The San Diego Padres have found their second basement for the 2009 season. David Eckstein and the Padres signed a one year contract on Wednesday. Eckstein is expected to make around $1 million in the one year deal. Eckstein hit .265 in 324 at-bats last season between stints with the Toronto Blue Jays and Arizona Diamondbacks.

I would expect to see Eckstein hitting in the number two spot for the Padres as he is a good contact hitter and usually puts the ball in play. He does not hit for power, but he will put the ball in play and get on base. Exactly what the Padres need at the top of the order.

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The San Diego Padres have re-signed Mark Prior and signed Chris Burke to one year contracts. Both players will be invited to spring training as well. Prior will make $1 million if he makes it to the big leagues and pitches in a game. Burke is expected to make $650,000 if he makes it to the big leagues and plays in a game.

I would have to say that Burke has a better shot of making the team then Prior just because we are unsure if Prior is healthy for the first time since 2006. I’d love for Prior to make the team and be a middle of the rotation starter but right now he has so many question marks it is unkown.

Either way both signings are pretty cheap and exactly what kind of contracts the Padres needed to sign them to.

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The San Diego Padres traded away shortstop Khalil Greene to the St. Louis Cardinals for Minor League right-hander Mark Worrell and a player to be named later on Thursday. The deal was first rumored on Wednesday but the both clubs did not make it official until Thursday.

Worrell was 3-3 with a 2.15 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 58 2/3 innings with Triple-A Memphis in 2008. He has 84 Minor League saves since being selected by the Cards in the 12th round of the 2004 First-Year Player Draft.

The Padres will have until April 1 to choose the other player in the trade. General manager Kevin Towers said that the player would be just as good as Worrell if not better once they choose the player. It is expected to be another pitching prospect.

With the move it sheds away the huge contract that Greene was to be paid next year. The team will probably be playing under a $40 millon dollar payroll in 2009 so they need to cut all the salary that they can and build for the future.

San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres Transactions:
10-2-2008:
Activated SS Khalil Greene and OF Scott Hariston from the 15-day disabled list.
10-6-2008:
Sent C Luke Carlin and SS Sean Kazmar outright to Triple-A Portland. C Josh Bard and LHP Shawn Estes cleared waivers and have elected to become free agents.
Other involving the Padres:
Toronto Blue Jays
Claimed RHP Dirk Hayhurst off waivers from the San Diego Padres

The Greg”maddog”maddux trade keeps giving

9-30-08 San Diego Padres
Acquired LHP Michael Watt and RHP Eduardo Perez from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The San Diego Padres latest transactions:
9/12/08 Outrighted RHP Brian Falkenborg to Triple-A Portland
9/11/08 Claimed RHP Scott Patterson off outright waivers from the New York Yankees. Transferred C Michael Barrett to the 60-day disabled list.
9/10/08 Claimed RHP Charlie Haeger off waivers from the Chicago White Sox.
9/4/08 Sent 1B Brian Myrow outright to Triple-A Portland

The San Diego Padres

9-6-2008:

Recalled OF Drew Macias and RHP Mike Ekstrom from Double-A San Antonio.

The San Diego Padres

9-2-2008:

Recalled C Luke Carlin from Triple-A Portland. Purchased the contract of OF Chip Ambres from Triple-A Portland.

The San Diego Padres transactions for 8-12-2008:

Placed RHP Bryan Corey on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Aug. 10 with a strained left hamstring. Purchased the contract of INF Sean Kazmar from Double-A San Antonio.

A bad year for Padres catchers just got a little worse, as Josh Bard was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with a strained right triceps.

Bard suffered the injury on the last swing of the last round of early batting practice prior to Friday’s game against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.

Bard, who suffered a similar injury when he was in the Minor Leagues in 1999, said the pain in his elbow was enough to keep him from throwing, and that he will likely need 5 to 7 days before he will play again.

The San Diego Padres recalled rookie Luke Carlin from Triple-A Portland to take his place. Carlin was in uniform for Saturday’s game, because the Beavers happened to be playing in Colorado Springs this weekend.

Bard will be eligible to come off the disabled list on Aug. 22, when the Padres play the Giants. To date, Bard has missed 55 games because of injury, 54 of were due to a high ankle sprain suffered on May 22.

“It’s hard, I’ve never experienced anything like this,” Bard said.

Michael Barrett, the other catcher on the Opening Day roster, has missed 70 games with first a sprained ligament in his right elbow, and most recently, a fractured nose and orbital bone that occurred, oddly enough, on July 3, when the team was in Denver.

“Two veteran catchers at a premium position,” Padres manager Bud Black said.

All told, Padres catchers have missed 145 games this season. The total number of missed games for the team this season is 842, up from 280 a year ago.

Bard had appeared in just six games since coming off the disabled list on July 24 and was hitting .209 this season.

“It’s been really, really hard this year to play this bad as a team, but it’s been really, really hard not to be able to help,” Bard said.

Carlin is no stranger to the Padres. He made his Major League debut on May 10 and has appeared in 30 games and started 23 behind the plate. Offensively, Carlin is hitting .138 in 80 at-bats after hitting .328 with Portland.

Rookie catcher Nick Hundley figured to get an extended look between now and the end of the season, regardless of Bard’s injury. Hundley is hitting .221 thus far and has been impressive behind the plate, throwing out 7 of 22 would-be base stealers.

On Friday, Hundley threw out Colorado’s speedy lead-off hitter, Willy Taveras, in the first inning, and appeared to get him again later in the game, though Taveras was ruled safe. Carlin’s times on the throws were 1.83 and 1.87, below the 1.9 mark the Padres want to see from their catchers.

Corey Brock is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.