Padres Rumors: One of These Trades Has to Be for a Shortstop
With all these rumors swirling around who the San Diego Padres will trade this coming deadline, Padres fans ask one simple request… Please trade for a Major League ready shortstop. Please.
Will Middlebrooks making his second straight start at shortstop shows that the Padres have zero to no confidence in Clint Barmes and Alexi Amarista at shortstop. Both are average defenders but truly lack the offensive punch to play everyday in the Major Leagues. Middlebrooks might provide a slightly better result in the lineup, but it has yet to be seen if he can play the shortstop position defensively.
Truth be told, Middlebrooks is not the shortstop of the future for the Padres. He is only temporarily filling in there because the Padres really have no other option. The Padres offense has been stale of recent and manager Pat Murphy is doing all he can to get the most production from this bunch.
The real problem in a potential trade is the shortstop position is one of great weakness throughout baseball. Not very many teams can really say that they are well stocked in that position. There are a few team that have an excess of shortstops. The Chicago Cubs come to mind with Starlin Castro, Addison Russell, and Javier Baez all young shortstops. Castro is currently playing the position with the Major League team while Russell plays second. Javier Baez was -playing everyday in Triple-A Iowa but suffered a finger injury last month and is only now beginning to swing the bat.
The Milwaukee Brewers are also a team to watch as far as shortstops go. Jean Segura has been mentioned in many rumors. The latest is him and Aramis Ramirez to the New York Mets for prospects. The Padres have surely kicked the tires on Segura, but its not clear if the team is willing to pay the asking price from Milwaukee. Segura is decent defensively and relatively cheap and under control. His price tag would not be cheap.
The Colorado Rockies have been threatening to move Troy Tulowitzki, all though no real deal seems likely. Tulo is the face of the franchise and the fans would kill the front office if he was dealt for anything short of can’t miss prospects. Unless the Mets are willing to part with Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard or Matt Harvey, then I suspect Tulo remains in Colorado. The Padres could offer a package centered around Tyson Ross or Andrew Cashner, but a trade between division rivals seems very unlikely.
General manager A.J. Preller is surely looking everywhere for a suitable infielder. The Padres farm system is really low on middle infielders. Jose Rondon is likely at least a few seasons from even sniffing any playing time in the Major Leagues. The thin shortstop is the best looking prospect at the position in the Padres farm system.
The Padres will make some moves in the next few weeks. That is a guarantee. Justin Upton, Joaquin Benoit, Will Venable, Shawn Kelley and Ian Kennedy all figure to be traded. Craig Kimbrel and James Shields are also rumored to be possibly dealt as well. With all those names departing the team, one would figure that at least one middle infielder will make his way to the Padres roster. Let’s just sit back and see what direction Padres management decides to go.
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.