Burke becomes a free agent if unclaimed, although he has the right to refuse any claim and enter the free agent market. The 27-year-old produced a 4.14 ERA in 45 2/3 innings of relief for the Padres last season, and, prior to that, was an effective closer at Triple-A Portland. He should garner some interest, but keep in mind that he had surgery on his throwing shoulder in October and his availability for spring training is not yet known.

Giles hit .191/.277/.271 in a forgettable 225 at-bats with the Padres this past year, limited to 61 games due to a knee contusion. He'll compete with Jason Repko and Xavier Paul for the fifth outfielder's spot along with Doug Mientkiewicz for the lefty pinch-hitter role. If he makes the team, it'll be at a $550,000 base salary with an additional $200,000 in incentives and can opt out of his contract at the end of spring training if he doesn't crack the roster. Despite his awful year, he remains one of the better players in the game in working a walk and should have enough pop left to be a major-league contributor.

Torrealba clearly made a poor decision in turning down a two-year, $4.5 million offer from the Rockies earlier this offseason. Nonetheless, he's a Padre now and is expected to share time behind the plate this season with Nick Hundley. The 31-year-old Torrealba batted 291/.351/.380 with two homers and 31 RBI last year in 213 at-bats for the Rockies.

"The team's position with regard to Adrian has not changed at all," Hoyer wrote in an email. "We are excited to have him under contract for the next two seasons. He is a great player who fits our city, team, and payroll remarkably well. We have had, and will continue to have, dialogue with Adrian's representatives about keeping him in San Diego long-term. It is still early in that process and attempting to draw conclusions in the middle of any negotiation is an inexact science." Hoyer assessment is certainly more optimistic than that of team CEO Jeff Moorad, who said on Wednesday that "early signals" are that Gonzalez will be too rich for the Padres.

Giles, 38, hit .191/.277/.271 with two home runs and 23 RBI in 225 at-bats this past season and was limited to 61 games because of a knee contusion. His days as a productive major league player are over.

Hairston requested $2.9 million and was offered $2.1 million from the Padres when arbitration figures were exchanged last Tuesday, so this resolution seems fair to both parties. The 29-year-old outfielder was re-acquired from the Athletics in the Kevin Kouzmanoff trade earlier this month and should be an everyday player again for San Diego -- even if he won't come close to replicating the .299/.358/.533 line he put up for the Padres before getting dealt to the A's in July.

And we call that progress. "Mark has been through so many timelines, at this point I'm almost allergic to the word," Prior's agent John Boggs said. "But he's out there. He's getting himself ready. And when he's ready, I'm sure you'll hear a lot about him. Then we'll invite teams to come watch him throw. And hopefully, he'll be the next Ben Sheets." Well, they are similarly snakebit, but he won't come anywhere close to the coin Sheets landed with Oakland. Prior, 29, hasn't thrown a pitch in the majors since 2006.