MLB investigating Padres for medical disclosures at trade deadline

Major League Baseball is reviewing the Padres’ process of disclosing medical information to other teams before last week’s trade deadline, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com. The league is looking into San Diego’s deal with Miami involving Colin Rea, as well as the trade that sent Drew Pomeranz to the Red Sox for Anderson Espinoza.

Rea was originally traded from the Padres to the Marlins as part of a 7-player deal on July 29, but lasted only 3.1 innings in his first start with Miami before coming out due to elbow discomfort. Miami then sent Rea back to the Padres on deadline day in exchange for pitching prospect Luis Castillo, and San Diego announced today that Rea will indeed undergo Tommy John surgery.

Olney reports that Rea had ongoing elbow troubles dating back to his time with San Diego, and that the Marlins were unaware of those issues when they swung the deal for the right-hander. The Marlins were understandably upset when Rea’s injury surfaced, and worked to remedy the issue by re-acquiring Castillo within 48 hours.

Olney’s most interesting revelation is that Boston has “become aware of medical information with Pomeranz that they believe was not properly disclosed in trade talks.” Pomeranz has made four starts for Boston, and despite posting a 6.20 ERA over 20.1 innings, has not shown any signs of injury to this point. The lefty dealt with some shoulder trouble last season with the Athletics, but has been healthy to this point this season.

Boston is not seeking a remedy similar to the Rea-Castillo swap, according to Olney, though the incident may cause some ill will between the teams and is being investigated by the league. It is unclear at this point whether the league will punish the Padres in any way.