Jesus Sanchez may be an option for the San Diego Padres as they search for outfield help. 

The San Diego Padres are looking to add to their star-filled roster early in the season.

According to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Padres have begun to explore the trade market for a left fielder.

The Padres, as of May 28, are last in baseball when it comes to WAR from their left fielders. They need production from the position. It is an absolute must-have.

There are multiple routes the Padres could go to fill their need in left field. Names on the trade market include Taylor Ward, Cedric Mullins, Ramon Laureano, and Ryan O’Hearn. A.J. Preller is not shy about trading; the Padres will get something done.

The Marlins have an outfielder who is also of interest to San Diego—someone who the Padres just saw in action- Jesus Sanchez.

Sanchez played very well in the series, going 6-for-13 with two homers. It was a great showing at Petco Park, and the Padres have a history of dealing with the Marlins.

Sanchez is a career .240 hitter with an OBP of .311 in 1,500 major league at-bats. So far this year, the left-handed hitter is batting .246 with an OBP of .347 in 36 games. The positives of Sanchez are minimal, but the Padres are getting minimal production from left field. He does walk in the 85th percentile in the majors right now, and his xwOBA is 75th percentile. That is servicable. It is better than what the Padres are presently getting.

The very bad thing about Sanchez is that he is an extremely below-average defender, and he whiffs on 28.3% of his swings. Maybe the Padres can get more contact out of him. At 27, Sanchez remains a relatively young player with considerable upside. He slugged 18 homers last year and has power potential. The Padres witnessed that firsthand.

Although Sanchez is not exactly what Padres fans are looking for in the trade market, he would still be an improvement.

On the year, Sanchez has a -0.2 WAR, which would be middle of the pack in the MLB, and is 1.2 WAR better than what the Padres are getting in left field. That is sad.

In terms of cost, it would not be significant.

Sanchez, after this season, has two more years of team control before hitting free agency in 2028. The Padres could offer Isaiah Lowe and Tirso Ornelas for Jesus Sanchez, and it would be more than enough to bring Sanchez to San Diego. The Padres have a working relationship with Miami, so this is not as far-fetched as one would think. We will see what San Diego does.

Bryant Thursby

Assistant Coach at Heritage High School. A big time SDSU fanatic and Padres fan.