The Padres missed out on their bid to acquire Mookie Betts, but that doesn’t make them the loser of the negotiations. It was always tough to imagine a deal for such a high-end rental player that would truly make sense for the San Diego organization. And the latest reporting seems to bear that out.
Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune and Dennis Lin of The Athletic (subscription link) each covered the aftermath of the Betts deal from the Friars’ perspective. Each noted the impact of the Padres’ limited budgetary flexibility and the organization’s realistic assessment of its 2020 outlook. The picture that emerges is one of an organization that was ready to make a deal on certain terms but not to extend any further.
One Padres source that spoke with Acee seems to have summed things up nicely — not only capturing the team’s approach but also the reason a Betts strike felt strained. “We were not going to trade on our future,” said the unnamed employee. “We’re in for the (long haul), not one year.”
Betts was not only a rental, but one that was exceedingly unlikely to remain in San Diego for the long haul. Not only has he made clear he wishes to test the open market, but the Friars are in no position to take on a mega-contract with Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer on the books. Per Lin, the San Diego organization launched its effort to structure a deal “more than a month ago,” so it was obviously a serious and long-running bid. At worst, the team’s pursuit forced the powerhouse Dodgers to pay a bit more. But it was always going to be tough to find a package that suited the Red Sox and made sense for the Pads.
So, will the Padres front office now pivot to alternatives? Perhaps, but not necessarily in the coming weeks. Lin writes that “the expectation is that the Padres will begin the season with what they have.” While he says the team has asked about Kris Bryant, in addition to Indians stars Francisco Lindor and Mike Clevinger, it doesn’t seem there’s any active blockbuster structuring in the works.
We can still probably expect plenty of eyebrow-raising trade rumors involving the Padres, the nature of which will surely depend upon how the coming season unfolds. Both Acee and Lin say that a wide variety of players were discussed in the trade talks surrounding Betts, indicating that the Pads remain willing to entertain a range of scenarios.
I have a hard time imagining the Padres as contenders. They’ve been a joke for so many years.
4th place this year, preller did a great job getting talent but screwed up what could have been a legendary team.
Legendary what?
2nd is more correctly stated.
Zona is better at almost every position.
Except 3B, SS, LF, closer, bullpen. You know all the unimportant ones.
Nick Ahmed was no slouch last year.
What is sad about the sport is how they can’t afford another big contract. I realize each sport is different and baseball is regional but look at the values of every club per Forbes. There needs to be a ceiling and floor so payrolls are at least in the same universe if not the planet. I’m glad SD inked Machado but suppose they didn’t step up and he stayed in LA or went to the Yankees, would the Dodgers have been able to trade for Price and Betts? Would the Yankees have signed Cole? Unless the penalties are eased, eventually there will be free agents with no competition like what happened to JDM in part because the Yankees and Dodgers were resetting their threshold at the time. Make a floor high enough to ensure all teams spend in accordance with their stated value, say $80m and put a ceiling of say $250m without penalties. I don’t think the MLBPA would object.
Arizona will score run and win a few games, the Padres won’t
Ahmed was not bad, but trying to compare him to Tatis Jr. is extremely foolish and shows your AZ bias is strong.
Ahmed was better on defense and put up a better WAR in 2019, but Tatis only played 84 games.
Are you really thinking Tatis will maintain his .410 BABIP? .265-.275 with 30 HR is what is realistic for him.
Overall much rather have Tatis and his 30 HR power. than Ahmed with his superior defense.
Might be the worst comment in MLBTR history. Is that Scott Boras??
He’s no Fernando Tatis either
Padres picked for third place this year with 82 W’s behind the Dodgers and DBacks.
82 Wins is very optimistic. Very.
Padres without Betts ae picked to come in 2nd place behind the Doyers, read your Sports magazines, I would say 86 W’s more than likely and possible wild card. GO FRIARS, so glad we didn’t give up the farm for Betts for one yr.
Padres are picked to win 83 games. Diamondbacks 87 before the Marte trade. Dodgers 97. 3rd place is the best Padres can hope for.
Yeah because we all know how accurate predictions from sports beat writers are….
@Koamalu Too bad the games are played on the field and not on your little spreadsheet.
Plenty of clubs have wanted to trade for top Padres farmhands. My Preller decided the offers were not legitimate. Only answer is play our young Padres standouts. Dummies out there will disagree with this but those are the same guys that tried to bamboozle the Padres into giving them away for nothing. Trust your gut, Preller. You acquired them, now play them. What’s the worst that can happen, they match last year’s record? Start and bat these gamers in these positions and in this order: 1) Tatis Jr. SS / 2) Abrams 2B / 3) Machado 3B / 4) Pham LF / 5) Grisham CF / 6) Trammell RF / 7) Mejia C / and 8) Hosmer/Myers platoon 1B. The bench looks like Campusano C (Hedges to minors), Profar IF/OF, Garcia IF, Myers OF/1B, and Olivares OF. Cronenworth IF/RP can come up from minors when RPs are overworked. There you go—let’s see Gore & Patino in the rotation by May at latest. Paddack, Gore, Patino, Lamet and Davies/Richards would be better than even the Dodgers starters.
I like your enthusiasm, but there is no way the Abrams, Campusano, Patino and most likely Trammell, are ready for the Majors. This is not the year to rush guys. Possibly Gore, Patino and Trammell mid-late this season, if they are tearing it up and then Campusano early-mid and Abrams late next year. Stay the course. I hope Preller doesn’t rush these guys to save his job, that could put this team in a really bad spot down the road.
WHAT? you’re kidding of course that’s why your a fan not a GM
Hey mensowithnowheretogo: I am a GM. With a recommendation for my friend.
Still are.
Who’s your team?
If the Mookie Beets trade falls apart do the Padres have a chance to come back and make an offer?
Should of been willing to trade Hosmer and Myers. Missed big here!
What? Who wants those guys?
Someone has to want both Hosmer and Meyers to trade them. And if you trade them, who plays 1st base?
@needinganonopads Josh Naylor
It’s called sarcasm guys..
Before the Sox resigned Moreland I was seeing a possibility of Hosmer and Myers plus a mega package of prospects for Price and Betts. However, the Dodgers just made 100x more sense especially seeing the priority was to clear as much payroll as possible rather than get as much talent as possible. All in all, it’s win-win-win for all sides. Excited to see what Verdugo and Graterol bring to the team.
Hosmer be like you ain’t touching my no trade clause
@lowtalker he’ll approve a trade if one is made. He signed with SD because of $, not because he wanted to play there. And he gets paid regardless.
It really only made sense for the Dodgers to make this trade.
The Padres were never going to compete realistically next season and the odds of them signing Betts were pretty slim.
Wow, what a take, it doesn’t already say that in this column or anything
I didn’t read your post. I’m sorry if that bruised your ego.
I think you read the post.
You did not read it but responded directly to it
I clearly did not respond to it.
I also posted days ago that it would not make sense for the Padres to trade for Betts.
Whose on first?
Muncy damnit!
Pads accumulated a large pile of AAA and AAAA types. Ok, good for them.
Problem is, rule 5/40 man protection is nearing as an issue, so, if you don’t spend em, you lose em for nothing.
You don’t buy a mookie betts with fringe stuff like that.
You CAN buy other players on the last year of a deal, or, rebound candidates, that you can then try to flip at the deadline to restock other players without rule 5 issues.
100% agree. Preller handed out 2 stupid contracts to Myers and hosmer with possibly 3rd with pomeranz. Enough with the #1 system crap if you can’t cash in some of those chips.
Ownership pushed hosmer much like it pushed kemp. Myers is prellers doing but given Pomeranz success last time he was a Padres and history as being a better reliever than starter he may turn into an elite closer if they can’t resign Yates. I’m not writing Pomeranz off given what we’ve seen from him as a reliever.
Where is the proof that ownership pushed for Hosmer and Kemp?
@jimthegoat …
There is no proof. That’s Preller’s lemmings deflecting blame away from their hero.
Cashing in SOME of those prospect “chips” sure. But how many & which ones do they trade for 1 (yes ONE) yr of Betts? Plus you also have to look at the financial side. If they traded to many that are “relatively close” to the majors and Betts walks then the hounds will be out in full force.
Betts was the wrong target for a team like the Padres that will not contend for a WS title this season to cash in their chips on. Makes so much more sense to go after a starter with long term control. Give up a couple top 100 guys to get a Clevinger or a Syndergaard that will be around until they are contending.
Not one player needing protection is above Amarillo. Patino, Trammel, Arias, Potts, Lawson, Mercano are the most visible ones needing protection. Richards. Profar give you two spots being FAs after 2020. Players like Reyes, Wingenter, Garcia, Guerra can open up roster spots.., There is a half a dozen other 40 man roster guys that can be moved in consolidation deals too. The rule 5 crunch is overblown.
The only acquiring teams that made sense would be those who, by adding Mookie, could make a deep run in the playoffs, and those, like the Dodgers, who are perennial contenders and Mookie might bring them a World Series. Otherwise, why pay the price (or Price)?
,Padres fans don’t beat yourself up on this one. As a Red Sox fan who has watched Price and Betts for years know this. Betts thinks he’s worth Mike Trout money and Price performs only when he feels like it.The Dodgers will only get one shot at a crown with these 2 guys. They will only perform in 2020. Betts is gone to the highest bidder and Price will take an injury again in 2021. Why do you think Boston paid 1/2 his salary to unload him? SD be glad you didn’t get either player.
g8752 are you a scout, I thought so case closed.
I saw a report where Betts countered the Red Sox 10 year, $300 million dollar offer at 12 years and something like $420 million. I just can’t see paying a player that kind of money for that long (until they are 40 or close to it), no matter how great they are now. For example, I think the Angels will end up regretting the Trout deal.
No one is worth paying that much unless his name is Mike Trout. I’m glad we never saw Kobe play in any other uniform and I’m glad I’ll get to see Trout do the same.
There is no way the Angels regret the Trout deal. Even if he has 0 WAR for the final 5 years (he wont), He would still be considered a bargain.
you can tell he’s a red sox fan due to how ungrateful he is from a championship two years ago lolz.
Boston paid 1/2 his salary bc they had to throw so much money at the other team to make it worth parting with talent like verdugo.
I never thought this trade was a good idea for the Padres. It would have been a pure PR move for Preller, a guy mostly interested in saving his job.
Padres are going to be better but they are still a few years out. They have holes at both catcher and the outfield and the rotation is still very green. Those who diss them as having always sucked should keep in mind that they had terrible owners for many years, and were always giving away good prospects for scrubs to “save money.”
Bosox paid half salary since Price is not worth $35 million per year. That does not mean he will not have a good season for the Dodgers.
The fact your a Boston fan does not give you insight. Everyone knows about his injuries.
And everyone knows Betts will be a free agent and test the market. So your Boston fan insight offered nothing.
Totally agree about Betts and Price we don’t need them, Friars have the farm and with the trades made this year we’ll be looking very good, 86 W’s
The Padres aren’t a Betts away from taking the division from the Dodgers so makes sense. I think they missed out on Marte though. Would have been more reasonable and 2 years of control.
Pirates were probably demanding way too much for him.
Pirates were probably demanding way too much for him.
I don’t think they are shooting for the division yet, just the wild card. Already predicted at 83 wins without Betts, a 6-7 WAR player would have been a nice addition to get them there. Oh well, there are more fish in the pond.
AJ was reluctant to make Margot available in a Marte deal (per Heyman), went all-in on Betts, and now he’s left with nothing.
Margot really? Should’ve gotten Marte while he was available. Now AJ looks stupid.
Going after Betts was the stupidest move Preller could have tried to make. Whatever he was willing to give up for ONE YEAR of Betts would have been too much. All in a desperate attempt to save his job.
Now the Padres can focus on their pursuit of 3rd place. The previous spending when they weren’t ready to win is biting them in the backside. Hard to move Myers and/or Hosmer anywhere.
I’d say good chance Friars will take 2nd place this year, if Gore comes up in May and Patino in June could be looking real good
If Ifs and buts were candy and nuts the Padres would have a Merry Christmas.
There’s a better chance the Padres play under .500 ball. History is on that side (9 seasons of losing baseball in a row).
That being said, it made zero sense to trade for Betts unless they could move Myers. Betts wasn’t enough to get them over the hump. The Padres need a couple of high end starting pitchers, not a one-year rental outfielder.
@jekporkins but how does trading Betts for Myers make any sense for Boston?
Is anyone going to bother reporting how much of Betts/Price’s salaries are being paid by the Dodgers? There is zero reason that whoever found out from the Dodgers about it couldn’t have also asked”How much are you guys paying?” The media is a joke.
I think details typically come after Medical’s
FWIW MLB television channel said last night boss and will pick up half of prices salary
Boston***
We definitely need those details. The haul Boston got back for this is astonishing. Verdugo for Betts straight up is too much.
So……
Padres completely blew it ! They were in the drivers seat. Abrams or Patino is a clear upgrade over Verdugo so it wasn’t boston balking at the trade. Then the opportunity to unload myers and use those dollars SD is prepared to spend to upgrade team through FA. It also made sense adding Price to that pitching staff…..and if betts doesn’t resign SD gets a pick and has all the money they were going to pay him to pay a different FA.
SD are the marlins with money. They have no clue what they are doing and no direction.
2 players that have never made the show, are better than a player who made the show last year and performed well….hmmmm
That’s right they’ll end up in 2nd place this year and possible wild card ya they blew it alright shows your lack of knowledge in the understanding of 2020 with Gore and Patino ready to perform with Paddock one of the best SP staff in the NL.
Um, I’m a Padres fan, but you say that all those 3 will be ready to go this year? Paddack might finally have the reigns taken off innings-wise. Gore, if he comes up, will be later, won’t give a lot of innings. Unless Patino dominates in spring like Paddack did last year, he’s not coming up until 2021.
To the OP, that still wouldn’t have helped adding Abrams or Patino. They wanted to dump Price’s contract also. No way they were trading just Betts, and taking on some of Myer’s salary……
I understand how prospects work and your whole comment revolves on hope- none of those guys are locks to be Aces
The target has to be one of Kris Bryant or Wilson Contreras for the Padres. The middle of the order is needing one more socker. Betts would have been that, but like the article states and understandably so, that asking price for 1 year was insane and the Padres shouldn’t sell off so much.
Why do they have to target anyone? Most of the good teams tend to become good organically before deciding to give up a boatload of prospects for a player. They usually do that before signing guys like Machado and Hosmer to massive deals also but that can’t be undone…
Asking Price for Betts was not insane at all. Look at the return
So glad that the Padres didn’t take the bait. Betts is good, but not that good. And Price? No thanks. Pitching and defense wins games. We need a top of the line starter otherwise stand pat. Don’t blow it Preller.
MacKenzie Gore is about as close to “can’t miss” as you can get in baseball. He should develop into a front line starter along with Patiño over the next few years. Paddack is good, but he’s also pretty cocky. That can be an asset if he’s able to back it up with solid performance. Then they have guys like Morejon, Quantrill and Báez who might step up as well.
Id like to see them get one more guy if they can pry him away from another club for a reasonable price. If not… the staff is just going to have to learn and grow.
At this point they pretty much have to ride it out with Gore, Patino, Lamet and Paddack and just hope that they live up to their potential. I think we’ll see Gore this year at least after the super 2 cut off, Patino I’m not sure, but if it’s not this year then he should start next year up in the bigs.
There aren’t really any frontline starters available right now. I think that’s why Preller was solidifying the bullpen. Probably realized his internal candidates were cheaper and just as likely to be good as what was available on the market.
I think the Padres missed their chance last year by not aggressively pursuing Marcus Strohman. Would have been a great leader for the younger staff. Still relatively young himself, but with 6 years big league experience.
Patiño comes up in September barring injury
Learn and grow is another way of say lose until you figure it out.
Everyone needs too of the line pitching. None is available
Betts isn’t good – he’s incredibly good.
The Padres ownership does this every year. They leak false information about getting another big fish. They do this so people will buy season tickets because they are expecting a playoff birth. Its just to make revenue on season ticket holders.
Did they spend 400+ million dollars last off-season?
Didn’t ****
They did not. But they did spend close about 475 MM over the previous 2 offseasons on Hosmer, Machado, Kinsler, and Garrett Richards.
No Michael they did not spend anywhere near that last year
Yep, pretty much every team does that. I have never been a season ticket guy. Don’t have the time.
Every baseball market has tens of thousands of people with the time to do a full season plan but those folks don’t have the money to do a two game plan.
What the Dodgers really did….
Traded 3 Yrs of Maeda for Price
1 yr of Pederson for Mookie
5 yrs of Verdugo for Rengifo
almost.
3 years of Maeda for Price at 50% off.
5 years of Verdugo for Mookie
———————————
1 year of Pederson for Rengifo.
This..
Diggy is correct
They did not trade Pederson for Mookie at all
David Price 2020 has a decent shot to be an impact performer. I thought his next 3 years would have been a great get for the Padres, much better than the Year of Mookie. He would have substantially elevated the Padres franchise as a result.
But if the Padres’ hierarchy can sit there thinking they know better than me, well then.
At this point in his career David Price is a decent mid-rotation starter, but for comparisons sake if you look at Fangraphs depth chart projections on him they think he’s a 1.9 WAR pitcher this year and that Joey Luchessi is a 2.3.
Projections are often wrong, but the point bring he’s not really an “impact performer” anymore and he wouldn’t have really moved the needle for SD. There’s a reason the Dodgers only gave up Verdugo and Maeda to take on half his contract + Betts. He’s just not worth it.
Basically both those guys are going to give you about the same performance. Lucchesi will cost less for the next 4 years than 1/2 of one year of Price’s contract. Not a good deal for the Padres.
Stanton and Happ for Machado and Hosmer.
The Padres will fight with the Dbacks for 2nd in the West and a Wild Card spot. Dodgers are still the favourite. Padres have a better pen than the Dbacks but the Dbacks have much better SP depth. Both lineups will score runs. The Rockies will finish 4th given their weak SP. We all know about the Giants…
The Giants should just bite the bullet and go all in on a rebuild. They have a ton of draft picks this year after losing MadBum and Will Smith.
DrDan…. Dude, they are. Have you seen them jumping into free agency with a frenzy? They don’t even know who their starting centerfielder, left fielder, or closer is yet. Giants won’t be back until 2022.
Giants are going to take this season off then go all in on Betts.
padres will nor come in 2nd that’s Arizona and Rockies could be 3rd. I can see Padres coming in 3rd,4th or 5th.
You would love to see the Padres in last place wouldn’t you Doyer fan
Betts or no Betts Padres should use guys to unload Myers contract.
You can still swing a trade with Boston to put Myers at 1st, albeit it’d take Morejon Baez Naylor and Hedges plus 10-20% of Myers contract to do so, which Boston picks up young controllable mlb ready assets just for taking Myers.
I don’t see the Padres interested in dealing campusano unless Mejia magically turns into a decent offense and good defense catcher.
I am glad the kept Campusano. I was having flashbacks of Grandal for Matt Kemp.
Padres should just play Myers every day in RF until the trade deadline and hope he plays well so they don’t have to pay such a big price to get rid of him. Keep your prospects. Use them to get the top of the rotation starter they need to contend.
Not that it means anything, but I agree with your assesment.
wild speculation time! but in all seriousness, they werent taking on Betts while they already have Machado, Hosmer, and Myers
Yaz, Rice, Evans (virtually), Greenwell, Nixon. Stayed.
Smith, Lynn, Burks, Betts. Left the Red Sox.
Betts has joined the group that has zero HOF members. Best OF’s developed over the past 60 years. I left Tony C off purposely. Unique case.
Maybe Mookie will be the first to be HOF. We’ll see.
Don’t count Smith out. He should definitely make it at least as far as the veteran’s committee.
That would be cool, heckuva career.
Padres are a mess.
Really? Thanks for that wonderful bit of knowledge…….
If they were to acquire Bryant, I guess they play him in the OF and try to trade Myers again.
The ability to trade myers is long gone. You’re safe to go buy his jersey now
2B?
As a RS fan, I thought we matched up well But I can’t blame SD for holding onto Gore & Patino. The rest of the guys, including Abrams & the catcher (whose name escapes me 12 hours after I wanted him), should’ve been on the table.
padres will nor come in 2nd that’s Arizona and Rockies could be 3rd. I can see Padres coming in 3rd,4th or 5th.
Padres will not come in 2nd that’s Arizona and Rockies could be 3rd. I can see Padres coming in 3rd,4th or 5th.
Why would they even discuss it if “ they are in it for the long haul”. This team is a joke. Preller along with Epller have to be the worst GM’s in baseball. Preller has no clue in 5 plus years what direction to even take this club.
That’s the front office’s way of saying that they were interested in acquiring Mookie, but not if it meant giving up any top prospects. So if they could piece together a deal where they just gave spare parts like Margot etc… they were in but once it got to a point where it was Abrams/Patino type prospects that would need to be involved to beat the Dodgers offer then they couldn’t do it.
I wouldn’t have traded Patino either, but Abrams? #6 pick is a decent chip. But he is also several years away, plays a position where you already have someone with a little bit of talent, and Abrams made 12 errors in 258 innings.
Betts might be the difference between being a playoff team or coming in 3rd. Sometimes you have to push the process.
To his credit, and he is not alone, he put together a great farm. But hasn’t figured out how to turn a great farm into a contender. I was fine with the Machado signing, but Myers was weak, and Hosmer epically awful He could’ve gotten the superior Moreland for under $5M per.
That said, he has more spare parts than he can use. His rotation next year will be
Paddack
Lamet
Lucchesi
Quantrill
Davies
Richards
Later probably Gore & Patino
Maybe Baez & Morejon.
He should’ve dumped one of those 6 guys that deserved to start, plus one of the two that qualify as a #6 SP, and Naylor, who has no position to play. He’s going to be sitting on 3-4 pitchers that will make very little contribution, not because they don’t have talent, but because they have no spot.
Preller and Co. have built a great farm, that graduated Tatis Jr., Paddack, Muñoz, Quantrill, Morejon, Baez, and Naylor last year alone. The farm system is still highly rated and there are plenty more guys to come. Rebuilds take a while and by this time next year, if everything goes right, Padre fans will be very happy that the Padres brass didn’t trade any of these prospects away. The farm is going to turn this team into a contender.
Until the Padres get a top of the rotation starter they will continue to flounder. Their fans can only hope that if they are hovering around .500 at the ASB that Preller goes after that starter in trade.
“We’re in for the (long haul), not one year.”
Then why’d they trade for Profar?
I kinda get the feeling they want guys like Profar and Zach Davies as stop gaps on 1 year deals because it will free up room in 2021, both in terms of $ (owed a combined $11M this year) but also in terms of roster spots.
Is that smart considering Lauer, Austin Allen and Buddy Reed are to varying degrees “future” assets? I don’t know, only time will tell, but it appears that they don’t want some of these lesser pieces locked up for a long time.
If you are “in it for the long haul, not one year,” as they say they are, you do NOT trade prospects for guys who can be free agents in a year or two. Not even lower prospects like Austin Allen and Buddy Reed. If you don’t want them taking roster spots, trade them for something else.
It was Austin Allen and Buddy Reed. They will survive. AJ got his crush out of the way and hopefully with Miller close, its only one yr.
Did you not read my above comment? I said “Not even lower prospects like Austin Allen and Buddy Reed.” I am fully aware that they aren’t a significant loss for your Padres but unless they are actively trying to win a championship in 2020 they’d have been better off releasing Allen and Reed than trading them for Profar.
I’m glad we missed on this. Preller not willing yo screw the organization just to save his butt shows some courage. Honestly ghough, I don’t want him. I think our offense can compete, but our pitch is a huge question mark.
Well for the three of you that wanted the Padres to trade for Betts, it may still happen. Nothing is finalized and I have it on good authority that the trade isn’t any closer than it was 3 days ago.
My contact in the Red Sox FO says the trade isn’t any closer to being done now than it was 3 days ago.