The San Diego Padres are looking for different ways to improve their roster this offseason, but the tricky part is doing so while trying to shed salary. However, president of baseball operations A.J. Preller always has a trick up his sleeve, and he finds a way to pull moves that nobody saw coming.
One team that San Diego could look into talking trade with is the Tampa Bay Rays. They just reportedly traded away starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow to the rival Los Angeles Dodgers, so they are clearly looking to make some moves.
MLB writer Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report put together a trade proposal that would land star outfielder Randy Arozarena in San Diego.
Trade Proposal: San Diego Padres get LF Randy Arozarena; Tampa Bay Rays get LHP Robby Snelling, RHP Jairo Iriarte
"Though San Diego's system is only the 11th-best in MLB, Snelling (No. 31) and Iriarte (No. 99) are but two of six top 100 prospects therewithin. The catch for the Rays is that the former only turns 20 on Dec. 19, but he's moving fast. He made it to Double-A this season in the process of becoming Baseball America's Minor League Pitcher of the Year"
It's been reported that the Rays are open to trading Arozarena this offseason if they get the correct deal, and the Padres could make a splash by landing him. He would be the perfect replacement for Juan Soto, and it would give San Diego a much more cost-effective star player.
Arozarena is under contract for another three seasons, so the Padres could be getting a lot of team control here, as well. But it's his presence and energy that the Padres could use.
"Arozarena is a natural fit in this regard, and the Padres wouldn't have to worry so much about him taking up all their newfound payroll space. He's slated to make less than a third of what Soto will earn in 2024."
Last season with the Rays, he hit .254 with 23 home runs and 83 runs batted in. But his postseason statistics are off the chart, with a 1.104 postseason OPS for his career.
This is exactly the type of move that the Padres should be looking to make, if anything, to keep up with the rest of their division. Watch out for the Padres here if the Rays are open to moving their star outfielder.
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