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Padres under review after alleged misconduct in trades

Mark Townsend
Yahoo Sports Contributor

San Diego Padres executive chairman and co-owner Ron Fowler has made headlines this season for being critical of out-going players. Now though, he might want to look in the mirror and get to work on fixing a developing controversy surrounding his team’s handling of out-going player’s medical records.

According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Padres are drawing scrutiny after two recent trade partners — the Miami Marlins and Boston Red Sox — expressed concerns that San Diego wasn’t properly sharing relevant medical information. Olney also reported that Major League Baseball is aware of the concerns and is currently reviewing those specific exchanges, which was later confirmed by Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

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The fallout from San Diego’s trade with Miami drew national attention after pitcher Colin Rea left his Marlins’ debut on Saturday with elbow discomfort. Rea, who was traded to Miami along with right-hander Andrew Cashner, later revealed he received treatment for elbow soreness prior to the trade, but personally chalked it up to normal soreness. The Marlins say they were never informed of Rea’s prior soreness or treatment.

Colin Rea was traded back to the San Diego Padres after developing elbow soreness in his Marlins' debut. (AP)
Colin Rea was traded back to the San Diego Padres after developing elbow soreness in his Marlins’ debut. (AP)

Now comes word that Rea will require season-ending Tommy John surgery, which his agent, Joe Speed, claims is an entirely new condition that only developed during his brief four-inning stint in Miami.

Here’s what the statement say:

“Colin got hurt while he was in Miami. He was excited to be there. He was excited to help his new team and felt badly that he was hurt four innings into his new situation. He was having one of his best starts of the entire season prior to the injury. Just an unfortunate situation, but part of the game.”

To the credit of Padres’ general manager A.J. Preller, he did agree to bring Rea back to San Diego for prospect Luis Castillo, who was one of the four players traded by Miami. That may have helped even the deal and perhaps ease some tension, but it still leaves Miami searching to fill a void left they thought Rea would fill.

According to Olney’s sources, the Red Sox have also learned information on left-hander Drew Pomeranz that suggests San Diego wasn’t forthright with his medical records. The possible issue wasn’t reported to be serious, but is obviously something Boston would have preferred to know before parting with coveted pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza to land Pomeranz last month.

It’s not immediately clear if the Padres are facing a potential reprimand from the league, but just the fact that they’re developing a questionable reputation within the league might be punishment enough. Obviously, teams want to know they can trust other teams they’re dealing with, and right now that trust with San Diego might be shaky enough to prevent future dealings.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!