With trade rumors surrounding the franchise, the Padres still have plenty to be thankful for...well sort of.  I have always been a "good news first" kind of person so here it goes:

Although there appears to be a lack of standout talent, the Padres have a nice young trio of players that will greatly affect the Padres success or failure in 2010.  Kyle Blanks will provide the muscle for this group.  Blanks has steadily risen through the Padres' farm system and appears ready to carve his spot in the everyday lineup.  The injury that cut Blanks' 2009 season short will be fully healed and he should be ready to compete for an outfield spot.  Because he is a below average defensive outfielder, as a result of his size/speed, his powerful bat will have to earn him a spot.

Mat Latos and Everth Cabrera round out the young Friars.  Latos and Cabrera unexpectedly made it to Petco last season, as both players began their seasons at the Single A minor league level.  After injuries forced them into action, both players showed a great handle on the game, even being two of the Padres' most consistent players for portions of the season.  Look for the pair to be named starters immediately out of Spring Training, and only be held back by their lack of experience.

Though it may be seen as only minor good news, the Padres actually do have a bit of payroll to flex going into the season. Jeff Moorad has been quoted many times this offseason that the Padres payroll will be in the $40 million range; which should give them around $4-7 million after their arbitration cases this season.

Until he signed with Oakland, the Padres were rumored to be after outfielder Coco Crisp. Crisp is a solid defender and points to the type of players that the Padres are looking at: consistent veterans. On a team whose greatest drawback last season was consistency, the Padres need consistent cheap veterans if they hope to compete with the Dodgers, Rockies, and Giants in 2010.

But of course there has to be some bad news, even in the holiday season.

Even before Jed Hoyer took over as GM the trade rumors have been abound. Lately they have been focused on Kevin Kouzmanoff and Adrian Gonzalez, but reports about Heath Bell have been around since the ’09 trade deadline. There are a number of suitors for each player but at the moment nothing appears imminent. The majority of Padres fans have already voiced their displeasure over the potential departure of the team’s stars, but it is doubtful that management will let that effect their decisions.

Of course this can also be seen as a positive…if you are looking at the negatives, I’ll explain. It is no secret that Padres have a severe lack of talent coming up in the organization. According to Baseball America, their 29^th ranked system is only better than the Houston Astros. While drafting the incredibly talented Donavan Tate helped out the talent level, he is only one player, and injured.

The Padres are in a tough spot. Attendance is low, 20^th in the league, and talent is even lower. While the Padres can be thankful for their young studs during this holiday season, there has to be concern about the future.

What if they let the fans decide? What do you think?

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