Two Padres Prospects Among Most Likely to Be Traded: Report

Maren Angus-Coombs | Jul 26, 2024

Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY

When the San Diego Padres acquired Dylan Cease from the Chicago White Sox on March 13 and Luis Arraez from the Miami Marlins on May 4, they traded away a large chunk of their prospect capital.

Now, the trade deadline is days away and the Padres don't have many prospects available to make a big splash. The club's top four prospects are almost entirely off the table.

The Padres already said they will not part with catcher Ethan Salas. They aren't likely to deal Robby Snelling, Dylan Lesko, or Leodalis De Vries either. However, they could potentially part ways with outfielder Homer Bush Jr. or catcher Brandon Valenzuela.

Bush is ranked No. 8 in the Padres farm system per MLB Pipeline. Valenzuela is at No. 11.

According to Padres writer A.J. Cassavell of MLB.com, the Padres "are being tight-lipped as usual when it comes to their trade targets."

Cassavell thinks the Padres will trade three of their second-tier prospects to acquire righty starter Jack Flaherty and lefty reliever Andrew Chafin from Detroit. On top of that, they could add Nationals reliever Kyle Finnegan for another decent prospect package.

It's all about how much general manager A.J. Preller is willing to part with to go on a deep run without being all-in on this season. Should he really give up a handful of solid prospects for rental players when his team is in playoff contention already?

If Preller does make a deal, Bush and Valenzuela could be the best prospects he's willing to part with.