Padres Rumors: Insider Suggests Blockbuster Trade to Get All-Star Catcher, Top Reliever in San Diego
With just a little over a week to go until the MLB trade deadline, it still remains unclear what direction the San Diego Padres will go. They could choose to sell off some of their free agents to-be and gain some future assets. Or they could try to make a playoff push by being aggressive on the market.
San Diego doesn’t have much time to decide, but they do find themselves pretty far back of a potential Wild Card spot at the moment. There is still time to turn things around, but they need to start putting together a good few weeks of baseball to give themselves a chance.
If the Friars do decide to be buyers at the deadline, then they will have plenty of options available at their disposal. One MLB insider linked San Diego with an All-Star catcher and some bullpen help in a proposed deal.
Jim Bowden of The Athletic linked the Padres and Kansas City Royals on a deal that would send catcher Salvador Perez and relief pitcher Scott Barlow to San Diego.
"The Royals don’t want to trade Perez because he is the face of the franchise and the team leader, but also because of his importance in developing their young pitchers. On the flip side, he’s a 33-year-old catcher, and the eight-time All-Star deserves an opportunity to play on a contender for the final two and a half years of his guaranteed contract. Perez has full no-trade protection but might be willing to waive it to go to a team like the Padres."
If the Padres were to land Perez, it would be adding to their already stacked roster. But the veteran is still very good and is having another solid season. He is hitting .252 with 15 home runs and 40 runs batted in. This would be a move to not only upgrade the catching spot but also bring in some more veteran presence to the clubhouse as well.
Perez is one of the best in the business, and he could really help this Padres team down the stretch.
As for Barlow, the Padres need some help in their bullpen. If they want to make it to October, they need a shutdown pen to help solidify games for them.
"San Diego also needs another back-end reliever, and Barlow is among the best available on the trade market."
For the year, Barlow has an ERA of 4.89 with 11 saves. If the team holds onto closer Josh Hader, they could have a strong one-two punch with Barlow and Hader. This duo could give opponents major fits, and give San Diego one of the best bullpens in the league.
