San Diego Padres Hire Jed Hoyer As GM

I guess the farewell lunch the Boston Red Sox held for Jed Hoyer today kind of gave it away huh?

According to various sources, the San Diego Padres have hired Red Sox Assistant GM Jed Hoyer to be their new GM. Hoyer replaces Kevin Towers, who was fired at the beginning of the month.

Hoyer joined the Red Sox front office at age 28, where he helped to build Boston’s rosters and assisted in contract negotiations.

In 2005, when Theo Epstein and Larry Lucchino had a lover’s quarrel and Epstein took a 10-week hiatus, Hoyer along with Craig Shipley, Bill Lajoie, and Ben Cherington, took over the GM duties for the Red Sox.

Their most famous trade they pulled off was for Josh Beckett. The Red Sox sent Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez, Jesus Delgado, and Harvey Garcia to the Florida Marlins for Beckett, Mike Lowell, and Guillermo Mota.

Hoyer now becomes the eighth GM in Padres history and he has his work cut out for him. The Padres finished 20 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in fourth place in the NL West this year with a 75-87 record.

Not only does Hoyer inherit a team that finished 20 games out of first place, but he will also be faced with the decision on whether or not to trade star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.

Gonzalez, who was the subject of trade rumors at this year’s trade deadline has one more year remaining on his contract with a club option for 2010. Gonzalez, like his former teammate Jake Peavy, can attract a significant amount of prospects for a team looking to rebuild.

Ironically, the Red Sox, Hoyer’s now former employer, were the hottest team on Gonzalez’s tail in July. I’ll just throw this out there. New GM’s in any sport have a tendency to trade with people they know when they first start.

If the Red Sox really want Gonzalez and Hoyer decides trading him would be best for the Padres, then a deal between the Red Sox and Padres would seem likely.

Hoyer is 35 and grew up in New Hampshire. Hoyer attended Wesleyan University, where he was a pitcher and still holds the school record for saves in a career.

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