Padres Rumors: Which Padres Player is Getting Traded At the Deadline?
Option #3: Joaquin Benoit
Out of all the Padres upcoming free agents, Joaquin Benoit may be the one who is most likely to get traded at the trade deadline. Despite being 39 years old Benoit has still shown himself to be quite effective this season and there are many teams across the league that are in need of some late-inning bullpen help. With the surplus in the Padres bullpen, they can trade from a position of strength in order to improve one of the team’s many weaknesses.
The Padres bullpen has been much better as of late and has shown that the Padres have a surplus of talent which makes Benoit the most expendable. Dale Thayer, Frank Garces, Shawn Kelley, and Nick Vincent have shown themselves to be more than capable of eating innings. On top of that Kevin Quackenbush is currently pitching in the minor leagues and arguably deserves another call up. Finally Brandon Maurer is more than capable of taking Benoit’s place as the 8th inning man and Kimbrel has been lights out as the closer. The Padres have enough talent throughout their bullpen to easily absorb the loss of a player such as Benoit.
There is no shortage of teams in need of bullpen help and the Padres will have plenty of options if they do choose to trade Benoit. Some teams with playoff hopes who are in need of bullpen help include the Toronto Blue Jays, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Chicago Cubs, the New York Mets, the Detroit Tigers, and even the Boston Red Sox. In return for Joaquin Benoit, the Padres should be able to get either a few decent prospects or perhaps an upgrade at one of the infield positions that have been a big weakness for the Padres so far this season. All of these teams have some good depth either in prospects or in major league talent so the Padres should be able to find a good match in a potential Benoit trade.
Chances a Trade Gets Done: 80-85%
Given the Padres bullpen surplus, Benoit’s age, and his impending free agency it seems very likely that the Padres will pull the trigger and trade Benoit whether they are competing or not. Once the Padres acquired Craig Kimbrel it seemed that Benoit’s future with the team was sealed. It now seems likely that the Padres will cash in on that trade chip sooner than later.
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Editorial and Prospect Writer for East Village Times. Twenty-five years young, Patrick has lived in San Diego for his entire life and has been a Padres fan nearly as long. Patrick lives for baseball and is always looking to learn new things about the game he loves through advanced stats.