Padres Linked to $45 Million All-Star Starting Pitcher in Potential Blockbuster Trade

The San Diego Padres have been linked with Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Seth Lugo in the midst of the rotational depth struggles the team has endured.

ESPN's Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan gave the right-hander a 40 percent chance to be dealt by the MLB trade deadline, and have the Padres listed as a potential landing spot.

The Padres are short on starting pitchers with Yu Darvish and Michael King both on the injured list without timelines to return. They are also without Joe Musgrove for the season, as he underwent Tommy John surgery before 2025.

Lugo is under contract with the Royals through the 2025 season, and has a $15 million player option which he is unlikely to exercise following his impressive campaign.

Lugo's ERA is below 3.00 for the first time since returning to the starting rotation full-time, and has allowed just four runs through 23 innings in June.

The right-hander made his first All-Star game in 2024, a season in which he led MLB in games started and reached the 200 innings mark for the first time in his career. He finished runner-up in AL Cy Young voting.

The Royals may move the veteran before the deadline, as they are ahead of only the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central and have a six percent chance of reaching the postseason. Lugo would be an expensive player to keep around due to his likelihood to opt out of his player option, and still holds trade value as a strong starting pitcher.

The Padres dropped their series opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Friday, and didn't record a hit until the ninth inning. However, the Friars bounced back Saturday and secured a 6-4 win.

While a pitcher may not be the priority for the Padres, they will need all the help they can get to remain in the playoff race in their division.

They currently sit second in the NL West, seven games back of the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.

For more Padres news, head over to Padres on SI.