Padres reportedly trying to trade for SP Freddy Peralta
A roundup of Padres trade rumors, San Diego Wave adds a superstar, a Spanish club targets Chucky Lozano, MLB union prepares for a salary cap fight, and a bunch more in today's Front Row Seat.
Yesterday, I wrote about the value of distractions and why we need them so much right now:
San Diego Padres
What the Brewers are looking for in a Freddy Peralta trade, plus more MLB offseason notes - The Athletic
The Padres also want to add a starter, but are telling the representatives for several free agents that they are not yet ready to move, according to people familiar with those discussions.
The holdup might be the Padres wanting to clear money, perhaps with a trade of right-hander Nick Pivetta, an idea they have entertained this offseason.
MLB rumors: Brewers have specific desire for Freddy Peralta trade; Cardinals add veteran reliever - CBS Sports
If the Brewers trade ace Freddy Peralta, they want in return a replacement starter they can slot into their rotation in his place, according to The Athletic. Potential suitors like the Mets, Dodgers and Red Sox would seem to have the ability to part with a younger starter of their own in exchange for Peralta.
Mets’ pursuit of Tucker raises questions about defense, plus more MLB offseason notes - The Athletic
The San Diego Padres were the team besides the Arizona Diamondbacks that mounted the heaviest pursuit of Nolan Arenado, people briefed on the discussions said. With Manny Machado entrenched at third, the Padres intended Arenado to play first base.
The holdup, according to those briefed on the talks, was that the Padres were unwilling to take on as much of Arenado’s salary as the D-Backs. And it’s not as if the D-Backs took on a whole lot – the St. Louis Cardinals agreed to pay $31 million of Arenado’s remaining $42 million over the next two years while receiving minor-league right-hander Jack Martinez in return.
Padres set to open 50-seat upscale cocktail lounge near Petco Park - San Diego Union-Tribune
Diamond Room, an upscale, 50-seat cocktail lounge co-owned by the San Diego Padres, will open Friday in the former City Tacos location near Gallagher Square at Petco Park in downtown San Diego.
Located near the San Diego Padres ballpark’s Gaslamp Gate at Seventh Avenue and K Street, Diamond Room will serve classics-inspired cocktails and food in a 1970s retro-chic setting, with red velvet curtains, black leather booths, mirrors, turntables, album displays and a disco ball.
San Diego FC / San Diego Wave FC
Wave acquire Brazilian star Ludmila from Chicago Stars for up to $1 million in transfer fees - San Diego Union-Tribune
The San Diego Wave vaulted onto the San Diego sports scene in 2022 behind star power that was largely unrivaled in the National Women’s Soccer League. Then Alex Morgan retired, Naomi Girma was sold and Jaedyn Shaw was traded, and the team pivoted to a young, largely international roster for the 2025 season.
Consider the Wave’s Tuesday morning addition of Ludmila a meshing of the two eras.
This Is the Spanish Club Targeting “Chucky” Lozano - BeIN Sports
Real Oviedo are working discreetly on a move that could shake up the winter market. The Asturian club is looking to add attacking quality and international experience, a profile that fits the résumé of Chucky Lozano, who is well acquainted with the demands of top-level European football.
The Mexican attacker remains under contract with San Diego FC until 2028, but the MLS side’s decision to find him a new club has opened the door to a loan deal. That pathway would allow Lozano to return to Europe without terminating his current contract—an important factor in unlocking a complex negotiation.
For Chucky Lozano, Play Time Is Over - Chromatic FC
Heaps now has a very difficult job: getting rid of a player that everyone knows you don’t want. This transparency will absolutely lower any chance of breaking even on a deal, and San Diego will have to take a loss on the contract. If the rumor that Heaps has been looking to sell Chucky since the start of the off-season is true, they have had over a month to find another team with no takers. The Liga MX season started this weekend and their transfer window closes on February 9th.
Could an internal league trade happen? Designated Players aren’t traded often, but it does happen. Last season, the Philadelphia Union traded Daniel Gazdag for $4.5 million to the Columbus Crew. A cash-for-player deal could happen, but that might be another tough pill for the San Diego fanbase to swallow—seeing Lozano still playing in this league for a rival.
Odds & Ends
LeBron James: Rich Paul’s podcast comments not a reflection of me - ESPN
“I think you all know by now, Rich is his own man and what Rich says is not a direct reflection of me and how I feel,” James told ESPN on his way out of Crypto.com Arena. “And I hope people know that. I hope people know that and if they’re not sensible to know that, then I don’t know what to tell them.”
Paul, on a recent episode of his podcast “Game Over with Max Kellerman and Rich Paul,” said the Lakers should swap Reaves to the Memphis Grizzlies for two-time All-Star big man Jaren Jackson Jr.
MLB trying to ‘force’ players into salary cap, union says, as Manfred walks a tricky line - The Athletic
Crumbling club income from regional sports networks and the rise of streaming companies sets up a world where Manfred wants to sell not only the typical game-of-the-week national packages to companies like Netflix and ESPN when he strikes new deals for 2029 and beyond, but local rights as well. If an RSN won’t pay much to carry, say, the St. Louis Cardinals for 120 games a year, maybe a big streaming company will — particularly if it acquires many teams’ rights at once.
“People often say that when you make a (labor) deal bigger, it’s harder to get it done,” Manfred said in June. “This is one of those areas where a bigger deal, in terms of media, labor, revenue sharing, actually gives you trade-offs to accomplish things.”
When he praised a salary floor on WFAN, Manfred also said small-market teams are not best described as “unwilling” to spend.
“I want to quibble with one word, ‘unwilling,’” Manfred said to host Craig Carton. “I think ‘unable’ is really a better word.”
The Steel Curtain Finally Falls On Mike Tomlin - Defector
In the end, Tomlin has gotten out ahead of a problem that is unlikely to be solved anytime soon. The roster is old and poorly structured, they don’t have a quarterback, and the fanbase had already turned on him, even if the locker room hadn’t. Tomlin himself is no longer a spring chicken; once the youngest coach in the league when he first got to the job, the 53-year-old was the longest tenured coach in the league during his final season in Pittsburgh. He won a Super Bowl in his second year in charge in 2008, and got back to another one in 2010, but ends his career with an 8-12 playoff record, tying the longest active streak of playoff losses in a row.
San Diego one of 8 SoCal counties represented in new women’s flag-football league - NBC 7 San Diego
A women’s flag football league launched Tuesday, with franchises in each of Southern California’s eight counties: San Diego, Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Bernardino.
The So Cal Women’s Pro Flag Football League is the brainchild of sports entrepreneur and longtime sports promoter Roy Englebrecht, and aims to capitalize on the “unprecedented surge in popularity of women’s flag football across the United States,” organizers said.
The SCWPFFL plans a 14-game regular season that will run from June to mid-August, with playoffs starting in August. Games will be played in four 15-minute quarters, and a league-wide draft will be held mid-March.
Todd Gloria Is a Disappointment to His Allies and Enemies - Voice of San Diego
Gloria breezed into office in 2020 on a campaign promise to bring what he called “Big City Energy” to San Diego. Past administrations had been playing small ball, acting like townies, even though they had been running the eighth largest city in the country and second largest in California. Gloria would solve the small problems easily and make important advances on the structural ones, like homelessness, housing and public transit.
“Together, I believe that we can and will solve the biggest problems of our time,” Gloria said, at his first State of the City address after being elected.
But Gloria’s time as mayor — even to many of his supporters — has been a disappointment.
Family says Rady Children’s Hospital canceled teen’s gender-affirming care - NBC 7 San Diego
A San Diego family says they are in crisis after Rady Children’s Hospital canceled their teenager’s gender-affirming care, including a surgery that was scheduled just weeks away. The family says the decision came as the Trump administration moves to stop transgender care for minors by cutting off federal funding from hospitals that provide the care.
Fifteen-year-old Enfys Zerlaut — formerly Evelyn — came out as nonbinary about four years ago to their mother, Ann Zerlaut.