What Outfielders Are Being Shopped By the Padres?
Credit: AP Photo
Earlier this week on Padres Radio, A.J. Preller indicated that the team is talking trade of an outfielder this winter.
Kind of strange, as the majority of the rumors have been swirling around Brad Hand and Yangervis Solarte. Now, most seem to center around recently acquired third baseman Chase Headley. Still, Preller is one who keeps all his doors open. He always thinks outside the box.
In this day and age of major league baseball, most general managers copy each other in terms of strategy. A.J. Preller moves to the beat of his own drum and is always looking for an edge over an opponent. He has no problem trying to take advantage of a situation, and that is exactly what you have to do to survive when you are a smaller market team. The Friars are certainly going beyond surviving, as the team has made much progress in recent years. The franchise is gaining respect.
It is a long road to come back from how irrelevant this organization was. Preller will do what it takes to get the job done. You can be certain of that.
The Padres presently have an excess of outfielders, as well as their second base/third base logjam. Currently, Manuel Margot and Hunter Renfroe are locked into starting roles. Beyond those two, Jose Pirela and Alex Dickerson appear to be the front-runners for the left field job. Matt Szczur, Franchy Cordero, and Travis Jankowski are all on the 40-man roster, and then there is the talk about Wil Myers being moved to left if a first baseman is acquired.
Preller could have been talking about Jabari Blash when he was indicating an outfield trade, but I believe the team may be exploring more options.
They are certainly open to any and all offers at this point. Preller is not one to walk away without hearing what a team has to offer. That in itself is valuable. Even if a deal is never consummated, learning the perceived value of a team’s player and your own prospect is tremendous information. That kind of information is what he takes in and saves for a later date. The man has a tremendous ability to process information that pertains to baseball. The Padres could be moving an outfielder. They certainly have an excess.
Let’s take a look at each outfielder on the current Padre roster and determine if they are indeed a trade piece.
Of all the outfielders, he is probably the only real untouchable. Margot plays the game with grace and has a movie star-like smile on his face while playing the game. He is an excellent teammate and is under team control for a long time. His bat is progressing into a top of the order threat and the man is still learning his abilities. Defensively, he is a Gold Glover in the making. The Padres will build around this young man.
I would say that he is untouchable, but I don’t believe he is. Preller did not draft Renfroe. He has no direct attachment to him. If the Marlins ask for Renfroe in a Christian Yelich deal, then the Padres should seriously consider it. Renfroe is still young and could blossom, but he has a lot of holes in his swing. His defense was also subpar last year. You could argue that his value will never be any higher. You may also make the case that it was at its pinnacle prior to the 2017 season.
This infielder was thrown to the wolves in left and really started to impress late in the year. He will not be an above average outfielder, but he looks like he could be serviceable there. A late season pinkie injury, on the bases, did not allow Padre fans to see Pirela in late September. He could be viewed as a trade option, but I really do not think teams are aware of how good he was last season. His value should be higher than what it currently is. I think Preller holds on this versatile player unless someone pays the price.
He had an impressive 2016 season, but then missed the whole 2017 season with a back injury. He brings a solid left-handed bat to the Padres, but has always had health problems. Dickerson probably does not have much value on the open market, so a trade seems unlikely. This will be a big year for the Poway High Alum.
He is kind of lost in the shuffle, but provides the team with a capable backup to Margot in center. Szczur will not impress you with any skill on the baseball diamond, but he does everything well. He is an unheralded type of player so his value is minimal at best. He will compete for a job in the spring.
“Fast Freddy” could be of use to a team looking for a center fielder. He has plus defensive abilities and great speed, but has struggled to get on base. The left-handed hitter missed a lot of time last year with a foot injury, and that hurt his value. At the beginning of the 2017 season, he was the Padres’ starting left fielder. His value is low, but he still could be dealt if Preller finds a suitor. Jankowski is currently being shopped, but will anyone be a buyer? Speed and defense at a fraction of the price should fetch something.
This is an interesting player. He has tremendous ability. Excellent bat speed with top end speed. His center field defense seems to be improving the more he plays the position. Cordero looks to be a man without a spot on the Padres’ roster currently though. Things could change, as the Padres might open the season with him if he impresses in the spring. As far as trade value, Cordero has some. He is tearing it up in the Dominican Winter League and has accomplished pretty much all you can do at the minor league level. He is a top 15 talent in the Padre system and of all the outfielders, he may be the one the Padres are fielding calls on.
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.
All speculations and NO truth to any off it. Janosowski, Dickerson, Renfroe should be gone. Borders should come off the pine. People we have a Shortstop in Galvis give the man an opportunity to show you what He’s got.
Oops Cordera should come off the bench
The Padres contending keeps getting pushed down the road. Now I’m hearing 2020. Padres have some improving bats, but are woefully inadequate in pitching. I would like a GM who wants to contend EVERY year, not at some moveable point down the road.
That being said; If the Pads get Hosmer, TRADE Meyers. Don’t take a spot from producers like Pirela or even Scuzer.
Franchy Cordero is going to be a star. Keep a spot open for him. Good work getting something for Blash. I think he’s an AL guy. Disagree with the writer about Renfroe. Great power, excellent arm. Yes, he does need to work on his batting and D, but the right coach should be able to get 30+ HR from him in 2018.
Agreed on the outfield situation and good observations Padre Paul, but who in their right mind is going to trade for Myers and that unnecessarily large contract? If they trade him, it’s a Shields/Kemp/Gyorko/Upton type situation where the team foots a chunk of the bill…..
Hmm, interesting pattern going here. AJ and contracts don’t mix so well. God help us if they really get Hosmer for more than 100 mill……………..
From the looks of the last two trades it looks like Preller reverted to his horrible trading mode of a couple of years ago (when teams knew they could take advantage of Preller…like with Kemp, Upton, Meyers). So the Yankees and Phillies just embarrassed him and stole from the Padres. Who’s next? Boras/Hosmer?
I’m glad I’m not the only one that was wondering about that. Where is the logic in the trade? You have FA’s available to fill the position and you trade a highly rated prospect for a rental SS??? If they extend Galvis another year to bring along Tatis slowly, maybe I understand, but you don’t ever, unless you’re in the middle of a pennant race, do that.
Not a mistake a smaller market team can afford to make.
I’d hope they trade Jankowski (if anyone wants him), or release the guy. I think he’s a AAAA player with less upside or value than anyone else you’ve listed. He really doesn’t fit on the 40 man roster at this point- especially if Hosmer is headed here and Wil is going to LF. Any question about Janko is answered with his OBP. Not acceptable for a “speed threat”.
James, I have heard the Padres are “pushing” to deal Headley and have been in talks about Solarte, but I haven’t heard/read anything about Hand, which is concerning me. What rumors have you heard about him? Anything good in return? With the contracts relief pitchers who aren’t as good as him have been getting, you would think he would be at the top of any teams list.
The market for top tier relievers is showing up as very healthy .. AJ views Hand as an elite reliever with versatility (I believe he is correct). If the chatter is even somewhat accurate, other teams have been unwilling to step up & make a strong offer. With team control & the possibility of adding offense, AJ has stated many times he’s more than happy to hang on to Hand. Basically, it’s going to take a MLB ready SS w/ team control to get the conversation going anywhere.
I disagree with the package for Hand. I have this big issue with the lack of LH bats in our organization overall. Cordero might be a 4th OF on a contending team but Dickerson is injury prone, and Freddy (Jankowski) doesn’t get on base enough.
So my proposed trade addresses this LH bat problem in one deal. My proposed trade partner is the Astros, a 4 for 1, they get Hand, and we get Kyle Tucker (OF) #8 Top 100 prospect, A.J. Reed (1B), Colin Moran (3B/1B), Rogelio Armenteros (P). All 3 position players bat from the left side, have both plus hit and power tools and are average or better fielding tools. Tucker would slide in as our #1 position prospect Day 1. Armenteros is a RHP who should be ready for ML duty this year, he has started or could be used as a middle reliever, had great Minor league #’s last season.
Don, although I would love to see the Padres get that kind of return for Hand, I cannot see the Astros giving up that much. Tucker alone would be a great get for the Padres, never mind the other 3 players you mentioned. A top 10 prospect in all of baseball for a reliever would be fantastic, but I do have a hard time seeing the very analytically driven Astros making that deal.
If we can get Kyle Tucker then you make that deal right away but we would never get him just for straight up hand and tucker. But leave it up to A.J. and pull it off
I would be willing to sweeten the pot to get that group. Reed and Moran are both blocked at the ML level and are turning into 4A+ type prospects, the time to get something for them is running out. The pitcher was an afterthought. So I would do the deal for the 3 bats I suggested.
I would be willing to toss in something extra from our side, say Logan Allen or Eric Lauer as the Astros have one LH starter on the ML roster and no Top 10 prospects who are LHP.
We’ll see SD Don .. I will guarantee you one thing .. AJ is not going to settle for less than what he has already established as Hand’s value just to trade him. He’s happy to keep an elite reliever that he picked up off the scrap heap & so am I.
If you take a good luck at the core that has arrived,
Margot (CF) RH
Renfroe (RF) RH
Hedges (C) RH
then add the Next wave,
Urias (2B) RH
Tatis (SS) RH
So in the one Proposed Trade with Astros we add,
Reed (1B) LH
Moran (3B) LH
Tucker (LF) LH – I would give him a year with Tatis and Urias in the minors
That would allow us to play Meyers in LF for a year, let him put up a 4+ WAR number out there and we should be able to trade him for a ML ready Top Pitching Prospect.
We know the Astros need Hand for sure, they have very LH starters on the way from their system, would you go as high as Gore or Morejon along with Hand to get these 3 LH bats from the Astros.
It leaves us with allot of options depending on what happens, say Reed flames out we have Naylor behind him, we also have Cordero as a LH bat also. We could baby both Reed and Moran along by using Villanueva to spell them for say 100 AB’s each against LHP.
Or we could spend a bunch of money buying similar players and wasting a couple more seasons as our roster doesn’t get it done. Which the Padres have a long history of doing.
I don’t know what it would take to get Hand but Preller’s pattern is to load up on prospects in the bigger trades. I’m not sure if he’d go after a MLB ready SS at this point in a trade for Hand (or really have any current major leaguer in the trade. I’d agree it will look something more like SD Don’s scenario.
All has been quiet so far. I’m sure Preller will explore that option down the road. I have heard that his asking price is still sky high.
Hey Dustin, I would assume that Hand will get dealt (if he is being dealt) after the RP market settles. It’s moving pretty fast so maybe soon?
The trouble with Machado is signing him long term which I don’t think the Padres can do.
I’d try machado at ss for a year, isn’t he around 15m or so, could be a great short term ss