What Would It Take for the Padres to Acquire Gleyber Torres?
Credit: AP Photo
Left-handed relief options are a top priority, as the Yankees only have Aroldis Chapman and Chasen Shreve on their roster.
There is plenty of time for them to acquire a left-handed reliever, but teams such as the Yankees do not just settle for players. They instead prefer to hand-pick athletes that fit their mold.
Brad Hand certainly fits what they need as he is capable of getting both lefties and righties out and also has the track record of closing out games successfully in the majors. Hand is a valuable trade chip, but the Padres had reservations about moving him last July. It remains to be seen exactly what his trade value is. With two complete years of control at a very reasonable price, Hand has value. He would be a tremendous addition to the Yankees’ right-handed-dominant bullpen.
The Yankees are currently exploring options in the infield. Greg Bird and Chase Headley are the starters at first and third. Both are question marks moving forward. The Yankees will probably part ways with Headley, as he is due $13 million dollars in 2018, which is his last year under contract. Bird looks to be the first baseman of the future, but he is still young and the Yankees are showing a little frustration with his growth. Another option for the team is possibly moving Starlin Castro to third and picking up a second baseman. The team has options and the ability to make moves in several different directions.
The Bronx Bombers also presently need starting pitching, but this is something that the Padres can not help them with. Players like Dinelson Lamet and Luis Perdomo should not be dealt at this point by the Padres, as they need all the young, controllable, major league pitching they can stock up on. Dealing some of the Padres’ top pitching prospects to the Yankees could be enticing for the Bombers though.
Jacoby Ellsbury is an interesting option. The Yankees are trying to get rid of the veteran outfielder. He is due $63.5 million for the next three seasons with a $5 million dollar team option on a buyout after the 2020 season. That is a hefty sum for a 34-year-old player that is nothing more than a bench option for the Yankees currently. Aaron Hicks and Clint Frazier emerged in the 2017 season and Brett Gardner was also extremely productive for the Yankees. They could move Ellsbury without missing a beat. There are multiple reports they are exploring that option and a lot of it centers around eating much of his contract.
So would a deal of Brad Hand for Gleyber Torres and all of Jacoby Ellsbruy’s contract be possible? Ellsbury and his value have taken a hit, but he can still be productive. Hand has value, but Torres is an absolute stud. The Yankees would undoubtedly want more, and this is where it gets real tricky. The Padres have the money to take on $65 million in obligations. They can easily eat that money if the return is worth it. Landing the likes of Gleyber Torres is worth it. So let’s explore some options.
Perhaps a package of prospects to go along with Brad Hand would deserve Gleyber Torres and Ellsbury. Would the team be willing to move a Cal Quantrill, Joey Lucchesi, Eric Lauer, or Enyel De Los Santos? Would any of that foursome be tempting enough to get a deal done? Would Franchy Cordero help offset the loss of Ellsbury. Enough to pull the trigger? Perhaps if the Padres threw in a few more lesser-named prospects.
If the Padres included a top pitching prospect (or two), the Yankees could be enticed to sit down and negotiate. Let’s face it, the Padres are stacked with young pitchers. Losing one would not be catastrophic to the rebuild. Torres could play for the Yanks next season at third or second, but he is still a rookie. An uncertainty for the most part. Yes, the ceiling is tremendous., but the Yankees could view him as a trade chip because of their farm system depth and excess of current, young, major league talent. They could easily find a veteran to man third and second for 2018 and beyond. Someone with a proven track record.
Dealing Gleyber Torres would be very difficult for the Yankees. If not impossible. The Padres have the talent and the ability to eat money. Both are of tremendous value to the Bombers, but in the end, trading the overall #1 prospect is just too much of a risk. The likelihood of a deal is minimal at best, but the Padres have a ton of flexibility at the moment. That is the point of this piece. The Friars have a flourishing farm system and money to spend. Gleyber Torres might not be possible, but the Padres are going to be aggressive when it comes to improving the future of this franchise. I believe in Preller. Perhaps he can wave a magic wand and pry Torres away from the Yankees at a reasonable price. Stranger things have happened in the game of baseball. Then again, I’m a dreamer. What would it take for Gleyber Torres to be dealt to the Padres? A Miracle. Plain and simple.
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.
I like that everyone is excited about all these “prospects” but they are just that, prospects. There’s no guarantee a single one has a decent MLB career. We hope for the best but fact is, and Preller has said it too, most of these guys don’t work out. I like the idea of Torres but it was pretty evident that the Yankees want nothing to do in parting with him, so, keeping that in mind, let’s get off that train of thought.
At this point, assuming a few of these major prospects of ours are going to come up and hopefully develop in the next few years, I would hope the club is turning its attention towards adding longer term and solid veteran players- not just to support the prospects, but the guys who are here. Look at Wil for example- I love him in a Padre uniform, but he has no business being placed in the “face of the franchise” role. He needs help around him in the order and is regressing at the plate because he is trying to be “the man”. Adding Torres doesn’t help Wil, this coming year or the one after. Wil needs the help. And that doesn’t mean Austin or Hunter batting .220 because they can’t stop swinging for the fences. We need disciplined, professional major leaguers to set an example. We haven’t had that since Adrian was shown the door. That’s too long.
Continuing to build the system with prospects, yes. But now it’s time to build a major league team and focus on a core who will carry it- a core that is one worth watching and one that is competitive. We are essentially “prospects” as a MLB club and while it’s great what the Cubs and Stros did, there is no guarantee for us. Let’s hope a few of our guys become bona fide MLB players- in the meantime, how about some stability and competitive bats and arms who will get us to .500 this year? For some reason, since the start of this place called Petco, we’ve not been given a single one who’s stayed on board.
I don’t think Torres is any longer the top prospect in baseball, while still a top 5 guy, he would be a great get for the Padres. Brad Hand being a top 5 left handed reliever would be a great get for the Yankees. I agree the parameters are there for a deal. but I do not see how it would take more than taking all of Ellbury’s contract to make this deal happen? Torres and Ellsbury for Hand and $68.5M sounds pretty fair to me and I am not trying to be a homer. Getting Hand will make the Yankees bullpen the best in all of baseball and also help them get below the luxury tax threshold for the free agent class of 2018 in which they are said to be going all out for the top free agents. This is not the time for the Padres to start dealing away their top prospects, maybe including a 11-15 guy, but their #3 or 4 prospect, I just don’t like it. That being said, nice article James.
Why would you be willing to take ONE FRICKIN DOLLAR of Elsbury contract, he is a DH in New York. I don’t want the guy at all. At some point we need to get like 30 prospects into 15 slots on our 40 man roster. Our lack of LH corner options is huge and instead of fixing that need we are still stuck on a SS for the future. Tatis Jr. is looking more by the day like he is going to be a 3B.
Why do we take on big contracts on other teams TRASH but won’t sign good ML players in their prime if we have money to spend.
Which MLB free agent are you planning on spending big money on this year? There isn’t one “big name free agent” this year that I would want the Padres to sign, except for Hosmer who is still young enopugh to contribute in 2020 when the team should be good enough to contend. How ’bout next year. Harper? Machado? Good luck, over $300M(or a lot more) for either, that won’t fit into the Padres budget. The Padres have to play with the payroll this way, how do you think they got Tatis? By eating a ton of money on Shields’ contract. If they could eat $68M to get a starting SS for years to come, why would you not do that? You yourself say that Tatis is looking like a 3rd baseman. That hole at short, since Greene, isn’t filling itself. And you never know, Ellsbury could have a decent 1st half of the season and they could get a good prospect for him if they keep the contract.
Yes but we were trying to DUMP Shields. We need to DUMP Meyers if we dump anybody. That is why we need to do some real scouting of other teams assets and trade our prospects for theirs. You can’t take on other teams garbage and the money to get a prospect who may or may not pan out.
Our SS is playing for the NATS. if SS is such a significant position, why did Preller trade Turner.
How are you going to evaluate all of our prospects and end up with ones to protect with spots on our 40 man roster without losing someone. We need to hype some of these guys up and do some 2 or 3 for ones to get what else we need.
@Don TT clearly wasn’t preller guy.. ever since he traded TT he’s been linked to almost every shortstop.. I think Myers needs to move to left field and sign hosmer/ bring up big Naylor.. I believe preller is on right track Coach up the million and a half prospects he signed/ acquired and then he gets to pick the cream of the crop then package the left overs. Interesting time to be a daddy’s fan!!!
Hey Dustin, while I don’t think the Yankees are going to part with Torres under any decent circumstance and Ellsbury isn’t really a fit as he stands right now, I think you might be on the right track- it probably will be a creative trade that gets us a veteran or two that we need right now. If Ellsbury didn’t have the financial commitment (or where he’s at career-wise) he’d probably be a good fit.Maybe the Hosmer rumors are decent to wonder about. Not sure if they’re gonna shell out that kind of money though.
Ellsbury I could see in some kind of swap maybe with Wil Myers in a bad contract-like swap.
If you want to throw him in there I could see it being Wil Myers, Brad Hand & Anderson Espinoza for Greg Bird, Jacoby Ellsbury, Gleybar Torres & some other prospect (maybe Billy McKinney).
But yeah it would be a Hand and likely Quantrill or Espinoza for Torres which could be excellent.
@Don TT clearly wasn’t preller guy.. ever since he traded TT he’s been linked to almost every shortstop.. I think Myers needs to move to left field and sign hosmer/ bring up big Naylor.. I believe preller is on right track Coach up the million and a half prospects he signed/ acquired and then he gets to pick the cream of the crop then package the left overs. Interesting time to be a daddy’s fan!!!
Yeah that would work but I don’t see the Yankers ever parting with Torres unless we literally give them the farm. Wil could do well there but in your trade, I’d almost see the Yankees asking for a 3 for 1 (Wil, Brad…. but I think more realistically, you’re looking at Quantrill or Urias for the 3rd man). Part of that is that Wil at this moment looks like a bad contract and they already have a couple of those. But, they hold all the cards in this case, they can just buy what doesn’t work out for them. The Pads dealing with them may not be the best move.
This article is good and entertaining but I don’t see on what planet we need to worry about Torres when we have some good potential coming and need to focus on building a better foundation of established ball players.
I would want NO PART of Jacoby Ellsbury. Why do we consider taking players who other teams want to dump on us that are not performing up to their cost, but we hold off on actually signing players that would be a strong fit long term.
But Brad Hand and Anderson Espinoza in a Two for One for Torres would be something I would consider strongly.
You could put Tatis at 3B and Urias at 2B along with Torres at SS. Your Infield would be set. Add 2 LH batters at 1B and LF and we would have a solid starting 8 in the field, with enough pitching on the way.
We need to move Meyers before his contract gets prohibitive.
Hey Don, I like what you have to say, I was just laughing to myself at the Meyers contract comment. I have really no idea what Preller was thinking. He could’ve inked Myers for a lot less. I’m not sure signing him for what he “might” do was a smart move. I love Wil on our team but that price was really odd. Kinda like what they threw at Gyorko a few years back.
Granted, different GM, different scenario but I’m seeing a Matt Kemp or James Shields scenario coming with Myers (except in most realistic cases, Wil doesn’t put up the numbers to merit that sort of money in any season).
Sorry, I really do like Wil, I just think AJ really didn’t need to throw that much money on “hope” or “face of the franchise”. Right now, Wil is a 10 mil a year player and he may not exceed that. In that idea, yeah, it might be smart to unload him if his value peaks. He’s had injury issues to boot…….