With the Padres having narrowly missed out in their efforts to land Max Scherzer, San Diego is turning their attention to the next-best starting pitcher believed to be on the trade market. Twins righty José Berríos is a “primary target” for the Friars in the coming hours, writes AJ Cassavell of MLB.com.
It’s not especially surprising to hear the Padres’ front office is pivoting back to Berríos. San Diego was reportedly focused on Berríos throughout much of the week. That looked to be off the table when the Padres were seemingly on the verge of landing Scherzer. With the latter now likely headed to the division-rival Dodgers, a push for Berríos is apparently back on the docket.
Berríos isn’t the Padres’ only target, though, as Cassavell adds that San Diego could make multiple additions to the starting staff (with or without Berríos included). San Diego did already bolster the bullpen by acquiring Daniel Hudson in a late-night deal with the Nationals. It seems the rotation is now the priority, with Cassavell noting that Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove are the only locks to pitch in a playoff rotation — should the Padres advance to an NLDS. Berríos, who has a 3.48 ERA/3.74 SIERA over 121 2/3 innings this season, would be an impactful enough arm to join Darvish and Musgrove in that group.
Of course, there’s no shortage of interest in Berríos. The right-hander’s controllable via arbitration through 2022 and making an affordable $6.1M this season (about $2.1M of which is still owed). Jon Heyman of MLB Network reiterates that the Blue Jays have “big interest” in Berríos and adds that the Rays and Red Sox are still in the mix. Dan Hayes of the Athletic suggests the Twins have interest in some of the Jays top position player prospects (Austin Martin, Orelvis Martinez and Jordan Groshans among them). The Mariners have also been linked to Berríos, as have the Mets. Recent indications are that New York isn’t likely to land him, though, with the Mets deterred by the Twins’ lofty asking price.
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