The San Diego Padres have signed right-handed pitcher/hitter Micah Owings to a one-year, $1 million deal. Dan Hayes explains the specifics:

Owings — 8-0 with a 3.57 ERA in 33 games (four starts) for the Arizona Diamondbacks last season — signed a split contract with the Padres, according to a team source, which means he could begin the 2012 season in the minors.

General manager Josh Byrnes said in a team release Owings will vie for either a spot in the starting rotation or in the bullpen. But if Owings starts in the minors — he has two minor-league options left — he will be paid an increased minor-league salary instead of the major-league deal. The deal also doesn’t allow Owings to opt out of his contract if he doesn’t break camp with the Padres.

After a solid rookie season on the mound in 2007, Owings struggled from 2008-2010, posting a 5.59 ERA, 1.46 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and 1.2 HR/9. Last year, however, in 63 innings primarily out of the Arizona bullpen, he increased the SO/BB ratio to 1.91 and lowered his ERA to 3.57.

Interesting, looking at the pitch data, Owings velocity didn’t increase upon moving to the pen. Actually, it went down, and that appears to be thanks to an increased reliance on the cut-fastball. According to BIS, Owings relied on a cutter 77.3 percent of the time last season, and had previously never thrown the pitch. According to PITCHf/x, however, he only threw the cutter 32.6 percent last season, and had relied on it heavily before (notably in 2009).

Naturally, Petco will help the big right hander.

If he makes the major league roster or comes up later in the season, Owings will probably take on the swing man role — coming in for long relief, getting some emergency starts, and occasionally pitching a high-leverage inning or two — and he’s adequately suited to do just that.

Owings real value, though, is in his versatility. Not just versatility on the mound, but his well-above average hitting skills for a pitcher. In fact, his career batting numbers are actually above-average for a position player. In 217 career plate appearances, he’s hit .286/.313/.507 with nine home runs. In 88 career minor league PAs, Owings hit .325/.353/.475. He isn’t refined with the bat, striking out often and rarely taking a walk, but the power is obviously there.

Most of that damage at the major league level was done way back in ’07 while in the starting rotation. Further, Owings has only received 33 PAs over the last two seasons, working primarily out of the bullpen.  Still, the two-way college player at Georgia Tech and Tulane possesses hitting ability that few pitcher’s can match. The Padres won’t be forced to take him out of the game in the long man/relief role if he comes up in a semi-crucial situation. Further, on days when he’s not expected to hit, Owings could make for a viable pinch hitter.

While signing Owings exclusively as pitching depth is okay, his real value comes in his offensive game and overall versatility.

The San Diego Padres have acquired infielder Alberto Gonzalez from the Washington Nationals for RHP Erik Davis.

Gonzalez is known for his defensive attributes, and that’s not surprising because in 641 major league plate appearances he’s hit .253/.292/.331. The combination of low average, little patience, and no power is not a particularly good skill-set for a hitter.

There’s not much room for optimism offensively, as his minor league track record isn’t too impressive. Outside of solid campaigns way back in 2005 and 2006, Gonzalez hasn’t hit much in the minors either. His career line is .277/.330/.382 in just over 2,000 PAs.

As mentioned ,Gonzalez has been highly regarded as a defender for a long time. In 2007, Baseball America rated Gonzalez as the 13th best prospect in the Arizona Diamondback’s organization. On his defense, they said:

Gonzalez is the best defensive player in the organization, regardless of position, and his pure shortstop actions rate an 80 on the 20-80 scouting scale …. He has a strong arm and great range to both sides.

That was a long time ago, but obviously Gonzalez has retained a good deal of his fielding prowess, holding down a MLB job with that .620 OPS and all. The advanced metrics located on FanGraphs have Gonzalez right around average at short and second, and well above at third. Small sample there.

Adding to the plusses, Gonzalez has played over 500 innings at both short and second, and 250 at third. In short, he’s essentially Kevin Frandsen at the plate, but likely quite a bit better, and truly versatile, in the field.

The Padres also sent SS Everth Cabrera to Triple-A Tucson, where he can make up for some missed developmental time. Cabrera made the jump from Single-A to the majors in 2009, after being selected by the Padres in the Rule 5 draft from the Colorado Rockies.

The Padres dealt Erik Davis, a 6-4 righty they drafted in the 13th round in 2008. The 24 year old has been solid in the minors, posting a 3.49 ERA in 293.7 innings. He’s fanned 8.5 per nine, walking three, and allowing .4 HR/9. Probably not that significant to his prospect status, but noteworthy nonetheless, he’s put up an impressive 32-9 W/L record.

The San Diego Padres recently claimed reliever Pat Neshek off waivers from the Minnesota Twins.

Neshek has thrown just over 20 major league innings over the past three seasons. However, he was an extremely effective reliever for the Twins in 2006 and 2007, before Tommy John surgery derailed his career.

Neshek has a career 3.05 ERA in 129.7 innings, striking out 151, walking 45, and allowing 16 long balls. Thanks to an unorthodox sidearm delivery, Neshek is very tough on righties, holding them to a .176/.242/.301 career line against.

Most of that work was done a long time ago, though. We’ll have to see what Neshek has left in the tank. For what it’s worth, FanGraphs had his fastball velocity at 85.6 miles per hour last season, compared to 90-91 when he was a dominant reliever for the Twins. Reports from this spring have Neshek’s velocity on the rise.

Here’s a video of Neshek warming up. He’s certainly not a hard guy to root for.

In what continues to be a very interesting off-season, the San Diego Padres have added 1B/3B Jorge Cantu for $885,000 (plus incentives).

Cantu has been sort of an enigma throughout his career, switching between a useful starter and an offensive liability.

He started his career off well with the Tampa Bay Rays, hitting nearly .300 with good power in his first two seasons while playing second base (where he was never a strong defender). He then followed with two seasons where he hit near .250 with less power.

In 2008, a switch to the Florida Marlins and the National League seemed to revitalize Cantu, as he followed with back-to-back solid years, hitting .283./.336/.462 combined, while flipping between first and third for Florida. Last season he again reverted back to his struggles with Florida and Texas, as his average dropped back into the .250s.

Cantu’s ups and downs lie mostly with his batting average. When he’s up around .280 or higher, he’s a solid player. When he’s in the .250s, he has almost no value whatsoever, considering he’s not a defensive specialist by any means.

You might imagine that Cantu’s BABiP is the cause for the peaks and valleys with his batting average, but it’s actually his strikeout rates.

His BABiP has been very stable throughout his career, hovering around the .300 mark. His K-rate, however, has been much more volatile, dipping down to 15% or so in his good years and bouncing to the low-to-mid 20s in the bad ones.

Cantu may be counted on to face lefties while replacing Brad Hawpe at first, but it should be noted that he doesn’t have much of a platoon split (.764 OPS vs. RHP, .773 OPS vs. LHP). Hawpe actually has a comparable OPS vs. lefties at .760, though that is Coors-aided. Small samples noted with each, especially versus left-handers.

For under a million bucks, Cantu offers enough upside to be worth the money, and he should provide good depth for the Padres. Jed Hoyer continues to patch together a very nice looking ballclub, despite the loss of its best player.