Padres Rumors: Trade is Imminent for Padres

Cory Spangenberg and Yangervis Solarte have played well in their time at second base. Solarte has come up with key hit after key hit, but his defense is lacking. He does not provide much range at second base, and in my opinion has played his best defense at third base. Third base looks to be Will Middlebrooks position, so Solarte will just have to get his at bats where he can. Spangenberg has elite speed and is very raw. He brings a lot of youth to the team and I enjoy seeing him play the game. Spangenberg has fun out there, and I’m all about having fun playing the game. Every team could use a player like Spangenberg on their roster.

The obvious trade candidates are Shawn Kelley/Joaquin Benoit and Jedd Gyorko. In my opinion the Padres have moved on from Gyorko. They are already right handed power heavy. They really don’t need another power hitter from the right side who strikes out too much. Kemp, Myers, Upton, and Middlebrooks all fit that mold.

A.J. Preller didn’t give Jedd Gyorko his extentsion. That was the handy work of Josh Byrnes, whose reputation in San Diego gets worse by the season. Anthony Rizzo is turning into a superstar and the Andrew Cashner deal for him, looks to be a bust. Not a huge loss for the Padres, but most fans would definitely rather have Rizzo over Cashner. Well perhaps not, if Yonder Alonso keep hitting like a man possessed. He is in the beginning of what looks to be a statement year. I wrote about that in a past article, you can read it here.

Teams are already falling out of the race. The Miami Marlins and Milwaukee Brewers are both struggling. Each team had huge expectations and each team has heard grumblings from their ownership about their start. Milwukee is currently 3-13 while the Miami Marlins are 5-11. Miwaukee has some potentially interesting players to the Padres Luis Sardinas and Jean Segura. Sardinas was acquired by the Brewers from the Texas Rangers in the Yovani Gallardo deal. A.J. Preller coming from the Rangers organization is surely very knowledgable of Sardinas ability. Sardinas is currently in Triple-A hitting .314 in 51 at bats. The 21-year old shortstop from Venezuela has a lot of upside.

Jean Segura is currently the starting shortstop for the Brewers. He would not be cheap to acquire at all. Segura had a great 2013 season as he made the all-star team and hit .294 on the season in 146 games. Segura also hit 12 home runs and drove in 49 runs. All that while stealing 44 bases and playing steady defense. He is above average defensively and only 25 years old. The Brewers would surely want pitching prospects, and the Padres have very few remaining. Austin Hedges and Hunter Renfroe are not really great fits for the Brewers, and Gyorko or a rental reliever make no sense either.

People think trades are easy to facilitate and that is far from the truth. That makes the job that A.J. Preller did this off-season look even more impressive. Sometimes you have to be in the right place at the right time. The man is obsessed with improving this team and another deal will happen eventually. I can feel it in my bones. He is waiting and once teams start to look towards the future he will pounce. Let the trade rumors begin.

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.