--RHP Clay Hensley, who had been eligible for arbitration, was non-tendered by the Padres. He becomes a free agent after finishing 1-2 with a 5.31 ERA in 32 games (one start) this year.
--RHP Charlie Haeger, hit hard in four appearances for the Padres this year, was non-tendered. He allowed 10 runs (eight earned) in 4 1/3 innings for San Diego after being acquired from the Chicago White Sox. --If RHP Jake Peavy can't be traded, where does it leave RHP Trevor Hoffman? As the Padres-Cubs talks regarding Peavy neared completion on the first two days of the winter meetings, Padres officials let it be known that there might be money available to re-sign the free agent closer if Peavy's $11 million salary for 2009 were wiped from the books. Now that the Cubs have backed out of the Peavy deal, the money might not be there to keep the all-time saves leader.
--If Peavy can't be traded, the Padres are likely to trim elsewhere. As it stands now, four players -- Peavy, RF Brian Giles, 1B Adrian Gonzalez and RHP Chris Young -- will make $27.5 million in 2009. And the Padres want to keep the payroll to around $40 million. Best bets to go are either Giles (who, like Peavy, has full no-trade powers), OF Jody Gerut (who is arbitration-eligible) or OF Scott Hairston (who has drawn interest from the Phillies). However, neither Gerut nor Hairston would represent that much of a salary dump. Giles? That's another $9 million question.
--Without a shortstop since the trade of Khalil Greene to the Cardinals, the Padres added SS Everth Cabrera in the Rule 5 draft. The Padres picked Cabrera, 22, from the Rockies organization. Cabrera spent the entire 2008 season with low Class A Ashville, hitting .284 with 25 doubles, six triples and six homers in 479 at-bats. He led the South Atlantic League with 73 steals (in 89 attempts) in 121 games. The Padres' director of Latin American scouting, Felix Feliz, originally signed the 5-foot-8, 160-pound Cabrera for the Rockies out of Nicaragua. Padres director of international scouting Randy Smith said of Cabrera: "He's a good athlete. He can run and pick and he's improving as a hitter."
--Cabrera won't be the only shortstop the Padres bring to spring training. General manager Kevin Towers has said the club likely would try to acquire a shortstop through trade. And the Padres are said to be interested in 42-year-old Omar Vizquel, who played for the Giants in 2008. Vizquel lives in San Diego County.
--RHP Ivan Nova, 21, was acquired by the Padres in the second round of the Rule 5 draft. Nova was 8-13 with a 4.36 ERA in 26 games (24 starts) for the Yankees' high Class A Tampa team last season. He struck out 109 with 46 walks in 148 2/3 innings. Nova had been in the Yankees system since being signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2004.
--The Padres lost two players in the Triple-AAA phase of the Rule 5 draft -- OF Javis Diaz (.253 with four homers and 37 RBI in 104 games with Single-A Lake Elsinore) to the Phillies and RHP John Madden (2-3, 3.88 ERA with Lake Elsinore) to the Yankees.
BY THE NUMBERS: 39 -- Players on the Padres' 40-man roster after the Rule 5 draft acquisitions of SS Everth Cabrera and RHP Ivan Nova.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I don't know what it means. Nor do I know where we go from here. Jake was excited about the Cubs." -- Barry Axelrod, the agent for Jake Peavy, on the Cubs pulling out of trade talks for the 2007 Cy Young Award winner at the 11th hour.
