The Padres Are 'Shooting Big' At a Blockbuster Trade

The San Diego Padres have quickly made headlines after a bombshell report was written by Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Acee said the Padres are working on multiple fronts that could result in deals that rival the massive trade in which they acquired four major leaguers in exchange for Juan Soto and Trent Grisham at the winter meetings two years ago. 

Will the Padres Make a Big Move?

AJ Preller can never be counted out when it comes to making big-time trades, trading a ton of young capital in previous trade deadlines to make a push for the World Series. It sounds like Preller could strike yet another big deal this winter, trading one of his top players to balance out the rest of his roster. With a tough financial situation once again, San Diego could trade one of its players, making a lot of money for young, controllable talent.

Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, Jackson Merrill, and Fernando Tatis could be potential names. While all remain unlikely to be moved, I can’t count Preller out of making any crazy moves. In an interview with MLB Network, Preller was hesitant to say any of his players were untouchable, which has sparked an enormous number of new rumors in just a few minutes.

Reality is the Padres have to make a big move because the Dodgers continue to one-up everyone in the league, including their division rivals.

Is Tatis Really Being Made Available?

If San Diego wanted to get a ton of value and a huge prospect package back in exchange for any one of their players, it would be Tatis Jr. Tatis is under team control through the 2034 season and is on one of the best contracts in all of baseball. The return for him would be unimaginable and would allow the Padres to address other roster needs, similar to what they did when they traded Soto to the New York Yankees in a deal headlined by Michael King and other pitchers.

They could trade Machado, but I doubt he would bring back much value given his age and contract. Jackson Merrill wouldn’t make any sense either, as he is one of the top young players alongside Tatis, who is on a great contract and will continue to grow into an elite player. 

Time will tell if the Padres make a major roster shakeup this winter to keep pace with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are off to a great start, signing Edwin Diaz to a three-year deal earlier this morning.