After Fullmer falls through, Padres turn to Hansen

By Jim Callis
July 30, 2004

Looking for a lefthanded bat to come off their bench, the Padres came close to finalizing a deal for Texas' Brad Fullmer on Friday, at the reported cost of Triple-A third baseman Jake Gautreau. But San Diego backed away because of concerns about Fullmer's sore right knee, which has landed him on the disabled list. The Padres quickly regrouped Friday night, picking up Dave Hansen from the Mariners in exchange for high Class A righthander Jon Huber.

Hansen, 35, spent 2003 with the Padres before going to Seattle in January in the Jeff Cirillo/Kevin Jarvis salary dump. A career .248 pinch-hitter, he ranks fifth all-time with 135 pinch-hits and seventh with 15 pinch-homers. Ineffective against lefties and used almost solely against righties, he has hit .282/.412/.423 with two homers and 12 RBIs in 78 at-bats over 57 games this year. He offers little as a runner or defender, seeing sporadic time at first and third base. Hansen currently makes $750,000 and will be a free agent after the season. He has career totals of .266/.367/.378 with 33 homers and 211 RBIs in 1,141 games and 1,690 at-bats.

Huber, 23, was a 2000 fifth-round pick out of a Florida high school. He throws in the low 90s and can flash a nifty curveball, but he's only a marginal prospect because he doesn't throw enough strikes or miss enough bats. He has gone 8-6, 3.70 in 20 starts at high Class A Lake Elsinore this season. He has a 100-44 strikeout-walk ratio in 107 innings, while opponents have batted .262 with nine homers. Huber, who missed time in 2003 with an elbow strain, has a career mark of 26-26, 4.98 in 96 minor league games.