Adrian Gonzalez

With the Winter Meetings just around the corner, the San Diego Padres are in a position to possibly make a few moves to turn this team into a contender in the National League's West Division.

The payroll may not reach more than $40 million next season, but new general manager Jed Hoyer admitted that they may have some wiggle room to sign one or two free agents.

Rumors have been flying about him since the trade deadline last July. Padre fans, as well as the San Diego media, sat on the edge of their seats as the hours and minutes ticked away, wondering if Adrian Gonzalez was about to be traded.

The deadline came, and the news that followed shocked everybody when it was learned that it was Jake Peavy that had been dealt and not Gonzalez.

Now that the offseason is in full swing, the Gonzalez rumors have started to fly once more—though this time they don't involve the Boston Red Sox.

As the San Diego Padres approach the Winter Meetings under new owner Jeff Moorad and new general manager Jed Hoyer, there are decisions that this team will need to make to shape the 2010 squad.

One decision that the team is already working on is the future of first baseman, and the new face of the franchise, Adrian Gonzalez.

With Trevor Hoffman in Milwaukee and Jake Peavy a member of the Chicago White Sox, the Padres will do everything they can to ensure Gonzalez remains a Padre for years to come.

With the trading rumors swirling away, a couple of big names are being thrown around that Boston Red Sox fans are very familiar with.

The San Diego Padre fans are done losing, they're done with empty promises that have yet to be fulfilled. Could things possibly be changing with a new regime coming into their first official off season?

As the baseball season wraps up, with the New York Yankees just one game away from walking away with yet another World Series championship to add to their trophy case, Padre fans watch and wonder when that's going to be their team.

The San Diego Padres were left for dead in late July, but since the All-Star break, this team has shown that they could be a definite factor next season.

There is finally a hint of promise in San Diego and it's not because the San Diego Chargers are about to kick off their 2009 season tonight against Oakland.

The San Diego Padres defeated the Seattle Mariners 4-3 Thursday afternoon in the rubber match of a three-game series. The Padres (29-36) were able to avoid a three-game sweep with the mid-day sun beaming down on the crowd of more than 25,000 at Petco Park.

The visiting Mariners (32-24) got out to an early lead when Ken Griffey Jr. jolted a ball deep to left-center field to plate Mike Carp for the 1-0 lead. Young Brandon Morrow started his second game since returning from the DL for the Mariners.

Year in and year out, many fans wonder how long they have with their star players, and others can't wait for their teams to trade a bundle of prospects for a high-caliber player. 

The July 31 trade deadline is still far enough away, but, as we know, trades can happen anytime, and with the beauty of no salary cap, things can get wild.

These four transactions must occur before the big three-one:

He is pleased to meet you, baseball fan.

He obviously figures you must need the introduction, since not many of you caught him this spring representing Mexico in the WBC, nor have his major league-leading 20 home runs given him enough recognition to help him crack the top five in the NL first baseman All-Star ballot.

Oh, he's in the top 10 in walks, RBI, slugging percentage, and OPS in the NL too.

One-hit wonder, you say? Nonsense. Adrian's been consistently brilliant for a while now.