The San Diego Padres are enjoying a superb 2022 season. However, they trail the Los Angeles Dodgers by 12 games in the NL West. Nonetheless, the Padres have playoff aspirations. San Diego may not catch the Dodgers, but they are in good position to earn a Wild Card berth. And as the 2019 Washington Nationals know, all you need to do is get into the postseason and good things can happen. The Padres have been linked to a number of different players in trades as they gear up for the playoffs. But could they actually land Los Angels Angels star Shohei Ohtani?
Let's break down the best trade package the Padres can offer the Angels for Ohtani.
Best Shohei Ohtani trade package Padres must offer Angels
Headliners
It is going to cost an arm and a leg to get a generational talent like Shohei Ohtani. But the Padres have a number of interesting pieces that could entice the Angels.
With CJ Abrams and MacKenzie Gore in MLB, Robert Hassell III leads San Diego's top prospect list. And the Padres would likely need to deal two of these three players at the very least to acquire Ohtani.
Robert Hassell III should be included in the trade. Yes he's extremely talented and only 20 years old, but trading him means San Diego could possibly hold on to one of Gore or Abrams.
The Angels desperately need starting pitching, so MacKenzie Gore makes the most sense to headline this deal.
Headlining the perfect Padres package for Shohei Ohtani would be Gore and Hassell III.
The full package
The Padres would need to add quite a bit more to the package. Three more top 10 prospects should help get the wheels in motion.
No. 4 prospect Jackson Merrill, No. 6 prospect Reiss Knehr, and No. 8 prospect Joshua Mears all make sense in this deal.
Merrill, a shortstop, would be a good player for the Padres to trade if they hold onto Abrams. Shortstop is already crowded with Fernando Tatis Jr in the picture, and Abrams is the replacement if anything else happens to Tatis Jr.
Knehr is 25-year old pitcher who's already in Triple-A. The Angels could make him apart of their rotation next season.
And finally, Joshua Mears is a solid outfielder with a high ceiling. At just 21 years old, he has some developing to do. But if Joe Adell ends up not panning out in the long run, Mears could slot in nicely in the Angels' outfield.
San Diego may need to add 1 or 2 more pieces to make this deal come to life. Once again, this is Shohei Ohtani we are talking about.
The Angels need pitching so let's add two more pitchers to this package. San Diego's No. 15 and No. 16 prospects are both right-handed pitchers. No. 15 prospect Jarlin Susana is just 18 years old. No. 16 prospect Reggie Lawson is a 24 year old who is closer to being Major League ready.
Final thoughts
Would this trade package be enough to get a deal done? Possibly.
The Angels are going to have a ton of offers for Shohei Ohtani they can choose from. But a package highlighted by MacKenzie Gore and Robert Hassell III is tough to beat. And the amount of pitching depth in this trade package would also catch the Angels' attention.
Shohei Ohtani would be a perfect fit in San Diego as well. The city is known for its laidback vibes, and Ohtani carries a laidback demeanor.
I wouldn't be shocked if Shohei Ohtani ends up on the Padres.
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