Philip Humber jammed a lot of career into not much of a career. And that career is now over, since after San Diego released him, the righty said he was retiring, Padres manager Andy Green said.
He was taken by the Mets with the third overall pick in 2004, one spot after Justin Verlander. Humber was one of three Rice University starters taken in the first eight picks that year, none of whom amounted to much in the majors, perhaps because of heavy workloads in college.
Humber had Tommy John surgery in the minors and made just five appearances for the Mets, including one ill-fated start as the team collapsed late in September 2007. After that season, he was included in the trade for Johan Santana. He pitched the 21st perfect game in history on April 21, 2012, for the White Sox. He appeared in 41 games after that (none in 2014-15) and pitched to a 7.59 ERA.
Austin Hedges and Christian Bethancourt have both hit well this spring for the Padres in the battle to be catcher Derek Norris’ backup. But Hedges has options and Bethancourt does not and Green said, “We are thinking about what is best for Austin Hedges and playing 30-40 games behind Derek Norris might not be best. Austin’s day is coming.”
Hedges, 22, was one of the few big Padres prospects not traded in the 2014-15 offseason, but then hit .168 in 56 big league games. Norris, though, already is available at the right trade price and could be gone by Aug. 1, too.
The Padres obtained Dan Straily from the Astros on Monday for catcher Erik Kratz, and Green said he will at least consider Straily for a rotation spot. Tyson Ross, Andrew Cashner and James Shields are the top three. The last two spots come down to Colin Rea, Drew Pomeranz and Robbie Erlin, with Rea a front-runner and Pomeranz a guy San Diego imagines could help in the pen, too.