The San Diego Padres might be in trouble with Major League Baseball. They are under investigation for reportedly using two different databases regarding injuries to players. One going into a central system that all MLB teams use, especially when targeting players in potential trades. The other was private, only for the eyes and knowledge of the Padres.
“According to two sources with direct knowledge of those meetings, the staffers were instructed by front office officials to document medical details about players into two separate systems,” ESPN’s Buster Olney said.
Any medical treatment a player receives is supposed to be posted into one central database. That could be something as simple as taking a pill for a headache. That way, teams trading for players can have all necessary medical information when thinking about acquiring a player.
San Diego has come under scrutiny for trades that it’s made this year. As Olney noted, the Boston Red Sox, Miami Marlins, Chicago White Sox, and one other team were “were enraged by what they perceived to be strategic deception.”
He also detailed what the alleged Padres’ practice was.
“The athletic trainers were told to post the details of any disabled-list-related medical situations on MLB’s central system, but they also were instructed to keep the specifics about preventive treatments only on the Padres’ internal notes. One source defined the distinction in this way: If a player was treated for a sore hamstring or shoulder without being placed on the disabled list, that sort of information was to be kept in-house, for use within the organization only.”
San Diego director of communications Shana Wilson also released a statement on behalf of the club.
“At this point, it is an ongoing review, and we will refrain from comment until the process has concluded and we receive formal notification of the outcome from MLB,” Wilson said, per Olney. “That said, there was no direction or intent on our part to mislead other clubs with respect to a player’s medical information.”
This will definitely be something to watch. If nothing else, it’s sure to create apprehension on the part of MLB’s 29 other teams when it comes to trading with the Padres.