The Dodgers’ blockbuster acquisition of Max Scherzer and Trea Turner was the biggest news of deadline season, though Los Angeles wasn’t the only NL West power looking to land that same duo from the Nationals. The Padres were reportedly close to getting Scherzer, and FanSided’s Robert Murray writes that San Diego also had “strong interest” in obtaining Turner.
Despite all these talks, there still seemed to be some distance between the Padres and Nationals in talks. Murray writes that “a deal was never close” for Turner, while even the Scherzer negotiations were described by one Washington source as “general back and forth.”
MLB Network’s Jon Heyman shed some more light on the Padres/Nationals talks, reporting that the Padres “floated a serious package” for both Scherzer and Turner, “with the idea of offering even more if Nats came back to them.” Washington apparently didn’t check back in with the Padres, instead taking the Dodgers’ offer of Keibert Ruiz, Josiah Gray, Gerardo Carrillo, and Donovan Casey. As a counter to Ruiz, San Diego’s offer might have also included a top-tier catching prospect, as Heyman says the Padres and Nationals discussed Luis Campusano.
Had Turner landed in San Diego, the initial plan likely would have been to install him at second base, just as the Dodgers did in order to fit both Turner and incumbent star shortstop Corey Seager into the same lineup. Turner and Fernando Tatis Jr. would have formed quite a combo up the middle for the Padres, though Turner would have ended up playing shortstop anyway, if Tatis had also re-injured his shoulder in this alternate reality. Turner might have also been the shortstop anyway, had a healthy Tatis instead been moved to the outfield in order to help preserve his shoulder.
Should Scherzer and Turner help the Dodgers win this year (or in 2022 when Turner will still be under contract), Padres fans will look back on this missed trade with regret, though of course it isn’t known exactly what the Nationals would have demanded from San Diego. The Dodgers and Padres are currently on pace to meet in the NL wild card game, with Los Angeles holding a three-game lead over San Diego in the standings. The Padres also have to worry about the surging Reds, who have moved to 3.5 games back of that second wild card berth.
Redsoxx_62
I’m other news, water is wet
stymeedone
Better headline: Padres interest not strong enough.
reflect
Hah. Exactly.
Chief Two Hands
Interest? The Padres interest is in beating the Dodgers any way they can. It’s their obsession and Preller’s job depends on it. The problem for them is that he keeps failing. Look at all the moves he has made over the past few years. Still third in the conference. And yeah, Preller lost out big at the trade deadline, and that dude was desperate.
DiehardFriarsFan
You have no idea what you are talking about “chief” (dumb user name btw). We are actually still well within playoff contention if you even know how that works in MLB, which you don’t. Doyers fan yourself? Considering how much smaller our payroll is I’d say we are accomplishing way more than your Doyers team jackass.
Cap & Crunch
That’s not how it works amigo
Maybe next year tho huh?
Curly Was The Smart Stooge
Shoulda, woulda, coulda
Chief Two Hands
Got your panties a bit ruffled, 619, my apologies.
sdpadsfan11
Padres are just getting started.
johnrealtime
All credibility lost at “conference”
SDHotDawg
Realistically, that would have been a stupid and unnecessay move. Turner? Preller is more interested in collecting shiny baseball cards than building a roster and addressing team needs in order to win. The NEED is starting pitching, and even a casual observer would have known that since the season started.
24TheKid
Hello other news.
Redsoxx_62
Lol I’m also great at typing
Chief Two Hands
Also, as long as we are being open about our identities…I’m Batman.
GASoxFan
Padres being Padres, probably wanted to send Hosmer or Myers contracts back the other way….
padresfan111323
So true…
DiehardFriarsFan
I wouldn’t call yourself a “Padres fan” bud. Closet Doyer maybe but your user name is unfitting with dumb comments like that.
1984wasntamanual
Thank you for policing who is and isn’t a Padre’s fan in the comment section. I don’t know what we’d do without you.
Daw(e)some
The problem here seems to be, one is “Diehard…Fan”, while the other, is but just “…fan”.
Note both the absence/inclusion of “Diehard” as well as the capitalizing/lack of capitalizing of “fan”.
Based on Diehard’s comments above re one’s username, it’s evident he took GREAT care in crafting his/hers to express just how hard a Fan s/he is.
koldjerky
Would’ve been funny if they sent Myers back. Wonder if Tampa would’ve got involved again?
DiehardFriarsFan
Really dumb comment. Hosmer and Myers have done alot for this team. You know squat.
kodiak920
Calm down.
amk1920
They’ve done so much that Preller would dump them at the first opportunity
1984wasntamanual
They’ve done a lot, very little of it good. Keep thumbs up-ing your own posts, no one will notice.
Deleted_User
Sure they’ve done a lot. Just none of it good…
AaronMC
They have had some moments but neither of their contracts have been considered close to good.
DarkSide830
real question, why on Earth cant the Phillies avoid Scherzer? he was traded and now we have to face him again. gah.
Lloyd Emerson
Have a cookie, poor thing
That Baseball Fan
Clearly Max wouldn’t agree to play for the Padres but wanted to go to the Dodgers instead. It’s more motivation for the Friars in the upcoming wild card game. The Padres lit up Max before the trade deadline.
IBackTheNats6
Actually it’s pretty much confirmed he was willing to play for the Padres, the Nats just got a better offer from the Dodgers
That Baseball Fan
The article states the Nationals never went back to the Padres to negotiate.
Ronk325
That doesn’t mean Scherzer turned down the Padres. That just means the Nationals got a great offer from the Dodgers and took it
Cap & Crunch
“The article”?
Now why bring a silly little thing like that into this?
Pads nation seems a lil edgy these days
VegasSDfan
Obviously our offer wasn’t good enough for the Nats
tstats
Don’t be too sure that the Padres make the WC game… or face Scherzer in that game if they do. If it’s dodgers Padres that day, I expect Buehler for that one game so Max can start the NLDS
DiehardFriarsFan
Dodgers suck bro. Ready for another blown world series? You people are beyond delusional. Choke city with a much higher payroll.
DiehardFriarsFan
With a full 162 game season the Doyers would NEVER win a WS
mvlastowski
Just checking DiehardFriarsFan, how many World Series Championships have the Friars won?? ZERO!! Choke artists?? The Friars have been there twice and choked. Ya probably shouldn’t spout off like that. Makes ya sound extremely obtuse!!
mvlastowski
DiehardFriarsFan, let me ask you, how many WS Championships have the Padres won?? ZERO! Choke city? The Padres have been there twice and choked. You probably shouldn’t pop off like that. It makes you sound obtuse!! Just saying.
DiehardFriarsFan
I know, I know.
DiehardFriarsFan
Hoping we can remain competitive at least
whyhayzee
When you look at the Betts trade, the Dodgers actually sent some value back to the Red Sox for a player who had zero chance of staying in Boston. Teams see that and are willing to deal with the Dodgers. You have to give value for value or you’re not going to be the teams making the moves. Unless you’re the yankees and teams just want to get rid of players.
DarkSide830
again, that Betts trade was a masterstroke.
Michael Macaulay-Birks
Personally I think the return for Mookie Betts given the situation was fair
Redsoxx_62
This is what I’ve been saying since the day of the Betts trade
dimitriinla
Anyone here with real knowledge of what the Dodgers gave up for Max and Trea?
When it was a game.
Trade worked a bit better for the Sox. Since it was only a partial season they would have been burnt real bad if they waited to deadline.
seamaholic 2
Well, maybe they shouldn’t have traded him in the first place.
Faith in the Padres
I’m fine with the fact they went with Frazier. Cost significantly less for the same amount of team control.
DiehardFriarsFan
Agreed
VegasSDfan
Not a bad addition. Consider Turner will miss half the games, and Sherzer is a one year rental.
Deleted_User
LOL
Faith in the Padres
Padres went with the NL hits leader
Dodgers went with a rental in scherzer and paid more to acquire turner hoping he stays healthy.
Whatever helps you deal with dodgers potentially not getting as much value.
Deleted_User
@Faith in the Padres What do you mean “hoping he stays healthy?” There is ZERO reason to believe Turner won’t stay healthy.
Mattimeo09
Why on earth did the Padres extend Preller’s contract? After he started it took the Padres another 6 years to win more games than they lost.
The Tatis trade is the only thing that’s keeping his career afloat but he also traded away Trea Turner so that just breaks even.
amk1920
That last part is so true. Trading Trea Turner is just as bad as the White Sox trading Tatis. Preller is not a good GM at all. All he does is make trades for big names like a dart board. For every Tatis there is a Turner. For every Darvish and Musgrove there is a Snell and Clevinger. For every Paddack there is a Max Fried. For every Cronenworth there is a Ty France. Preller is just a gambler. Friedman and Zaidi run circles around him.
DiehardFriarsFan
You are beyond clueless. Do you even know what a rebuild is? Y’all are just straight up scared and mad that the Padres are winning and advancing and neck and neck with your Doyers team for the second year in a row. Being a GM is all about gambling you nimrod!
amk1920
A rebuild isn’t trade your recent 1st round draft pick for Wil Myers lmao. Giants started rebuilding 3 years later than SD and already have a much better team
Cap & Crunch
Was super confused as well in the “rebuild”
2nd year in a row ? You finished 6 games behind the Dodgers in a 60 game season last year and then got SWEPT in the playoffs by them
* You did win your first playoff series in 22 years tho ! Hooray!!!!!!!!
Probably a lot of rebuilds in that time span so you might not even know when they stop or start
A Seal
It doesn’t seem as if the Padres offered Abrams in the deal, and even then the Dodgers package was more valuable than Abrams according to baseballtradevalues.com. Also, 2 top 100 prospects offers security if one fails
DiehardFriarsFan
Shortened season champs. 162 games is a different story little guy. There is a difference. I know it and you know it little man.
AshamedMethGoat
Yeah, and if the Padres had somehow removed their hands from their necks during the NLDS last year and gone on to win the WS, you’d be claiming it was legit.
Anyway, you’re pretty a cocky for a fan of a team that has won exactly 4 postseason series in 50+ years.
DiehardFriarsFan
We aren’t bought off thats the difference. Kind of like how the Mets aren’t bought off like the Yankees are. Same type of deal.
DiehardFriarsFan
In other words for the Doyers to have that much higher payroll and have the same track record as we do says more about your club than mine
AshamedMethGoat
You’re funny bro. Dodgers managed their payroll
and hung onto their minor league talent so they could make moves like the Betts and Scherzer/Turner trades.
Yes, they can buy whatever players they want, but it’s player development in their own system that makes the whole system go. This is the hallmark of a well-run organization.
I think the jury is still out on your boy Preller. I knew that 2015 would be a disaster based on the way he assembled that team, and I was right. On the other hand, he’s rebounded nicely to put together a WS contender, but it seems as though he’s had trouble making the final step, My guess is, he’s gun-shy because of the all of the injuries to the players recently acquired. And despite the Padres acting like a big market team in terms of spending, it’s not like they have limitless money like the Dodgers and Mets (I’d say Yankees, but they behave much more like a mid-market team these days) and can afford to make a lot of big contract mistakes.
Anyway, at the end of the day, the players they have need to perform on the field when it matters most, something the Dodgers were finally able to do last year.
We’ll see what the rest of this year holds.
DiehardFriarsFan
This is a fair answer, I’ll give this one to ya Ashamed.
1984wasntamanual
Same track record? The Dodgers have won the west 8 years in a row and the WS in 2020…how is that the same track record as the Padres?
I really hope you’re a troll or like 12 because you sound like a complete moron.
DiehardFriarsFan
Winning the west? I’m talking world series. I’m guessing you are the 12 year old. Your comment was sad…how many WS victories? Same track record dumb dumb
1984wasntamanual
So you’re illiterate as well? They won the world series in 2020, the Padres haven’t won a world series since….ever. Thank you for confirming that you’re a troll or a child.
AaronMC
Please stop embarrassing real Padres fans
DiehardFriarsFan
So far you have brought zero to the table showing your “fanhood” so GTFO.
CrikesAlready
Why haven’t I seen an article about super agent Scott Boras being implicated in some sort of tampering on this deal?
It’s been said, and repeated, that Boras leaked the preliminary talks between the Padres and the Nationals so that the Dodgers would step in and become more aggressive.
If an owner did this, it would be curtains.
amk1920
This is a prime lesson why trading players who were recent high draft picks is bad, which Preller is addicted to. This is not going to be the first time the Padres will have regretted moving a player so early in their pro career.
Hudson6
So when the Padres trade premium prospects like Trea Turner it is just stupidity, but when the Dodgers trade Ruiz and Gray it is smart? What happens if Josiah Gray turns into an ACE with 7 years of control? Dodgers fans have been saying that he has that kind of ability.
amk1920
The Dodgers did it for a top 5 SP and top 5 SS in baseball. Not Wil Myers. And I wasn’t necessarily talking about moving top prospects. It’s about moving players you just drafted, which is dumb and unsustainable. The Dodgers can afford to move Gray because they still have Bobby Miller and the rest of their strong 2020 pitching class. Preller already traded 2/5 of the players he drafted in 2020 and others from previous drafts. It has totally depleted their farm system beyond the top 3 guys.
iml12
The San Diego top 20 has been absolutely decimated. It will take many years to recover that depth. The big 3 don’t look as much like sure things as they did 12 months ago. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. I still think the dumbest thing preller did was offering a kid with 500 abs and a pretty extensive injury history 300 million dollars. Now he’s moving to the outfield? Yikes
DiehardFriarsFan
Yeah I just saw the thing about him playing some outfield
1984wasntamanual
I don’t think the Tatis contract was a good idea either, but I have a hard time believing that was a Preller decision and not an ownership decision.
Deleted_User
@1984wasntamanual People always say that to defend Preller’s bad moves
Hudson6
@ iml12
And the Padres had Gore, Weathers and Lange to replace Wilcox. I just find it funny how everyone says that the Padres lost at the trade deadline and should have paid whatever it takes, yet that price would almost certainly include Abrams. Do you know what kind of player Abrams projects to be? A left-handed Trea Turner with a better arm and defense. If they HAD traded him for Scherzer everyone would be complaining that Preller made a huge mistake again. It seems that certain people complain about Preller no matter what he does. We call those people Dodger fans and we ignore their biased viewpoints.
Deleted_User
@Hudson6 of the guys you named only Gore is better than Wilcox. Weathers has gotten exposed his last few outings.
And while trading Abrams for Scherzer would have been beyond stupid, realistically, they could have gotten him without giving up Abrams. Turner was the reason that trade cost the Dodgers top prospects.
Who I really wanted them to go after was Jon Gray. But the Rockies front office are a bunch of morons who just went all in with a 2-7 offsuit.
yogineely
Should have had more interest in him when they drafted him
DiehardFriarsFan
Sorry guys. have been sick and on alot of meds. Didn’t mean to get so high strung on this topic hahaha.
CobiEven
At least you admit it. Get well. There is lots more baseball left.
DiehardFriarsFan
I see where yall are coming from. I’m just glad the Padres are finally on a good path. That is all. I’ll take it!!!
CobiEven
You hit the nail on the head with this. Giants are the rivalry, San Diego needs to win one first to come sit at the big boy table.
DiehardMadresfan is hilarious though. He is so pissed he has diarrhea of the mouth. He will disappear in October though, just like the Madres.