In the last week, Allen Córdoba was DFA’d by the Padres, removing him from their 40-man roster, and ultimately assigned to their AAA club. Assuming that’s where he begins the year, that means his level over four seasons will be: Rookie, MLB, High A, Triple-A.
That’s extremely weird, but it’s not unprecedented. In fact, Córdoba’s long, strange trip and the factors that led to it are very similar to those that sunk the career of Tony La Russa the baseball player.
It all started with Padres GM A.J. Preller’s plan to game the intention - if not the actual regulations - of the Rule 5 draft.