Is a Wil Myers for David Price trade beneficial for Padres?
Credit: AP Photo
The San Diego Padres and Boston Red Sox match up well in a potential trade of Wil Myers for David Price. Each team clearly wants to go in another direction and a fresh start could be beneficial for both teams.
It is not a well-kept secret that A.J. Preller is attempting to offload Wil Myers‘ and his contract off to another team.
Offloading Myers’ contract is priority number one for the Padres this offseason, but finding a prospective trade partner isn’t as easy as it sounds. The outfielder is owed $69.5 million over the next three years while his decreasing on-field production (0.5 WAR, 96 wRC+ in 2019) only lowers his value even more.
However, there is another team with another egregious contract who might be willing to play ball with Preller, the Boston Red Sox.
Once flush with cash and payroll space, Boston now finds itself well over the luxury tax threshold and looking to shed payroll by any means necessary. Massive contracts given out to the likes of Chris Sale and Nathan Eovaldi have handicapped the Red Sox from signing virtually any free agent this offseason.
Another player that Boston has been attempting to move is David Price. The former Cy Young winner is owed $32 million over the next three years after signing a seven-year, $217 million extension after the 2016 season. Injuries cut his most recent season short, though, as he only pitched 107.1 innings in 2019.
So, San Diego is looking to acquire a front-of-the-line-starter while trying to dump Myers, while Boston is trying to dip below the luxury tax threshold by dealing their former ace. It seems like a match made in heaven, right?
For Boston, yes. By trading Price for Myers in a straight one-for-one trade, the Red Sox would be saving a little less than $10 million per season while slotting Myers in at first base, a position where they have no current answer for outside of platoons. A fresh start with consistent playing time could be all Myers needs to find his true self again.
However, such a trade may not work so well for the Padres. True, Price would give San Diego the ace they’ve been searching for, but the cons that come with Price are just as difficult as Myers. While the Red Sox would be saving more than $10 million per year, the Padres would be adding that same amount for the next three years on a payroll that is starting to stretch at the seams.
A 3.62 FIP, 3.73 xFIP, and 3.85 SIERA in 107.1 total innings culminated to a 2.7 WAR for the 34-year-old lefty, which still qualifies as an effective season. However, only 24 of those innings came after the All-Star break as Price dealt with left elbow tendinitis and a TFCC cyst in his left wrist. The wrist issue was so damaging that it required surgery after the season to get the cyst removed.
Even with a successful surgery to remove the cyst, the health concerns on the aging pitcher are a reasonable cause for hesitation on any potential trade deal. Boston has already stated they are not willing to include other players to trade Price, so a player like Andrew Benintendi is off the table.
There are benefits of adding the 2018 AL Comeback Player of the Year, but the cons of his contract and health concerns make this Price a little too steep.
I am currently attending San Diego State University while working on achieving a major in journalism. At SDSU, I write for The Daily Aztec while also hosting the sports radio show “Picked Off”, for KCR Radio. A loyal fan of San Diego sports, I hope to bring content that you will enjoy reading.
I believe moreran has alot more upside than lucasi at this point and the reds would take either one of them. If we can get nick from the reds let’s do it now .we will loose alot of these young guys if we do not move them.we loose young guns every year in the minors draft, and as known as rule 5.
Well at this point I would move asmis,or our catcher,put myers back behind the dish in spring.he could back up our young catcher. Put Cordero in center.let the young guys compete.we are a 500 team at best.try to make the trade with cindy for there young out fielder,but if not let get in on 2020.
Look , again i say use your talent in the minors.to much good talent has already been traded this year.spangenburg was way more productive as the second basemen they got from oakland.another preller boy.what happens is there talent stars to develope and they trade them off.at least five i can think of.look at the cubs ,astros and dodgers.they bring up there good players and slot them ,giving the vets a rest.at this point , thepods are a 500 team.i think davies will be a young stud, he can bring it and mixes pitches well.dont trad off are talent for old has been talent.
Hozmer sucks but he led the team with 100 rbis.. would love to see him and Myers go but not for price.. why hasn’t anyone suggested trading Manny teams need 3b…..
Hosmer was a dumb move. It was very much a first domino to fall. From screwing up Myers, having too many 1B, tying up salary on a player thats not that good and on the backside of his career, Not being able to sign a Strasburg etc. what a stupid move. I agree with those that want a Price for Hosemer. That would definitely be a (good?) for both teams. Keep Myers rebuild his value. Don’t let this become the next T Turner, Rizzo fiasco.
I’d make this deal in a New York minute. Veteran top of the rotation starter for a guy with no position and the owner castigated as worthless? Come on people whats holding up the deal isn’t Boston adding a prospect but the quality of what the Pads are willing to throw into the deal. Anyway you shake this we need Price way more than Boston needs Myers.
East coast bias wants this deal! It’s not a good deal period. The Padres don’t have that kind of money, let alone an extra 10M to the payroll right now! Boston needs this WWWAAAYYY more than the Padres do. They’d save money, fill first base, and flip Wil when his value rises this season.
Hosmer is another issue. I hated the signing as soon as I heard it. Still, do not take on Price, his issues, or his salary!,,
After much pondering on this potential trade, the commentators have convinced me that keeping Myers one more year, platooning with Hoz at 1st and the occasional start in the outfield might be an answer. Will Myers plays like he doesn’t want to put in the effort. Not to win, but even play. He is so talented but he plays and acts like he is hugging a bong. His lackadaisical attitude is not something other teams covet in a trade. Keeping my fingers crossed, the new manager and staff can light a fire. Wil could be a difference maker on this team if he played to the level of his talent! Don’t know if he knows it, but he is wasting his youth and talent. Wil, do you want to be known as the “Ellsbury” of the west coast?
Let the kids play! Do not trade them! Go Padres!
It’s unanimous! No on Price!
We don’t need to take on an older vet, coming off surgery. And it’s not likely, he’s going to get better as he moves toward 37 yes old.
Stay with Will for a better trade deal and if it doesn’t happen, let him play RF and occasionally, platoon at 1b.
Both guys are “maybes” going into 2020, but Will is 10-mil less expensive and that’s the better gamble to take.
1) We might not even be having this conversation if Ron Fowler hadn’t shot his big mouth off. Or agreed to the worst free agent signing in recent memory, Hosmer. People are still laughing about that one, just not here in San Diego.
2) It is, as several posters have noted, preferable to trade Hosmer – for almost anything – but it seems unlikely Boston would want him. If such a trade can be arranged, let’s hop on it. If Preller is afraid to try because of the NTC (and who gave him that?) and is forced to move Myers because Fowler is a blow hard, then okay.
3) But in a straight up trade, there is a ton of risk for the Padres. Myers is younger, cheaper ($68.5 mil, not $61 mil as the article claims), can play multiple positions, and is likely to be better in 2020 than he was in 2019. Price is an old pitcher with injury concerns and a poor clubhouse rep. (for what that’s worth).
4) With Price’s injury issues and Myers’ fair chance at rebounding, these guys might have the same value over the next 3 years. But Price will cost $96 mil. That $27.5 mil difference would need to be addressed. Boston will not want to include cash, that’s the reason they’re trading him. So it will have to be in prospects.
What might make more sense is to do whatever is necessary to trade Hosmer (threatening to platoon him, or even bench him, is the obvious leverage) and move Myers to 1B. This will not be pretty, but that’s the blockbuster move Preller should be dreaming on.
Chris Sale is the Pitcher I would trade straight up for Myers, if no deal I keep Wil another year. Price is too expensive and too risky.
I do not want Will dumped for nothing. He has value even if Green ruined him for last year. Maybe with orders from AJ… who knows. I think Myers regains value this year. Platoon him with Myers and give him outfield starts.
Price is just dead money. I’d rather have Will’s “dead money” and his upside than Price and his issues. If we get another young starter… great. You can’t have enough quality starters. Trade chips later. If we have to go through another growth year… so be it. The kids will need to get their innings in and learn on the job. Maybe they breakout and maybe they struggle. I think anyone thinking 2020 is a playoff year, is dreaming.
Price is not the answer and a Myers will not be the reason we lose 90 games.
“Is a Wil Myers for David Price trade beneficial for Padres?” NO!!!!!
But a Hosmer for Price trade would liberate the Padres. Only then (getting rid of Hosmer) will they have a chance.
“Offloading Myers’ contract is priority number one for the Padres this offseason…” Why do people keep saying this? Trading him is fine, perhaps, but “priority number one”? Myers is not their biggest problem.
Hosmer would have to waive his no trade clause and his contract is front-loaded making the money aspect less advantageous. The Padres should want nothing to do with Price in either case.
Both are guaranteed money/money spent. Logic would tell us to get the most value, and Price has infinitely more value (2+ WAR, for what that’s worth for a starting pitcher).
DP’s contract is over in 3 yrs, and Hosmer’s contract might be more appealing–and MORE advantageous–to the Red Sox since it is lower per year, and helps them with the tax threshold.
Yes, he would, but the Padres do have leverage in that next year he loses his veto power, so they can trade him anywhere in 10 months. I think he would prefer a team like Boston now than risking the unknown.
Either way, the Padres would be better if Hosmer sat 60+% of the time, and if they increased this percentage if he continues to decline.
It is a long shot, and the Padres would be the clear winners, so they would likely have to sweeten the deal.
I don’t know what the future holds. But, if one could go back, though I love him, Hoz being signed and bumping Myers out to a “super utility spot” was Wil’s undoing in SD. That’s if he’s jettisoned. Wil said when moved full time to 1st base how much more “into” the game he was. I do not believe Wil is far from being that 30/30 caliber All-Star for someone, Padres or other. Even in a “bad season” last year, Wil still put up some modest-for-him numbers with 18 homers and 16 stolen bases at a .321 obp in a part time role. In case you’re not following closely enough and just listen to the noise, that was 4th best on the team last year in OBP. From the outside looking in, it seems job one would be to get Wil right again and at first base, especially when the new manager was hired expressly to maximize talent. Somehow, we axed the hitting coach and promoted the assistant as a solution. I hope for growth. It’s not a bad contract if he’s right.
If possible, it’s Hoz I would trade. He likely has more value somehow, too. It’s no one’s fault. How could anyone know we’d be suiting Machado up? But, Hoz has not been worth the money. He’s also been better than most seem to see, but the two can’t play first. One has to go. A Hoz to KC or Boston or Miami deal seems worth considering relenting on his no trade. Platooning won’t be a good look if he wanted to get another contract. Again, the ideal would be to get both players at their best and stop this dump talk. It seems we’re past that point though.
On point, I do not understand any writing suggesting Price is a front of the rotation pitcher. He may be a good pickup, but he’s a balky middle of the rotation arm now unless the surgery was the solution, and as you have said, he would not be a benefit straight up for Wil. Unless Wil’s somehow a drain on the clubhouse, it seems insane to attach prospects to a guy to get rid of him. I guess I am stubborn.
I think it’s a foregone conclusion Wil is gone. I think a place where he can play first without pressure in a pennant race would be the best place to recoup value for the next team. Seattle, Miami, Detroit, and Baltimore come to mind along with Oakland and their knack to develop players though he’s likely DH/OF there. Detroit and Baltimore have very little bad contract money except one (apiece) really bad one, so we don’t match up there. I’m not sure what Miami’s plan is, but acquiring a big contract at this stage is likely not what they want. Seattle could be a Kikuchi/Gordon return. Second/Center and a starting arm. If Seattle could believe in Wil’s inevitable turn around and see him as a better chip than for their rebuild than Gordon and a pitcher we solicited and was homered off a lot in the transition year. This is much lower cost and fits our plans better IF we can turn Kikuchi around. Oakland doesn’t have significant salary, so it would only be a fit if they see something in Wil San Diego hasn’t done.
Again, I would prefer to trade Hoz. To Miami, for Alcantara and/or Smith with a few prospects. I’d go for an ace later in the season if possible, Houston-Verlander style of needed. Who knows? Maybe Gore and/or Patino may be our aces in a few months.
Since Boston doesn’t want to include additional player, maybe if the Red Sox sweetened the deal with $10 million per year? It’s a risky trade for both teams, but I agree it does make a lot of sense. However, it might be better for the Padres to keep Myers, and pray his offensive production is rediscovered, which also bears some risk. And then if Myers finds his bat, they could unload him at the All Star break.
No thanks. Deal him with a top 20 prospect for a player that knows how to wear their hat.