San Diego Padres
The Padres are nearly 20 games behind the Dodgers in the National League West and are currently below .500, but we all know that’d never stop general manager A.J. Preller from making a big splash. San Diego could potentially sell off a couple pieces, but being within less than five games of the final wild-card spot means a well-timed hot streak could change things.
They’ve also been reportedly poking around the starting pitcher market (rumors have also connected them to Noah Syndergaard and Matt Boyd). Despite not being committed to making a move — probably because of their current position in the standings — getting a controllable starter would certainly help a club that’s working toward 2020. Heck, just hovering around .500 is a huge improvement from 2018’s 66-96 record.
Chris Paddack has been a standout performer thus far on the bump, but his 90 innings in the big leagues is already a single-season career-high mark as a pro. Plus, when you look at the San Diego hurlers that have accumulated starts in 2019, there isn’t a ton of experience there.
So they’ll need to fortify the rotation at some point in the future, whether it’s now or in the winter. If the situation arises where acquiring a player like Stroman is attainable, Preller may just pull the trigger. Their farm system is deep enough where Toronto probably wouldn’t “hurt” San Diego when it comes to a potential prospect haul in return.
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