Padres Rumors: Next Potential Trade Partners for the San Diego Padres

With the recent story on MLBtraderumors.com about the San Diego Padres fielding calls on relief pitchers, here are some potential trade partners for the Padres. Just about every team in the league could use some help in the bullpen and that’s exactly what the Padres have an excess of.

Of all the pitchers in the bullpen, I would have to say the Joaquin Benoit is the most likely to be dealt. He does provide a solid eighth inning option for Bud Black, however with his salary being $8 million dollars, he might just be better off pitching somewhere else.

It’s not that Benoit isn’t wanted by the Padres, but with the capable names of Kevin Quackenbush and Brandon Maurer in Triple-A, he just seems over priced. Paying a setup man that kind of salary is not needed with the inexpensive talent the Padres have under team control.

Brandon Maurer, Nick Vincent, Robbie Erlin, Frank Garces, Kevin Quackenbush and Dale Thayer are all signed long-term (at least three seasons) and only arbitration eligible. Quality, effective major league relievers at a decent price in a great asset to have in this day and age. A.J. Preller is sure to exploit his abundance of relief pitchers. Just watch him.

If you ask me, not only the name Joaquin Benoit is being floated around, but in my eyes Jedd Gyorko is being made available. Will Middlebrooks seems to have established himself at third base and Yangervis Solarte has shown exceptional play when given the time to be on the field.

Most importantly is the fact that Cory Spangenberg was left on the 25-man roster. He has the speed and left-handed bat the Padres could potentially utilize at the top of the order. Gyorko’s name could have easily been discussed in the deal for Craig Kimbrel, last week. I’m fairly positive his name had to have come up at one point. The Atlanta Braves probably viewed him as too expensive a project.

Those two players alone are potentially being used as bait to improve the shortstop position and who knows where else. You would have to think the rotation is set. Before the injury to Ian Kennedy, I would say the Padres had many choices at starter. In fact I would have even said that Odrisamer Despaigne might be attainable in a potential deal with the Padres. With Kennedy’s injured hammy, all that changes. At least for the moment. Now let us take a look at some of the teams that would be a decent trade partner with the Padres.

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.