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Giles-Kendall trade seems to be a matter of when, not if
It also would be one of the most controversial deals in franchise history, given the popularity of the two Pirates players.
Still, it seems like a foregone conclusion that Giles and Kendall will be dealt to their hometown Padres.
The lingering questions are when the trade will happen, how much it will cost the Pirates and exactly who they will get in return?
"If it's going to happen, it's going to happen soon," a person close to the negotiations said Monday afternoon. "If not, it might just die in the waters."
Reports out of San Diego suggest the Padres are in no rush to make the trade until the offseason. But by making a deal now, the last-place Padres would have almost two months to rekindle fan interest and build momentum heading into their inaugural season at Petco Park.
The Padres covet Giles, who is batting .305 with 13 homers and 62 RBI in 86 games. For the right price, they are willing to take on Kendall, who is batting .326 over his past 54 games and is batting .301 with four homers and 39 RBI in 101 games.
The budget-conscious Pirates are anxious to get a deal completed because it would reduce financial losses for this season, provide payroll flexibility for 2004 and add some young major league-ready players to their roster.
The two teams were unable to reach a deal last week before the Thursday trading deadline. But even though the complex waiver-wire process has entered the equation, that stumbling block isn't considered to be a hindrance to the deal.
The first group of players clears waivers today at 2 p.m., and it's possible the Pirates could announce the deal during their three-game series against the San Francisco Giants. Others familiar with the negotiations think it might take a few days to finalize the trade and agree on how much each party will pay on Kendall's contract.
When talks intensified last month, the Pirates agreed to pay $10 million of the $42 million owed to Kendall over the next four seasons. In the past week, the team has upped the ante and is believed to be willing to pay as much as $20 million to cement the deal.
Kendall's agent, Dan Lozano, said yesterday that he had not spoken with Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield since before the trading deadline. Kendall, who has a blanket no-trade clause in his contract, would have to approve any trade, although he almost certainly would agree to any deal that would send him back to his West Coast roots.
To date, the Padres have not asked Kendall to defer any more money on his contract. Kendall already has deferred $1 million and will defer $2 million over the next four years.
Padres general manager Kevin Towers and assistant Fred Uhlman Jr. accompanied their team to Pittsburgh last week for the three-game series at PNC Park. When a deal could not be reached before the 4 p.m. non-waiver deadline Thursday, Towers' lieutenant remained in Pittsburgh an extra day to continue negotiations.
Indications are that over the weekend the two sides agreed on the players the Pirates would get in return: veteran right-handed pitcher Kevin Jarvis, promising left-hander Oliver Perez, Class AAA outfielder Xavier Nady and a minor-league pitcher.
Still, there appears to be some unwillingness on the Padres' part to give up Perez, who doesn't turn 22 until the middle of the month.
Perez struck out a career-high 13 batters Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies and had his fastball clocked at 97 mph. Perez has a 2.37 ERA over his past three games but has been erratic throughout his sophomore season, going 4-4 with a 4.98 ERA. He also spent six weeks at Class AAA Portland before rejoining the Padres on June 13.
The Pirates have seen Perez at his worst. He lasted a career-low three innings against them April 30 and walked a career-high seven batters in a rematch last Tuesday night.
But Perez has a high ceiling -- he struck out 94 batters in 90 innings last year as a rookie -- and has been compared to Florida Marlins left-handed sensation Dontrelle Willis.
"They're similar-type pitchers, and it wouldn't surprise me to see Ollie run off a streak like that," Padres manager Bruce Bochy told the San Diego Union-Tribune. "Without question, this guy has a chance to be special."
In Jarvis, the Pirates would be getting an injury-prone, 34-year-old pitcher who is due $4.75 million next season. Jarvis won a career-high 12 games for the Padres in 2001, but he was limited to seven starts last year before injuring his right elbow and undergoing season-ending surgery in July.
Jarvis began this season on the disabled list with a right-elbow strain and didn't begin pitching for the Padres until June 13. He is 4-3 with a 4.26 ERA in nine starts, going 4-0 with a 2.20 ERA in July before his winning streak was stopped Friday night in Philadelphia.
The Pirates haven't announced their starting pitcher for Friday night's game in Colorado. If the trade is completed in time, either Perez or Jarvis could make that start, a move that would send Brian Meadows back to the bullpen. By adding both pitchers to the staff, the Pirates also could return Salomon Torres to the bullpen.
Nady is a 24-year-old right-handed hitting outfielder who was optioned to Portland on July 23 after batting .253 with seven homers and 31 RBI in 93 games with the Padres. He has appeared in 10 games with Portland, going 11 for 39 with one homer and seven RBI.
Nady was a two-time All-American selection at California, setting the school record for home runs, RBI and total bases and setting a Pacific-10 record with a .729 slugging percentage (a mark previously held by Mark McGwire).
Nady would take over Giles' outfield spot. If the trade is completed, that is.
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