There was no question that interest in first baseman Adrian Gonzalez would come from all different sides, but there was a question about whether the Padres would or could trade him.
If you look at this from a public relations side of things, it would be San Diego's worst nightmare, especially with long time closer Trevor Hoffman now with the Milwaukee Brewers and young right-hander Jake Peavy with the Chicago White Sox. Trading Adrian Gonzalez would possibly be worse than those two combined.
The Seattle Mariners made their interest known during the winter meetings, but talks never really got started. ESPN.com's Jayson Stark, via Twitter , said that any rumors surrounding Gonzalez shouldn't really be taken seriously because the Padres showed no motivation in trading their All-Star first baseman.
Now, it seems like talks between the Padres and the Boston Red Sox have picked up again. Talks that had begun prior to the trade deadline last July.
New Padres' general manager Jed Hoyer and and new assistant general manager Jason McLeod, both having worked inside the Red Sox organization, might make the Red Sox a tad leery of making a deal with San Diego.
According to the Boston Globe , Hoyer had apparently asked the Red Sox for pitcher Clay Buchholz, right handed pitching prospect Casey Kelly or outfielder Ryan Westmoreland. Kelly and Westmoreland are Boston's top prospects and players the Red Sox are reluctant to include in any deal.
The Globe also says the Mariners and the Mets also want Gonzalez now but there's been no serious talks with either team.
Padres' manager Bud Black was asked about the constant rumors surrounding Gonzalez and he said, "I’ve given him my spiel, Black told The Globe . "I’m sure he’s had some other conversations with players about the whole thing. He’s aware of what’s going on, and I don’t suspect that it will affect him or his on-field performance.’’
Whether a deal gets done with Boston, or any other team, remains to be seen. As of right now, both Bud Black and the Padres expect Gonzalez to be on their opening day roster.
Barring some change of heart from Boston on the players Hoyer is asking for, it doesn't look like Gonzalez is headed out of San Diego any time soon.
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