PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) - An offseason bullpen shuffle that began with Trevor Hoffman's departure continued Wednesday when the San Diego Padres acquired Edward Mujica from the Cleveland Indians.
The hard-throwing right-hander, who was out of options, was acquired for cash or a player to be named. The Padres waived left-hander Justin Hampson to make room for Mujica, who was 3-2 with a 6.75 ERA in 33 outings with Cleveland in 2008.The move was the latest in a series of transactions general manager Kevin Towers has made this spring in order to fill the Padres' bullpen, which will have five new faces on opening day.
The most notable departure is Hoffman, baseball's all-time saves leader, who signed a one-year deal with the Milwaukee Brewers in January after spending 16 seasons with the Padres.
During the past month, the Padres have also acquired Eulogio De La Cruz in a trade with the Florida Marlins and claimed Duaner Sanchez off waivers from the New York Mets. The team also acquired Luke Gregerson from the St. Louis Cardinals to complete a December trade for Khalil Greene.
"Three weeks ago we weren't too comfortable with our pen," Towers said. "That's why we went out searching for some arms. But I think we've gotten some pretty good ones since. Only time will tell, but I like our repertoire in the pen."
Other than moving Heath Bell to closer, Towers and manager Bud Black said no pitcher has been identified for any late-innings roles. But Towers said that Sanchez, Cla Meredith and Edwin Moreno would get the first chance at the seventh and eighth inning jobs.
The Padres are excited by what Sanchez, who was waived by the New York Mets in mid-March, has shown in his past two outings. The Mets cut Sanchez because they saw decreased velocity and weren't sure he was recovered from shoulder surgery after he was involved in a 2006 cab accident. But in the past week, Sanchez displayed good secondary pitches and hit 91 mph on a radar gun on Tuesday night.
Meredith has also increased his velocity this spring and is featuring an improved slider, while Moreno, a career minor leaguer, has a 0.66 ERA through 13 2-3 innings.
"Kevin has done a good job of piecing the bullpen together," Padres ace Jake Peavy said.
The Padres entered the spring hoping one of a handful of relievers, including Chris Britton, a nonroster invitee, and Mark Worrell, who came over in the Greene trade, would emerge as options. But Britton was optioned to the minors after four appearances and Worrell had season-ending reconstructive elbow surgery.
"I knew we didn't have a bunch of locks and we had to keep an open mind," Towers said.
The 24-year-old Mujica split the 2008 season between Cleveland and Triple-A Buffalo.
Mujica is 3-3 with 6.04 ERA with 46 strikeouts in 53 relief outings for Cleveland (2006-08). He was signed by the Indians as a undrafted free agent on October 22, 2001.
Mujica is 0-2 with an 8.10 ERA in nine spring training appearances.
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