Padres' $14 Million All-Star Opens Up on Trade Rumors

The San Diego Padres have experienced an interesting offseason. The Friars have been the subject of several trade proposals because of the organization's goal to maintain a relatively level payroll from last season.

And yet, no such trade has transpired with Opening Day quickly approaching. Once the Padres signed starting pitcher Nick Pivetta in February, it appeared San Diego had a complete rotation. Both Dylan Cease and Michael King had been labeled as trade candidates, but their departure would in turn create a void in the rotation.

However, there's still speculation the Padres will deal a player to shed payroll. The San Diego Union-Tribune's Kevin Acee provided more insight into the situation.

"The Padres could still make a move that will lower payroll, such as trading starting pitcher Dylan Cease or closer Robert Suarez," Acee wrote. "Teams have already indicated they might be more willing to meet the Padres’ asking price for one of their pitchers, sources said in recent days. But those same sources indicated the Padres seem inclined to keep their pitching staff intact."

While it appears the Padres plan to start the season with Cease in the rotation, another $14 million star has been mentioned in trade rumors: Luis Arraez.

“I don't pay attention to that,” Arraez said, via MLB.com's AJ Cassavell. “ ... They can talk about trade, but I'm still here. I've got this beautiful uniform. I feel good here. I'm here to play baseball [and] try to win a World Series.”

The plan for Arraez this season is to be the team's full-time first baseman. The Padres expectation for the three-time batting champion indicates his departure is unlikely, especially since it would in turn create a hole in the infield.

As of now, the San Diego infield is set with Arraez at first, Jake Cronenworth at second, Xander Bogaerts at shortstop, and Manny Machado at the hot corner.

President of baseball operations A.J. Preller also spoke about Arraez's importance to the San Diego squad.

“Luis knows we value him a ton -- we, obviously, made a big trade for him,” said general manager A.J. Preller. “He knows what we think about him. He knows we’d love to have him here. … We’ll see how it plays out.”