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When the San Diego Padres went out and acquired Pirates all-star Adam Frazier, it was expected to be one of a couple moves that they would execute to add at the MLB Trade Deadline. The Padres sit in third-place in the crowded NL West but would be in the wildcard game if the playoffs started today.
Adding a bat was critical, and they did that by adding Frazier. But there appears to be more deals on the horizon. Surprisingly, the Padres may fend themselves sending out one of their starters, Eric Hosmer, to alleviate the luxury tax burden. Ken Rosenthal and Dennis Lin of The Athletic believe San Diego will try to unload their first baseman before the deadline.
With A.J. Preller, the Padres’ unrelenting head of baseball operations, virtually everyone is in play at all times…Amid the excitement of Preller’s latest acquisition, one detail largely escaped attention: As part of the trade, which is pending medical reviews, the Padres will receive about $1.4 million from the Pittsburgh Pirates. For San Diego, that might not end up being an insignificant sum. And it could help explain why Preller continues to discuss a seemingly endless array of scenarios — including potential trades involving (Eric) Hosmer.
Keep in mind that Frazier, their newest all-star, is a second baseman but the Padres already have Jake Cronenworth, who's playing at a gold glove level at second but has excelled at first as well. The deal for Frazier, may have made Hosmer more than expendable for San Diego.
Hosmer, 31, began Monday with a .710 OPS, second-lowest among qualifying first basemen. According to FanGraphs, he ranked last at his position with minus-0.4 Wins Above Replacement.
The question will be who wants to take on someone with those numbers and such a massive contract with plenty of years left on it? If the Padres can find a taker it seems as though they would pull the trigger.
