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The 2021 MLB trade deadline was a wild one and saw some big names go elsewhere. Among them, two of the biggest were Max Scherzer and Trea Turner. The talented duo went from the Washington Nationals to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a huge blockbuster deal, although the San Diego Padres were heavily interested in acquiring Scherzer.
According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, the Padres actually made an attempt at bringing Turner back to San Diego.
The Padres made a big play for Scherzer-Turner combo and floated a a serious package with the idea of offering even more if Nats came back to them. But they never did. Top Padres catching prospect Luis Campusano was mentioned but Nats obviously liked Ruiz-led package. @MLBNetwork
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) August 9, 2021
That would have been interesting. Of course, Turner was in the Padres organization before a huge blockbuster sent him to the Nationals and sent Wil Myers from the Tampa Bay Rays to the Padres in a three-team, 10-player deal with Myers and Turner being the highlights.
The Padres' interest in Turner is a bit surprising, given the fact that they had already acquired infielder Adam Frazier from the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, the injury to talented shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. left questions about the shortstop position.
As Robert Murray reports, the Padres viewed Turner as the replacement until Tatis could come back on the field.
“…Turner would have been the natural replacement at shortstop. If Tatis had remained healthy, team officials were confident they would have figured it out, with one option being moving Tatis to the outfield to ensure that he remained on the field the rest of the season as he battled the shoulder injury.”
The Padres obviously didn't want to part with their top prospects, although a lineup including Manny Machado, Tatis, Frazier, and Turner would have been electrifying.
Instead, the Padres have to face Turner, Scherzer, and the Dodgers and try and find a way to edge them out to get closer to the San Francisco Giants in the National League West.
