The San Diego Padres have shown in the past couple of years that they are one of the most aggressive, win-now teams in the league.
They are not afraid to trade prospects for the right player.
Today, they brought in All-Star closer Josh Hader for lefty closer Taylor Rogers, outfielder Esteury Ruiz, right-hander Dinelson Lamet, and pitching prospect Robert Gasser.
Hader is just the latest star to join the club since 2019, when the Padres really stepped up their pursuit of top-end talent.
“Padres acquisitions since 2019 include: Manny Machado, Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell, Mike Clevinger, Sean Manaea, Bob Melvin, and now Josh Hader; plus $340 million for Fernando Tatis Jr.” analyst and reporter Bill Shaikin tweeted.
Padres acquisitions since 2019 include: Manny Machado, Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell, Mike Clevinger, Sean Manaea, Bob Melvin, and now Josh Hader; plus $340 million for Fernando Tatis Jr.
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) August 1, 2022
You could almost form an All-Star team with some of those players.
Despite their presence, the Padres haven’t been able to make a deep playoff run, which is what they are shooting for this year, too.
A Good Farm Also Helps With Impact Trades
The Padres have understood that the benefits of having a good, deep farm system are not limited to calling up prospects and letting them win a job on the major league roster.
They can also use them to bring in stars, or more established players like the ones Shaikin mentioned.
Reports coming from league sources seem to indicate that the Padres may not be done adding top-end talent.
They traded some of their depth and useful prospects, but they still have the ammo to go after Washington Nationals star Juan Soto should they truly make him available.
They have shortstop CJ Abrams, pitcher MacKenzie Gore, outfielders Robert Hassell III and James Wood, and other prospects of note.
If they wanted, they could bring in another star and challenge for the World Series.
Will they do that?
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