According to MLB Trade Rumors, The Padres have signed veteran lefthanded reliever Randy Flores, formerly of the Rangers, Cardinals, Rockies, and Twins, to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training..
Flores, 35, has pitched 250 career innings in 350 career games–the mark of a lefty specialist. Unlike most of his ilk, Flores has a broad four-pitch arsenal, throwing a fastball, two breaking pitches, and a changeup, but that hasn’t helped him succeed of late, as he’s been worth -0.6 WAR from 2008-2010.
At his age, Flores likely isn’t picking up any velocity or learning new pitches, so he pretty much is what he is. With a 5.85 FIP last year, he certainly didn’t impress, and all four of his pitches rated below average according to Pitch Type Linear Weights.
He’d be a fine longshot signing for a team in need of lefty relief help, but the Padres, with their incredible relief corps (including shutdown lefty Joe Thatcher) are decidedly not that team. The flyballing Flores likely would see his homer problems alleviated some by Petco Park, but even with that, it’s hard to see him being worth a spot for a team as stacked in the bullpen as San Diego.
Since he’s only on a minor league contract, it’s difficult to imagine Flores pushing past hordes of younger and more interesting pitchers to claim a job, although the crop of lefties beyond Thatcher is admittedly fairly slim. Still, the Padres would be better off placing a sixth deserving righty in their bullpen than using Flores as a second lefty, unless something’s dramatically changed with him over the offseason–even at his best, Flores was a fairly expendable pitcher.