| Jeff Burg. 24th January, 2006 - 3:46 pm
 Are the rumors of the Padres bring back David Wells ever going to become true? Is it even worth it?
Going into the off-season, the biggest rumor in San Diego was the return of David Wells. Wells, a local to the San Diego area, spent the 2004 season with the Padres and had a very good season, posting a 3.73 ERA, 12-8 record, over 195.2 innings. He was a great guy for the team, for the clubhouse, and even for the city. But why did he want to leave after just one year?
In the 2004-05 off-season, the Boston Red Sox signed Wells to a two-year contract, stunning the city of San Diego and Padre fans around the country. It seemed almost certain that Wells would be retained, but clearly more money pulled him away from his hometown and Boston got the benefits of the veteran starter.
Wells has openly spoke about his desire to return to San Diego for the final year of his contract, and more than likely the final year of his implausible career. But who do the Padres have to offer?
The leading candidate in trade rumors was said to be OF Dave Roberts, who was traded from the Red Sox to the Padres in exchange for Jay Payton and Ramon Vazquez after the 2004 season. A trade involving Roberts is very unlikely considering the fact that Boston was willing to let him walk via free agency. Other than Roberts, Mark Loretta, who has already been traded to the Sox, was the only other reasonable candidate in the mix.
With Spring Training fast approaching, a return of David Wells is highly doubtful. Left-handed Wells, who turns 43 on May 20th, saw his ERA climb from 3.73 in 2004 to 4.45 in 2005 and saw lefty's handle him with ease this past year batting .343 against him. |
