Yesterday, Jon Heyman sent out a simple tweet that had to do with the San Diego Padres’ possible offseason plans. Normally the Padres’ offseason plans ranks about as low as you can get on my MLB Things of Interest scale, but this one was different; this news not only got my attention, but it became a stark reminder that we may be saying goodbye to an all-time Angels player.
The Padres, according to Heyman, are interested in picking up some cheap starting arms (as evidenced by their acquisition of Jhoulys Chacin), and one of those arms they have their eyes on is our very own Jered Weaver. All of a sudden, the cruelty of the free agent season rears it’s ugly head.
jered weaver is another veteran on the padres' list of pitching possibilities. also peavy, as we know.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 21, 2016
The rotation for 2017, as of right now, seems pretty stocked up. You’ve got Garrett Richards, Ricky Nolasco, Tyler Skaggs, Matt Shoemaker, as well as recent pickups Jesse Chavez and John Lamb, or the young upstart Alex Meyer. That’s not to mention a few other minor league arms, like Vicente Campos or Nate Smith.
There are so many arms, that it’s tough to see the Angels bringing back Jered Weaver, who is currently without a deal, after seeing his declining stuff in 2016, coupled with the injury risk. In late September, I pondered if we’d seen the last of Weaver in an Angels uniform. Seeing the Padres may be interested in him brought all of those feelings back.
This could be the coal in our stockings, having to say goodbye to Jered Weaver. Unless the team decides to float him a one year deal, I guess, but if they did, I’d probably be happy for Weaver, but sad for the team. That’s the tough part to swallow...realizing that letting Weaver go IS the best thing to do, most likely.
He’s been nothing short of a fiery, intense competitor who always left everything he had on the mound. He would have done anything to help the Angels win, or to see his teammates succeed. And on top of all that, he had some stretches where he was just a downright, nasty, upper-tier MLB ace pitcher.
I’m not entirely ready to think of him as gone from the Halos, but these trade rumors were the kick in the pants I needed to prepare myself for when that time does indeed come.