Yesterday I told you that the Padres had some "contingency funds" available and that they could be using such funds as incentive to make a trade deadline deal for a top-notch outfielder such as Ichiro, Andruw Jones, or Torii Hunter, should any of those gentlemen become available. Now it appears as if the Padres could be using some of that money to lock up current center fielder Mike Cameron, whose $7 million club option was exercised in the off-season."We've had continued dialog since Spring Training and I think both sides don't want this to drag deep into the season," Towers said before Thursday's game in San Francisco. "My hope is there will be some sort of resolution in the next week to two weeks one way or the other."He's a big part of our club. He's a team leader in the clubhouse, a great guy and someone who I hope we're able to keep."
While no deal is done just yet, the fact that the front office is doing their part in trying to keep the pieces of the back-to-back NL West Division Champions together for the future should be a welcome sign for Padre fans. What's more impressive is the willingness of Kevin Towers to discuss extensions for his players, namely the Adrian Gonzalez signing, as noted in Ducksnorts.
Previously at FanHouse:
Padres Have the Funds for Ichiro, Andruw, or Torii
Adrian Gonzalez Will Be a Padres Through 2010
