Since assuming leadership of the San Diego Padres on October 26, 2011 there has been a lot of activity crossing the desk of new GM Josh Byrnes. And I have no doubt there will be more moves before the start of Spring Training. With all the trades and signings that have taken place it is not hard to imagine that many Padres fans are having trouble keeping track of the deals.

We call all remember when owner Jeff Moorad fired former GM Kevin Towers with the statement that he wanted a more analytical approach to the GM position and less of the “Gunslinger” approach of KT. Enter Jed Hoyer, former assistant GM for the Red Sox and a graduate of one of the more admired baseball systems in the business. Jed brought in more of the young, analytical minds around baseball and started building a draft and development system that was sorely lacking under former GM Towers and boss Sandy Alderson. Moorad added assistant Josh Byrnes when the Arizona Diamondbacks fired him from his GM job. Reuniting Moorad and Byrnes was a precursor to the demise of Hoyer, according to some baseball insiders who knew of the high regard Moorad has for Byrnes.

Enter off-season 2011, when the implosion of the highly touted Red Sox led to the departure of Theo Epstein to the Chicago Cubs and the defection of Hoyer to join his former boss. This opened the door for Moorad to promote Byrnes to the position of GM and continue the continuity begun with Hoyer and company. No matter what you felt about these developments, the fall out was positive for the Padres in the sense that no rebuilding was necessary. Yes, they lost some great baseball thinkers with the departure of Hoyer and McLeod but with the subsequent moves made my Byrnes, I am here to propose that we got exactly what we needed.

During his first two plus months as GM, Byrnes appears to be a combination of Hoyer and Towers with more of an emphasis on Towers. He is not afraid to make risky moves, pick up little known relievers to add competition during the spring, take a chance on acquiring some oft injured veterans with talent who still possess youth and upside. This is in contrast to Hoyer signing over-the-hill veterans on the down side of their careers and hoping for a bounce back year. Now some of this is reflective of more payroll flexibility this year due to the new TV contract but you also get the sense that Byrnes is a more aggressive GM than Hoyer was. To back up these statements, let’s examine the moves made by Byrnes so far. We will not cover them in order but rather as they address the roster needs of this off-season.

Enter Yonder Alonso and Carlos Quentin. Acquired in two separate trades, they will bat in the heart of the lineup and give our leadoff hitters (some combination of Maybin, Headley, Bartlett/Hudson) a chance to score some runs and run the bases. This still leaves us with Hundley, Venable, Blanks, Denorfia, Kotsay to hit behind them. That looks much improved to last year and provides much more lineup flexibility to the coaching staff. As much as I love baseball and my home team, those 2-1 games do get monotonous after awhile and put so much pressure on the pitching staff that they must feel like they are pitching up hill all season.

The major league at bats of Alonso do not prove that he is going to be a major league star but his early success promises an upgrade over Brad Hawpe et all and gives the Padres a chance to break him when needed with Jesus Guzman. Guzman has a proven minor league track record and showed promise last season, albeit in a small sample size. Jesus hits lefties really well and can give Alonso a break against tough left handed pitchers, taking some pressure off.

For those of you not familiar with Alonso’s history, he was Cuban born but moved to the USA at ten yrs. of age and was drafted out of the U of Miami after his Jr year. The seventh overall pick in the 2008 draft, he progressed quickly through the minor league ranks and debuted with the Reds on 9/1/2010. During his minor league career (09-11) he hit .293 overall with 36 HR, 85 2B, 6 3B and 149 RBI. This is a promising stat line as it shows he can hit to the gaps as well as over the fence. According to scouts, he is a better gap hitter and hits to all fields with consistency. This skill is useful at home because of the park dimensions and heavy marine layer of the spring and late summer parts of the season. In his 47 games with the Reds (in their admittedly hitter-friendly division) Alonso had a .330 overall average with 5 HR, 4 2B and 14 RBI in 2011. No one is naïve enough to suggest that he will be a guaranteed success this season but a soon to be 25 year old first baseman with adequate defensive skills and a plus bat is a welcome addition and he has Guzman behind him to spell him when he needs a break or Jesus is hot at the plate. If Kyle Blanks survives spring training and makes the opening day roster he will be another valuable option for first base.