Padres Could Alter NL Landscape in Blockbuster Trade for $50 Million Ace

The San Diego Padres would be in the final National League Wild Card spot if the season ended today, but there is so much more baseball still to be played and the Friars aren't complacent with their current standing in MLB.

That's why R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports linked Cy Young award-winning pitcher Sandy Alcantara to the Padres, as a potential deal would put San Diego's rotation over the top.

Alcantara missed the 2024 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but is currently posting a 6.98 ERA across 80 innings pitched. This stat feels troubling, but things have been much better recently as he is trending in the right direction.

The right-hander's ERA is 4.34 over his last five starts, striking out 23 and allowing just five walks over those 29 innings of work. His velocity seems to be getting back to form as his 97.3 mph fastball is ranked in the 91st percentile among active qualified pitchers.

"His velocity has been there and his control, often said to be the last aspect of a pitcher's game to be restored post-operation, seems to be almost back. Indeed, his June walk rate is more in line with his past benchmarks than how he opened the season, when he issued 29 free passes in his first 51 frames," wrote Anderson.

June was certainly kind to the Cy Young award winner, at least kinder than his first 12 starts of the year, as Alcantara's walk rate decreased, but this makes a potential return that much harder to decipher.

Alcantara's contract has a 2027 club option of $21 million. This kind of control for a team should usually dictate a larger return, but given Alcantara's injury history and slower pace to get closer to familiar form, it will be hard to say what a return should look like for the Padres.

San Diego also has a relatively weaker farm system, being ranked No. 25 by MLB Pipeline this past offseason.

Top prospects Leo De Vries (No. 18 overall) at shortstop and Ethan Salas (No. 33) at catcher are two blue chip prospects, but there isn't much depth in the farm aside from their talented bats. If Alcantara can be had at the right price, there should be no reason why the Friars don't pull the trigger.

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