Padres Trade Deadline Recap: What They Gave Up

The San Diego Padres were easily the game’s most aggressive team at the deadline. To land all the talent coming in, the Padres sent out a total of 16 players from their big league roster and the farm system, in an attempt to solidify a team poised to make a playoff run.

While the organization gave up ton of talent, they were able to keep LHP MacKenzie Gore, RHP Luis Patiño and infielder CJ Abrams, the top-three prospects in the system. Here is a breakdown of what the Padres surrendered at the trade deadline.

Big league pieces:

RHP Cal Quantrill (to CLE)

1B/OF Josh Naylor (to CLE)

C Austin Hedges (to CLE)

INF Ty France (to SEA)

C Luis Torrens (to SEA)

RHP Andres Muñoz (to SEA)

All six big leaguers the Padres surrendered over the last 48 hours spent significant time in the Padres’ system and in our coverage.

Quantrill, the Padres’ first pick out of Stanford in 2016, struggled to find consistency, but always showed promise in the system. After Tommy John surgery erased his junior year, he made his professional debut in the AZL and then advanced to Tri-City and made a brief cameo in Fort Wayne that summer.

After a solid showing in High-A, a rough 2018 campaign in Double-A sent him tumbling to 12th on our preseason list heading into last year. However, he showed promise in his 2019 big league debut in 23 games (18 starts) and had posted a 2.60 ERA/3.94 FIP in 17.1 innings for the Padres this year, working primarily as a reliever.

The Padres acquired first baseman/outfielder Josh Naylor in 2016 as part of the deal that sent Andrew Cashner to Miami. Naylor, 23, showed a good eye at the plate and made solid contact throughout his tenure in the Padres’ system, but struggled in games to tap into the elite raw power he flashes during batting practice.

After the Padres signed first baseman Eric Hosmer, Naylor started to play the outfield in an attempt to get his bat into the lineup. Naylor produced an 89 wRC+ last season in 279 plate appearances last year. This year, Naylor posted roughly league-average offensive numbers in just 38 plate appearances.

Catcher Austin Hedges was traded to Cleveland with Quantrill and Naylor, after spending nearly a decade in the Padres’ organization. Drafted 82nd overall out of high school in 2011, the Orange County native was rushed to the big leagues after just 21 Triple-A games in 2015 season, then returned for good in 2017. Hedges’ defensive ability has been lauded over the years but his career line of .199/.257/.352 left much to be desired offensively. His departure leaves Dinselson Lamet as the lone man on the 40-man roster who was in the Padres organization when AJ Preller arrived.

Infielder Ty France graduated from prospect status last year, but we named him our MadFriars player of the year in 2019 after he hit a monstrous .399/.477/.770 in Triple-A El Paso. France produced an impressive wRC+ of 138 in 61 plate appearances with the Padres this season. However, with Eric Hosmer and Manny Machado entrenched at the corner infield positions, there was not a clear path to playing time in San Diego for France. A 34th-round pick (albeit with a day-three maximum signing bonus) out of San Diego State, the right-handed hitter never appeared on a MadFriars Top 20 list but was in the back end of a few of our individual lists heading into last year.

Catcher Luis Torrens had a breakout season last year in Amarillo, hitting .300/.373/.500 with 15 homers for the Texas League champions. Torrens showed improvement both offensively and defensively, establishing himself as a valuable depth option behind the plate.

“Torrens was so valuable on both sides of the ball and really had a terrific year,” said Sod Poodles broadcaster Sam Levitt in our MadFriars Announcer Series last year. “He registered a 46% caught stealing percentage, which is obviously a great mark. Teams truly have to think twice about running against him. It’s a game-changer.”

Andres Muñoz heads to Seattle in the Austin Nola trade from the Padres’ 60-day injured list. The 21-year-old righty figured to play a key role in the big league bullpen this year, however, he tore his UCL and required surgery, meaning he will not be back until next year.

The hard-throwing righty averaged 99.9 mph on his fastball last year and features a slider that also grades out as a plus pitch, although he does struggle with command at times. In 23 big league innings last year, Muñoz pitched to a 3.91 ERA with 30 strikeouts and 11 walks. Like most of the big leaguers on this list, he graduated from prospect status last year.

Prospects dealt:

OF Taylor Trammell (dealt to SEA, #4 MadFriars prospect)

SS Gabriel Arias (dealt to CLE, #7 MadFriars prospect)

LHP Joey Cantillo (dealt to CLE, #8 MadFriars prospect)

OF Edward Olivares (dealt to KC, #13 MadFriars prospect)

INF Owen Miller (dealt to CLE, #14 MadFriars prospect)

INF Hudson Potts (dealt to BOS, #16 MadFriars prospect)

OF Jeisson Rosario (dealt to BOS)

RHP Gerardo Reyes (dealt to LAA)

One PTBNL (to KC, reportedly a low-level pitcher)

One PTBNL (to SEA, reportedly RHP Matt Brash)

The Padres traded six of our preseason top-20 to upgrade at the deadline, although the system is still very deep. When you count the Tim Hill for Franchy Cordero/Ronald Bolaños swap, San Diego has dealt away seven of our top-20 players since opening day.

The advantage of having a deep system is that the Padres were able to add key pieces to their big league roster without purging the talent at the top of the system. Taylor Trammell was the only consensus top-100 pick dealt at the deadline.

Trammell will head to the Seattle organization, a team that may have a place for him in the not-too-distant future. The left-handed outfielder was acquired at the deadline last year, when the Padres shipped outfielder Franmil Reyes, infielder Victor Nova and LHP Logan Allen to Cleveland in a three-team swap that also involved Cincinnati.

Last season, Trammell hit .234/.340/.349 at the Double-A level, spending the majority in Chattanooga. Trammell hit well for Amarillo down the stretch and hit a grand slam in the deciding game of the Texas League series.

“The raw tools are abundant,” said Levitt. He’s got power, speed, defense, and athleticism. He’s got an infections personality that exudes energy and confidence. The star potential is there in every way.”

“[Trammell] hit .394 in his final nine games to finish the regular season, and then had a number of big moments in the playoffs. “There was no bigger swing for the Sod Poodles than his go-ahead grand slam to essentially lift Amarillo to a Texas League Championship series.”

Shortstop Gabriel Arias would be the shortstop of the future for many teams in baseball but with Fernando Tatis Jr. in the fold, there was no path to the big leagues for the slick-fielding shortstop. Last year in Lake Elsinore, the 20-year-old hit .302/.339/.470, with 17 homers. Arias walked in less than five percent of his plate appearances a season ago but made tremendous strides in the second half of last season. Arias is Rule 5 eligible at the end of the season, so trading him takes care of that dilemma.

“When Gabe was here in 2018, as an 18-year-old, maybe it’s hyperbole to say but he was already pretty much a big-league-caliber shortstop defensively,” said Fort Wayne TinCaps broadcaster John Nolan, shortly after the Padres dealt Arias to Cleveland.

“Obviously, his bat had a long way to go at that point but you started to see progress late while he was here in Fort Wayne in 2018 and it was nice to see that he continued that development and took more steps forward last year. When you look at Gabe’s tenure in the organization, it gets skewed by the fact that he is a year younger than Tatis and is lost in Tatis’ shadow. It seems like Indians fans can be excited about Arias and look at him as something to look forward to going forward.”

LHP Joey Cantillo, jumped to number eight in our rankings heading into 2020. The 20-year-old southpaw had a sparkling 1.93 ERA in 98 innings with Fort Wayne last season, punching out 128 hitters. His fastball, which sits in the 87-90 mph range showed improvement and he was able to hit 94 mph in a start with the TinCaps. His best off-speed pitch is his change-up, which is already a plus pitch.  He finished the year with the Lake Elsinore Storm and had a 4.61 ERA in 13.2 innings, striking out 16.

Outfielder Edward Olivares was moved to Kansas City for RHP Trevor Rosenthal, a month after the 24-year-old outfielder made his big league debut. Olivares impressed in Peoria and at summer camp and made the 30-man opening day roster, but hit just .176/.222/.294 with a homer in 36 plate appearances. Last season, he hit 18 homers and stole 35 bases for the Double-A Sod Poodles. He also reduced his strikeouts as the season went on and rose to #13 in our prospect rankings.

SS Owen Miller had a solid debut year after an aggressive assignment to Amarillo last year, hitting .290/.355/.430 with 13 homers and 68 RBI. Miller, a third-round pick out of Illinois State in 2018, doesn’t have any loud tools but he makes consistent contact and can play anywhere in the infield. While he may end up being more of a utility player, his bat could play at second base.

Third baseman Hudson Potts went to Boston in the Mitch Moreland deal — the second 2016 first-rounder that A.J. Preller dealt at the deadline. Potts, 21, made a name for himself during his first pro season in Fort Wayne in 2017 when hit 20 home runs, which tied the Fort Wayne club record (Fernando Tatis broke it the same year, hitting 21 bombs in the Summit City).

“When you look at Potts’ season in Fort Wayne, in many ways it was a magical season,” said Nolan. “Potts picked up the slack the last couple weeks of the season that year after Tatis Jr. was called up to Double-A. Hudson ended up being the Midwest Player of the Month for August.

“A.J. Preller was actually here in Fort Wayne to tell Tatis Jr. that he was going up [to Double-A] San Antonio in person — he just happened to be here that weekend and I remember Preller telling me that he also had a one-on-one conversation with Potts, telling him we are taking away the centerpiece in Tatis Jr., but we are doing it in part because we have faith in you and we are counting on you to pick things up. At the time it was really cool to see how [Potts] succeeded in that role.”

“From 2006-present, looking at 18-year-olds who played in the Midwest League for most home runs in a season, it’s Tatis Jr. with 21, Potts with 20 and then the next three names on the list are Justin Upton, Franmil Reyes, and Carlos Correa; and it dropped from Potts’ 20 home runs to Upton hitting 12. It’s pretty good company to be in.”

After hitting well in Lake Elsinore in 2018, Potts was promoted to Double-A, where he struggled to find consistency at the plate. After ranking 11th on our list – though he ranged from number eight to 13 on our individual lists – heading into last season, Potts hit just .227/.290/.406 with Amarillo — good for a wRC+ of 93.

Potts, much like Arias, was blocked at the big league level and may not have had a place on the big league roster and he would have needed to be protected by the organization in the Rule 5 draft.

Outfielder Jeisson Rosario, 20, headed to Boston with Potts. Part of the Padres’ vaunted J2 class in 2016, Rosario signed with the organization for $1.85 million. The athletic outfielder has shown an advanced eye at the plate and the ability to play an above-average center field, but lacks a swing that generates any power.

Last year with Lake Elsinore, Rosario led the Cal League with a 16.6% walk rate, which lead to a .372 on-base percentage but slugged just .314, which represented a career-low.

“If nothing else, [Rosario] could be along the lines of a Manuel Margot-type, where you absolutely love what he brings defensively, speed on the bases but sort of inconsistent when it comes to power,” said Nolan.

“We saw him in Fort Wayne two years ago when he was 18, so I wasn’t looking to read too much into the lack of power. I would have liked to see it pick up a bit more last year in Lake Elsinore. I’ve been enamored with his athleticism, best featured by cartwheels and backflips.

“His approach really does jump out — he had a 14% walk rate in Fort Wayne which was already pretty ridiculous and he upped that last year in the California League. Again, I looked for some context on Fangraphs for him and over the last 15 years, among teenagers in High-A, that is the highest walk rate that any teenager has had.”

A personal favorite, Rosario ranked #19 on the MadFriars preseason 2019 list, but fell out of this year’s rankings.

Gerardo Reyes, 27, will head to the Angels after spending the entirety of this season at the Padres’ alternate site. Reyes, acquired by the Padres in 2015 as part of the Wil Myers deal, made his big league debut last season and appeared in 27 games, pitching to a 7.62 ERA, although his 3.41 FIP indicates he was very unlucky. He did average more than 13 strikeouts per nine innings, using a fastball that averaged 97 mph. A max-effort delivery and funky mechanics have led to command issues for the short-statured righty.

While it has not been confirmed, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reported that RHP Matt Brash will be headed to Seattle in the Taylor Williams deal. Brash, a fourth-rounder last year, has a big fastball that touches 97 mph. He experienced some elbow discomfort and was shut down after just 5.1 professional innings.

The Padres also owe a player to be named to Kansas City in the Trevor Rosenthal deal and another player to be named will need to be sent to Oakland as part of the Jorge Mateo trade.

Once those deals are completed, the Padres will have moved 11 minor leaguers in order to enhance their big league roster, yet still feature four consensus Top 100 prospects in the game. With a number of intriguing positional talents who were in Arizona last year and a rumored deep group in the international signing period coming in January, the organization has a chance to see new names move up public rankings quickly. That system depth and talent would still allow the club to make more deals going into next season.