 2000, Gonzalez was the first overall pick of that year's draft, by the Florida Marlins.

Gonzalez has yet to break through in the major leagues, his path blocked by the presence of Texas All-Star first baseman Mark Teixeira. He batted .227 with six home runs and 17 RBIs for the Rangers last season and .338 with 18 homers and 65 RBIs for their Triple-A affiliate at Oklahoma City.

Sledge, 28, will probably be an outfield reserve unless he pushes Dave Roberts for the job in left. He missed most of last season with Washington because of hamstring surgery, but as a rookie in 2004 hit .269 with 15 homers and 62 RBIs for the Montreal Expos. The Rangers acquired him from Washington in the recent trade of Alfonso Soriano.

Otsuka, who will turn 34 next month, was viewed as expendable after the re-signing of closer Hoffman and the emergence of Scott Linebrink as an elite setup man. Linebrink took over eighth-inning duty from Otsuka, who slipped to 2-8 with a 3.59 ERA last season after going 7-2 with a 1.75 ERA as a rookie in 2004.

Killian, 19, was the Padres' third-round pick in 2004 but found himself stuck behind George Kottaras and Colt Morton on the organization's catching ladder. Killian finished last season with Short-A Eugene, batting .189 in 37 at-bats.

Eaton never quite lived up to the promise he brought to San Diego in 1999 as a former first-round pick of the Philadelphia Phillies who was part of the trade for Andy Ashby. He missed much of 2001-02 because of Tommy John elbow surgery, then went a combined 20-26 over the next two seasons.

Last year, he started 9-1 and was on track for his first invitation to the All-Star Game before missing two months with a finger injury suffered June 15 at Detroit.

Eaton on Tuesday bid a painful farewell over the phone to Peavy, his best friend on the Padres, but also spoke with an excited Phil Nevin, a former Padres teammate who was traded to Texas in July.

His chief concern is leaving the pitcher's paradise of Petco Park for Arlington's Ameriquest Field, where hitters thrive.

"(Texas GM Jon Daniels) said it's a hitter's park, but also a park where some pitchers have had success," Eaton said. "Hopefully, I can make them friendly confines."

Meantime, the Padres unexpectedly shook up their catching situation, declining to tender Miguel Olivo a contract Tuesday night and signing David Ross to a nonguaranteed one-year deal for $500,000. Towers said Olivo, who was pegged to platoon with Doug Mirabelli behind the plate, is "doubtful" to return.

"We were a little discouraged by Olivo's play in the Dominican (this fall)," Towers said of the catcher, who hit .304 with four homers and 16 RBIs in place of an injured Ramon Hernandez late last season. "And he was adamant about a guaranteed one-year deal."

The Padres also didn't tender contracts to pitchers Craig Breslow and Dewon Brazelton, although Towers said the team has already been in contact with both players about bringing them back.

Towers also said the Padres remain in negotiations with free-agent pitcher Pedro Astacio, who declined arbitration Monday, and that they're interested in signing a reliever to help replace Otsuka.

Contact staff writer Brian Hiro at b_hiro@hotmail.com.