Padres Scouting AL East Team Ahead of MLB Trade Deadline: Report

J.P. Hoornstra | Jul 30, 2024

Nov 21, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres president of baseball operations and general manager A.J. Preller speaks to the media during a press conference announcing the hiring of manager Mike Shildt (not pictured) at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports / Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Scouts for the San Diego Padres have been poking their nose around Major League Baseball in advance of Tuesday's trade deadline. The Padres already swung a trade for Tampa Bay Rays reliever Jason Adam over the weekend — and it cost them a sizeable prospect haul.

The Rays aren't the only American League East team the Padres have been scouting.

According to SportsNet, the Padres are also taking a close look at the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays have a number of attractive trade targets and have been willing sellers already. As of noon Tuesday, they've already traded relief pitcher Yimi Garcia and infielder/designated hitter Justin Turner to the Seattle Mariners, relief pitcher Nate Pearson to the Chicago Cubs, catcher Danny Jansen to the Boston Red Sox, and starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi to the Houston Astros.

Who's left to be traded? If the answer doesn't reveal itself in the next three hours, SportsNet offered an educated guess.

Among the teams scouting the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre this weekend was the Padres, who have quietly won seven of eight. They’re a fit for Kikuchi, the Blue Jays’ top trade chip, along with role players like Kevin Kiermaier, who's day-to-day with a left hip contusion, or even Trevor Richards.
The Blue Jays definitely aren’t shopping Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — if anything, it might be time to think about an extension — but if anyone would try to pry him away it might be Padres GM A.J. Preller.
More likely, though, smaller deals are under consideration, and it wouldn’t be the first time Ross Atkins has connected with Preller on trades, as B.J. Upton, Yangervis Solarte, Clayton Richard and Socrates Brito all arrived in Toronto via San Diego.

- via SportsNet

Kiermaier, a veteran center fielder, is in his 11th major league season. He's spent most of that time with the Tampa Bay Rays, collecting three Gold Gloves in 10 seasons (2014-23). Kiermaier signed one-year free agent contracts with the Blue Jays prior to each of the last two seasons.

This year, Kiermaier's contract pays him $10.5 million. He has already stated his intention to retire at the end of the season, making him the ultimate rental player for a team on the hunt for a defensive upgrade in the outfield.

The Padres' Jackson Merrill has established himself as a plus defender in center field in 2024, his first year playing the position. Nonetheless the Padres might consider Kiermaier a late-game defensive replacement — or a player who can tide over right field in the absence of Fernando Tatis Jr.

Tatis is recovering from a stress reaction in his right femur with and unclear timeline to return.

A left-handed hitter, Kiermaier has a .195/.236/.310 slash line and would cost the Padres a minimal amount of cash or a marginal prospect from their farm system.

Richards, a 31-year-old right-hander, is 2-1 with a 4.64 ERA in 45 games (two starts) and 49 strikeouts in 52.1 innings this season. he's 24-27 in his seven-year career with the Marlins, Rays, Brewers and Jays, split between the rotation and the bullpen.

If Richards lands in San Diego, he could conceivably cover innings as a starter until Yu Darvish and/or Joe Musgrove return from the injured list. The Padres could use a starting pitcher to take over every fifth day for rookie Adam Mazur (1-3, 7.49 ERA in eight starts), who has looked overmatched at times.

Given his experience in the bullpen, Richards could transition there if and when either Darvish or Musgrove return.