Padres May Not Get Great Return in Trade for 2 All-Stars: Report

The San Diego Padres are looking to shed payroll this offseason and one way to do so is by trading players. Two potential trade candidates are Luis Arraez and Jake Cronenworth.

Though trading Arraez and Cronenworth would cut payroll, would the Padres receive sufficient replacements in return? MLB insider Mark Feinsand doesn't think so.

"Arraez will earn $14 million in his final season before free agency, while Cronenworth has six years and $73 million remaining on his contract, so while moving either player would help shed some payroll, it’s unclear whether the Padres would be able to get a substantial return for either of them," Feinsand wrote.

Many baseball experts speculated the Padres would be more willing to trade away talent once Roki Sasaki signed with the organization. But the Sasaki storyline unfolded into a nightmare for the Padres.

Not only did Sasaki choose another team, but he joined the Padres' NL West rivals in the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Dodgers have signed a number of free agents this offseason, including three former Friars. Blake Snell, Tanner Scott, and Kirby Yates will now be wearing Dodger blue next season, an unsightly image for Padres fans.

But the Dodgers aren't the only team in the NL West getting better. The San Francisco Giants have most notably signed shortstop Willy Adames, while the Arizona Diamondbacks have signed starting pitcher Corbin Burnes.

As teams in the NL West grow stronger, the Padres have done nothing.

President of baseball operations A.J. Preller said this is simply one of those offseasons where the team makes moves later in the winter.

“We’ve seen offseasons where we’ve been really aggressive and been able to line up on moves early in the offseason and other years, like last year, where it was later in the process,” Preller said, via Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune. “… We’ve got a really good core and good foundation we like a lot, and we’ve got some needs as well.”

Preller will have to figure out how to shed payroll, but also retain and bring in talent.