Padres Rumors: Veteran Infielder Candidate For Release or Trade

The Padres have a lot of tough choices to make this winter.

The San Diego Padres have a ton of hard choices to make this offseason in regards to building their roster out. The team missed the postseason last year, and now they are suffering the consequences of going all-in.

San Diego is looking at different ways to shed salary this offseason, and it could see them trade away talented players in the process. It could also have them release certain players as well, even if they don't want to.

Padres insider Dennis Lin of The Athletic is reporting that veteran infielder Matt Carpenter is a candidate to either be traded or released this offseason.

"After posting a .641 OPS last season and exercising his $5.5 million player option, Matt Carpenter is a candidate for an eventual release or a trade. The latter scenario may not be feasible unless the Padres pair Carpenter with another, more valuable player."

Per Dennis Lin of The Athletic

Carpenter really struggled during his first season in San Diego, hitting just .176 with five home runs and 31 runs batted in. He was limited to just 76 games, and it was clear that the Padres weren't big fans of his.

The most likely scenario will be the team releasing him this offseason in order to get his $5.5 million off the books. They may not mind having some dead money on the books, especially since he wasn't able to produce last season.

The veteran was brought in to give their depth a real boost, but it ended up being a dud of a signing. He could remain with the team next season, with the hope of a bounceback, but that feels very unlikely at this point in the offseason.