Padres emerging as favorites for Royals’ LHP Danny Duffy?

There is no doubt that the San Diego Padres will make a move or two in the coming weeks.

The Major League Baseball trade deadline is approaching and the front-running Padres will surely attempt to improve their squad as they chase their quest for a World Championship. Padres general manager A.J. Preller is not shy about upgrading. He will make moves.

In taking a glance at the current San Diego Padres roster, you will notice an issue with the starting staff.

Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, and Joe Musgrove were added in the winter, but the Padres are suffering from a lack of innings pitched from this trio. Darvish and Musgrove are doing their part, but Snell isn’t able to make it deep into games. To compound the problem, Dinelson Lamet is still feeling pain in his right arm and Chris Paddack is terribly inconsistent. The Padres also lost Adrian Morejon early in the year to Tommy John surgery and Ryan Weathers recently injured his leg and is on the IL.

There is a need for starting pitching if you are the San Diego Padres.

Enter Kansas City and their left-handed pitcher Danny Duffy.

The 32-year-old is enjoying a productive season with the Royals and could be had for the right price. The Padres and Royals have a history of trades together within the last few seasons so a deal could be consummated. The ever-rebuilding Royals surely covet some of the Padres prospects, but can the two sides agree on the worth of Duffy?

At the end of the 2021 season, Duffy will be a free agent. The lefty is a rental, but you can still expect his cost to be substantial. The Dodgers are in need of starting pitching and there will always be a need for a left-handed pitcher that comes with the pedigree of Danny Duffy. His price tag will be high as the Padres are not the only suitors. Duffy does own a no-trade clause in his contract. Word is he prefers to go to a west coast team.

Currently, Duffy is 4-3 with a 2.51 ERA and a 1.213 WHIP in 61 innings pitched and 12 starts for the Royals. The native of California owns a career 68-68 record with a 3.95 ERA and a 1.316 WHIP in his 11-year career. In May, Dufy was placed on the IL with a forearm strain in his pitching arm. Durability has never been shown from this pitcher, so there will be some concern if he can truly help the Padres when they need it.

A.J. Preller will upgrade the roster. Several ideas are floating around, and only he knows where the team will move. Expect a flurry of deals and expect them to happen close to one another. The general manager typically pulls off multiple transactions as they all affect what the Padres are trying to do.

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Danny Duffy would help the Padres, but what would be the cost?

The Padres could move an infielder or outfielder in the mid-minor league range as the major league roster is currently full of players who should remain rostered for the next few seasons. A player like Tirso Ornelas, Agustin Ruiz, or Eguy Rosario makes some sense, but the Padres probably hold their prospects in higher regard than a rental pitcher. Preller and his staff will need to crunch the numbers and determine which player is worth the risk and which prospect is tradeable.

Stay tuned, Padres fans. Things are heating up on the hot stove.

James Clark

James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.