With the Thanksgiving holiday behind us and the calendar flipped to December the shopping season is upon us. That’s also true in the baseball world where the annual Winter Meetings and the trades and free agent signings that generally accompany the event are right around the corner. So, what will the Friars do, if anything, at this year’s Winter Meetings? We’re not sure but the Friarhood staff, in honor of the Christmas holiday, has compiled our Friars wish list and sent it off to Saint Nick in the hope Padres fans get something nice under our collective tree.

Extensions

Everyone had this on their list. The popular extension candidate was CF Cameron Maybin. Maybin is Brandon’s “favorite player.”

Steve would rather see the Friars broach the “E” word with the camps of pitchers Mat Latos and Tim Stauffer before doing anything with Maybin. He feels the club and Maybin are “too far apart” in talks and would like to see “confirmation that Maybin isn’t a flash in the pan.”

Bottom line is essentially every Padres fan wants to see the ownership group show a commitment to building a winner and extending the young talent before they get too expensive is a good first step.

Run Producing Corner OF

No surprise here. As I pointed out the Padres didn’t have a single player finish with more than 9 HR on the roster at the end of the season.

Steve says, “The guy doesn't have to be a HR hitter, but a guy that can hit in the three hole. He needs to have gap power and the ability to hit with runners in scoring position.”

Matt throws out the name of Chicago White Sox OF Carlos Quentin as a possibility.

Bullpen/Closer

With the loss of Bell to Miami the Padres will need to do some work on an area that has traditionally been a team strength. I argued the team should have bit the bullet, so-to-speak, and given in to Bell’s desire for three guaranteed years. My rational being “I think it would have sent the fans and the kids in the organization a positive message that this ownership group will reward the players who produce here and are loyal to the Friar.”

Brandon disagreed with that sentiment and had this to say: “You can't follow the Bill James school of thought on closers. I like Heath Bell as well. But Heath has to know as well as we do that the Padres aren't the Yankees, Cubs, Cardinals, Mariners, Red Sox, Rangers. We don't have "spending money" on, well luxury items such as Heath” We’ll just have to agree to disagree there.

Instead of Bell, Brandon makes a case for signing David Aardsma, who may be affordable coming off an injury. He cites the Petco park factor and points out Aardsma won’t be 30 until later this month.

Matt passes along a rumored trade proposal which would send 2B Orlando Hudson to Colorado for Huston Street and thinks that since the money roughly works out it would be a good idea. But he goes on to say, “If that trade for Street doesn't happen, then I like Aardsma for sure considering Broxton was just locked up.” Aardsma is gaining in popularity here on the Friarhood website.

Deal Hudson

We broached the topic in the last section but Steve vehemently believes we need to trade O-Dog. Steve had this to say: “I'm not concerned with how much of the salary the Padres eat or what they get in return. I have no interest in watching this guys tired act return for an encore in 2012.” Strong opinion.

I agree to the extent I want to see the team open a spot for a guy like Logan Forsythe, though I am open-minded to the possibility of dealing Chase Headley if the price is right. “He's (Forsythe) one of the system's better bats and I want to see if he can hit at the big league level. Also, if moved to second, will his glove hold up over there? We already know what we have with Headley (good glove, good average, not enough power for Petco) and Hudson (declining production and questionable attitude) and since we're unlikely to see the playoffs again this season let's find out what we have with a guy like Forsythe.”

Meanwhile, Brandon wants the club to hang onto Chase since he feels every other 3B in baseball “stinks.” He does agree Hudson should be traded and mentions the name of Kelly Johnson as a FA replacement. Here’s what he had to say: “The 2B FA market is pretty dim with wash-ups like Alex Cora or really-old-guys like Craig Counsell. Kelly's name stood out the most to me. He played well here against us in PETCO Park and we might be able to get him for the same price as Orlando.”

Matt likes Brandon’s suggestion of Johnson to fill the hole at 2B assuming Hudson is dealt.

Team chemistry/Veteran Leadership

Steve and I both felt this was a key. He argues: “Since it appears Heath Bell has one foot out the door
and the Padres don't have an immediate need in the starting rotation, I would like to see a veteran arm brought in for the pen to mentor the young guys on how to conduct themselves in a professional manner on and off the field.” Note: This was obviously written before news of Bell’s signing with the Marlins.

I pointed out how the 2010 (I originally mistakenly said 2009 and was quickly corrected by Brandon) had great chemistry and won 90 games while last year’s edition struggled to find chemistry and slumped to a 90+ loss season.

The Padres front office would seem to agree with us since they made signing Mark Kotsay a priority this winter. Kotsay is known as a good clubhouse guy and a leader.

This might seem a long list but let’s have Cheri sum it up:

Dear Santa,

As a long suffering Padres fan I wish for a long term contract for Cam Maybin, a corner infielder who hits for power, a corner outfielder who hits and a bullpen who can hold a lead.

That isn't so much to ask, is it?

We have tried to be good.

Thanks, Santa.

Photo by: Valerie's Genealogy Photos, creative commons 2.0