The time has once again come for the San Diego Padres to explore the trade market. Seemingly every year, Padres GM A.J. Preller casts a wide net at the deadline and in the offseason.
Time time, it began early as the Padres acquired hot-hitting Luis Arraez in a deal with the Miami Marlins. The pitching staff has been hit hard by injuries with both Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove going to the IL, which could force Preller to examine the pitching market.
With the month of June here, that means MLB hot stove season, and Preller is reportedly “burning up phones” ahead of the deadline, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.
“As usual, San Diego Padres general manager A.J. Preller is burning up the phones, this time in search of a starting pitcher, but he's not the only one. This is likely to be a deadline with a plethora of teams looking to add and only a few willing to ship out players. So the contenders are doing their diligence now, sources said, fully understanding that the only hope for the desirable-player inventory to grow is borderline teams acknowledging that their players' value might never be higher than this summer. Preller was on the hunt for starters even before Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove wound up on the injured list, and the Padres are operating like an organization that believes it's closer to its 19-12 road record than its 13-19 stinkfest at home.”
Preller has already improved the offense with the addition of Arraez, although Xander Bogaerts' injury and a slow start for Fernando Tatis Jr. have not helped out much.
Padres' A.J. Preller could be active again at the deadline
This isn't anything new for A.J. Preller and the Padres. A couple of deadlines ago, it was the Max Scherzer deal that fell through before the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired him. But, the Padres also traded for Juan Soto in a blockbuster deal with the Washington Nationals.
Soto has since been traded to the New York Yankees this past offseason, and his future in free agency remains one of the biggest stories in the MLB. All in all, Preller's activeness as the GM has been something San Diego was not used to before.
Preller is reportedly on the search for a starting pitcher, and names such as Marlins' Jesus Luzardo are among those expected to be moved as well as other Marlins players. White Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet is another name expected to be traded, and the Padres link continued, per Dennis Lin and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
“The Padres have recently shown strong interest in left-hander Garrett Crochet, according to sources briefed on the White Sox’s discussions.”
The trade rumors are expected to pick up over the next few weeks, and it will be no surprise to see the Padres bring in some more talent as they try and make another playoff run. It's what A.J. Preller always does.
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