Edmonds Jettisoned

Jim Edmonds has been jettisoned from the Friars, marking the first of will likely be many moved intended to right a listing ship. The Padres front office had hoped that Edmonds would be a stop gap in center field for the 2008 season, so much so they agreed to take on his $6M salary, which they must now eat. In 103 plate appearances, Edmonds managed an on base percentage of just .265, lower than several teammate's batting average. His shoddy play in center proved a major liability for a team relying on its pitching to keep games close. In particular, his tendency to drift after catchable balls rather than rely on sound fundamental outfielding led to several catchable balls falling in for extra bases.

Replacing Edmonds will be Jody Gerut, who broke the season with the big club before being sent down to make room for Edmonds, who was coming off the disabled list. At eight years younger than Edmonds, Gerut offers a fresh set of legs (even though he is rebounding from knee surgery himself). He has posted a .952 OPS at AAA Portland with 4 stolen bases in 5 attempts, while mostly manning right field, with a few games in center under his belt. It is unclear how Bud Black intends to leverage Gerut, but one would have to assume that center or left field will become his position to lose.