SPECULATOR: National League spring camp questions
Feb 6 2014
Welcome back! Let's kick off our 2014 speculations with a look at some spring questions from the National League.
Why did the Padres want Seth Smith so badly?
There were some head-scratching moves out of San Diego this winter. Follow this thread: the Padres traded an arbitration-eligible RHP Luke Gregerson to Oakland in exchange for journeyman OF Seth Smith. Then they turned around and replaced Gregerson by signing Joaquín Benoit to a 2-year, $15.5MM contract. At the time, the theory behind the trade seemed to be that the Padres didn't want to pay Gregerson, but the Benoit contract invalidates that theory.
So, what was really going on here? The Padres might have really wanted Seth Smith, and the reason may be found on our park...
Almost!
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