By special request from "fracas" over at Baseball Primer, Ducksnorts is back in effect. Postings may be a little sporadic from now till the end of the year but I intend on being more visible than I have for most of this past month.

So, what’s going on? Well, first off, it seems that there’s more to this Brett Tomko for Marcus Giles talk than the musings of a few fans over at Fanstop. Apparently the Bravos, being the smart organization that they are, are also interested in Dennis Tankersley. My current optimal deal would be something like Tomko, Jeremy Fikac, and Eric Cyr for Giles and a second-tier prospect.

Also over at Fanstop we’ve been discussing other middle infield options. Jose Ortiz, recently released by the Rockies, appears headed to Japan. There’s a guy whose stock fell in a hurry. From being a threat to Miguel Tejada in Oakland to the Far East in four short years. Gotta think he’ll be back playing in the U.S. at some point. We’ve also wondered aloud at the possibility of bringing back Damian Jackson, just cut loose by the Tigers.

We’ve also had our pipe dreams of acquiring the likes of Bobby Hill or, gasp, Jose Vidro. It’s amazing to me that this organization is still suffering from the trade of Robbie Alomar back in the early-’90s. Vidro. Sorry, I won’t mention his name again. That’s just cruel.

On the "no news is good news" front, I haven’t heard any updates on the potential signing of Royce Clayton. The more I think about Clayton, the more I like Marcus Giles.

The Padres did sign one free agent, though: first baseman Mario Valdez. If you’re not familiar with him, Valdez was a decent prospect for the White Sox in the late-’90s but was blocked by the immovable object that is Frank Thomas. He’s hit for a high average in the minors, with a bunch of doubles and walks. Sort of a David Segui type. Valdez also hails from Mexico, which is always a bonus here just north of the border. Valdez is 28 years old and has hit .238/.352/.315 over the parts of three big-league seasons with the Sox and the A’s. Give him 200 PA, and he could make a positive contribution off the bench for the Pads in a Dave Hansen kind of way.

Oh, let me backtrack a bit. The Pads also signed ageless wonder Jesse Orosco to retire about 100 batters (or just plain old retire) in 2003. Tying up a roster spot on a guy like that (with a no-trade clause, no less) makes little sense to me, but there is some talk that this may be like the Dave Magadan signing a few years back and is as much an opportunity for Orosco, who lives in Poway, to get his foot in the door for a possible coaching position down the line. Still, it does make one wonder what, exactly, the Pads plan to do with the likes of Mike Bynum and Eric Cyr (psst, free Marcus Giles).

Also, right-hander Francisco Cordova has been inked for the upcoming season. If healthy, Cordova–another Mexican native–figures to slot toward the back of the rotation and would make an excellent replacement for the possibly soon-to-be-departed Tomko. The good news with Cordova is that he’s only 31 years old and his career ERA is below 4.00. The bad news is that he hasn’t thrown a pitch in the big leagues since 2000. Still, if he’s healthy, he could be sort of a poor man’s Andy Ashby (though probably not the 1998 version).

And, in a couple of minor moves, the Padres have re-signed southpaw relievers Jose Nuñez and Rob Ramsay, both of whom missed most or all of the 2002 season and who had been placed on waivers earlier this month. Both pitchers’ careers are in doubt, but it’s good to see the Pads sticking with them nonetheless.

Finally, the Pads have added RHP Michael Nicolas, LHP Cory Stewart, 2B Bernie Castro, and OF Jay Bay (acquired from the Mets in the Steve Reed trade and compared by some to Bubba Trammell) and Vince Faison to the 40-man roster. Notably absent from the 40-man: OF Ben Johnson. He’s likely too raw to be of use to anyone as Rule V guy, but this still seems like a risky move to me.

That’s all for now. More next week, when I begin posting photos of the new ballpark from the 20th floor of a large office building downtown. Later…