As the hot stove league heats up, look for the Padres to be one of Major League Baseball’s more active teams. General manager A.J. Preller has plenty of work to do. After a very disappointing 2018 season, expect the Padres to accelerate their rebuilding process.
Adding major league ready talent to their 40 man roster will be the focus, rather than adding young prospects. The Padres must act immediately to address a major hole on the left side of their infield. Their 40 man roster is void of both a viable major league ready shortstop and third baseman. Preller also desires to add a veteran quality starting pitcher who will be under team control, when they hope to compete in 2020.
Following are some thoughts on how the Padres might address their areas of need as they enter the winter meetings.
Shortstop
Don’t look for the Padres to promote Fernando Tatis Jr. to the big leagues until at least June 1st. Tatis, only 19, suffered a season-ending hand injury in July 2018. While he appears healthy and is currently playing in winter ball, the Padres will likely allow their number one prospect to get additional at-bats in Triple-A for the first three months of the 2019 season.
The Padres will likely explore a stop-gap fix at shortstop by attempting to sign a veteran free agent to a one or two year deal. Candidates include Jordy Mercer, Freddy Galvis, Alcides Escobar, Jose Iglesias, and Adeiny Hechavarria.
The Padres could also explore a bolder move by trading one of their excess outfielders and young pitching prospects to acquire a top-end shortstop. The Padres have been mentioned as possible suitors for Seattle shortstop Jean Segura. A player such as Segura would be viewed as a key piece in their rebuild and would likely result in Tatis being moved to the hot corner.
Third Baseman
The Padres recently parted ways with Christian Villanueva and Cory Spangenberg and seem unlikely to start the season with Wil Myers as their everyday third baseman. If the Padres elect to keep Fernando Tatis Jr. at shortstop going forward, look for Preller to aggressively pursue a long-term solution via a trade. For instance, Maikel Franco is a name that continues to surface in rumors.
Starting Pitcher
Preller will look to upgrade the starting rotation, preferably with a veteran who is under 30 years of age. Preller will likely wait out the free agent market to see if one of the better free agent pitchers can be signed for an amount that fits their budget. He also has an arsenal of elite young talent. This includes pitching prospects, catching depth and young outfielders that Preller could deal if another team makes available a starter that fits his profile. The Padres have recently been linked to a possible trade for Noah Syndergaard. This could be a real possibility should the Mets make him available.
Don’t be surprised if the Padres emerge as a contender to land Japanese star starting pitcher, Yusei Kikuchi, who will be made available by his Japanese home team the first week in December. The Padres have been rumored to have had their eye on Kikuchi for the past year.
Overall it should be a busy couple of weeks for the Padres as they look to fast forward their rebuild in 2019. While Padres fans have to forget about the team participating in the Manny Machado and Bryce Harper sweepstakes, they should not be surprised to see significant additions made to the big league club. Stay tuned!
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Comments 1
Excellent piece!