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Trade Deadline Outlook: San Diego Padres

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Our team-by-team Trade Deadline Outlook series continues with the Padres. San Diego's top-heavy roster makes it easy to identify the priorities. If they remain resistant to trading either of their top prospects, they could pivot to under-the-radar or rental trade targets.

Record: 52-44 (48.3% playoff probability, per FanGraphs)

Other series entries: Rockies, Giants, Phillies, Pirates, Astros, Marlins, Athletics, Orioles, White Sox, Nationals, Cubs, Rays, Dodgers, Braves, Yankees, Angels, Mets, Blue Jays, Mariners

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Potential needs: Catcher, left field, starting pitcher, utility infielder

San Diego has had the same top few needs going back to the offseason. Free agent departures of Kyle Higashioka and Jurickson Profar left them without answers at catcher and in left field, respectively. The rotation depth has been a question since Joe Musgrove underwent Tommy John surgery. The late-offseason Nick Pivetta signing has been massive, but the back of the rotation still feels tenuous. Low-cost pickups in catcher and left field have not panned out, leaving the Padres to address both positions over the next two and a half weeks.

The Padres have had arguably the worst catching tandem in MLB. Elias Díaz and Martín Maldonado have combined to hit .195/.255/.306 over 327 plate appearances. Neither player rates highly as a pitch framer. While both players, especially Maldonado, have a strong reputation for the unquantifiable aspects of catcher defense (e.g. game-calling, managing a pitching staff), the production has not been there. It speaks to how far former top prospect Luis Campusano has fallen in the organization's eyes that he hasn't gotten an opportunity this year.

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Jim Clancy Passes Away

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Former All-Star Jim Clancy has passed away, the Blue Jays announced. He was 69.

Clancy was drafted by the Rangers in the fourth round of the 1974 draft out of a Chicago high school. The 6’4″ right-hander pitched three seasons in the minors. The Blue Jays selected him in the expansion draft in advance of their inaugural season in ’77. Clancy made his big league debut against his former club that July. He started 13 games as a rookie and would remain a fixture in Toronto’s rotation for the next decade.

He won 10 games with a 4.09 earned run average over 31 outings during his first full MLB season. He struggled through an injury-plagued ’79 season before breaking out the following year. Clancy turned in a career-low 3.30 ERA across 250 2/3 innings in 1980. After a down season in ’81, he was one of the top pitchers in the sport in 1982. Clancy led MLB with 40 starts and tossed a career-high 266 2/3 innings. He won 16 games and earned an All-Star nod.

That kicked off a six-year run in which he posted five seasons with a sub-4.00 ERA. Clancy surpassed 30 starts and 200 innings in all but one of those years. While injuries limited him in 1985, he managed a 3.78 ERA across 23 starts and helped the Jays to the first playoff berth in franchise history.

Clancy pitched in Toronto through the end of the ’88 campaign. He finished his Jays tenure with a 4.10 earned run average and 128 wins. Longtime teammate Dave Stieb is the only pitcher in franchise history to top Clancy’s 2204 2/3 innings pitched. He trails only Stieb and Roy Halladay on the franchise leaderboard in strikeouts and wins. After leaving Toronto in free agency, he finished his career as a swingman with the Astros and Braves.

At age 35, Clancy was part of Atlanta’s pennant-winning ’91 team and made three appearances in that year’s classic World Series against Minnesota. He was the winning pitcher in Game 3, recording one out in the top of the 12th inning before Atlanta walked it off in the bottom half. He made his final major league appearance two nights later, tossing two innings of one-run ball to record a hold in an eventual blowout win. That pulled Atlanta ahead in the series by a 3-2 margin, but Minnesota won the final two games in extras (capped by Jack Morris’ 10-inning shutout in Game 7) to win the title.

MLBTR joins others throughout the game in sending our condolences to Clancy’s family, friends, loved ones and former teammates.

Grant Hartwig Signs With NPB’s Hanshin Tigers

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Reliever Grant Hartwig has signed with the Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. The 6’5″ righty had been on a minor league contract with the Mets but was released last month. It seems that was to pursue this opportunity.

Hartwig, 27, pitched in the big leagues for the Mets in each of the previous two seasons. He logged 35 1/3 innings of 4.84 ERA ball as a rookie in 2023. He spent most of last year in Triple-A and lost a couple months to a meniscus tear that required surgery. Hartwig appeared in four MLB games, allowing six runs in 6 2/3 innings. The Mets dropped him from the 40-man roster early in the offseason and brought him back on a minor league deal.

A product of Miami Ohio, Hartwig signed with the Mets in 2021 as an undrafted free agent. He has turned in a 3.42 earned run average in parts of five minor league campaigns. Hartwig had a matching 3.42 ERA across 23 2/3 Triple-A frames this year, though he bizarrely surrendering 13 unearned runs (against nine earned) in 21 appearances. He fanned 29% of batters faced with a solid 8.8% walk rate while averaging nearly 95 MPH on his sinker. Hartwig will presumably lock in a stronger guarantee in NPB than he would’ve made had he played out the season in Triple-A.

Pirates Release Matt Gorski

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The Pirates released outfielder Matt Gorski, per the MLB.com transaction tracker. Pittsburgh designated him for assignment last week to open a 40-man roster spot for reliever Yohan Ramírez.

Gorski has been on the Triple-A injured list since late May. Injured players cannot be placed on outright waivers. Once Pittsburgh designated him for assignment, a release was essentially inevitable. Assuming Gorski clears release waivers, the Bucs could try to bring him back on a minor league contract. He’ll have the right to pursue other opportunities as a free agent though.

The righty-hitting Gorski is a former second-round pick. He has power and speed but has had issues making consistent contact throughout his minor league career. The Indiana product got out to a hot start this year with Triple-A Indianapolis. Pittsburgh called him up in late April.

Gorski blasted a 434-foot home run off Tyler Anderson in his first major league at-bat. He recorded two homers and a triple in 15 games, but he also struck out 16 times while drawing just one walk. Pittsburgh optioned him back to Triple-A on May 17; he suffered the undisclosed injury a week later. He has hit .195 in 41 major league at-bats and is a career .254/.313/.509 hitter in parts of four Triple-A seasons.

Twins Not Currently Discussing Joe Ryan In Trade Talks

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The Twins are among nearly a dozen bubble teams around MLB with just over two weeks until the trade deadline. Minnesota sits two games under .500 and four games out of the American League’s final Wild Card spot. They’re tied with the Angels and have two teams (the Rays and Rangers) between them and the Mariners, who currently hold the AL’s last playoff position.

Robert Murray of FanSided reports that the Twins have yet to have serious conversations about the possibility of selling. Specifically, Murray adds that Minnesota hasn’t had discussions with other clubs about All-Star starter Joe Ryan. That doesn’t mean they’d necessarily consider Ryan untouchable if things go poorly over the next couple weeks, but they’re evidently not currently focused on moving him. Jon Morosi of MLB Network noted last week that the Twins would need to be completely out of the playoff race and be blown away by an offer to deal Ryan.

President of baseball operations Derek Falvey told SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson last week that he anticipated that most bubble teams would take right up to the July 31 deadline to determine their directions. Falvey broadly acknowledged that other teams have interest in Minnesota’s controllable pitching talent. At the same time, he expressed optimism that the team would play better coming out of the All-Star Break than they did in the first half and didn’t sound eager to sell. The Twins will resume play this weekend with a very winnable series at Coors Field. They’ll then head to L.A. to take on the Dodgers before home sets against the Nationals and Red Sox that’ll take them to the deadline.

If they struggle and pivot to selling, the Twins would obviously have no trouble drumming up interest in Ryan. The 29-year-old has steadily improved over his four-plus year MLB career. He owns a personal-best 2.72 earned run average while striking out more than 28% of opposing hitters in 19 appearances. Every team could accommodate his $3MM salary, and he remains controllable via arbitration for another two seasons. If the Twins seriously entertained dealing him, he’d probably be the prize of the rotation market.

Ryan has been the lone consistent force in a rotation that has struggled since losing Pablo López and Zebby Matthews to injuries. Minnesota starters have performed fairly well in July but had an MLB-worst 5.59 ERA in June. A Ryan trade would more or less wave the white flag on 2025, and it’d deal a huge hit to next year’s pitching staff. It’s tough to see them doing that as long as they’re within a few games of a playoff spot.

That won’t stop other teams from trying. While Ryan may be Minnesota’s most valuable trade chip, they have a number of players who’d be coveted if they sell. Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax will get a lot of attention from clubs looking for high-leverage bullpen help. Impending free agents Willi Castro and Harrison Bader are quality role players on the position player side. Chris Paddack would pique the interest of some teams that are looking for a back-end starter. Jon Heyman of The New York Post wrote this evening that the Twins could field offers on Duran and Jax if they drop further in the standings. There’d be little reason not to shop Castro, Bader and Paddack in that situation as well.

In any case, it’s highly unlikely that Byron Buxton is going anywhere. The star center fielder is signed through 2028 and having the kind of monster season that has long been possible if he can stay healthy. Even in the improbable event that the front office considered trading him, Buxton’s deal has a full no-trade clause. The two-time All-Star tells Heyman he wouldn’t have any interest in waiving his no-trade rights and leaving the only organization he has ever known.

Kevin Herget Elects Free Agency

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Right-hander Kevin Herget has elected free agency in lieu of accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Gwinnett, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by the Braves last week.

Herget, 34, was claimed off waivers from the Mets in May. Since then, he has mostly been on optional assignment, making just one appearance for Atlanta. That was a scoreless inning on July 1st, after which he was optioned back down to Gwinnett. The Mets claimed him off waivers from the Brewers in the offseason and gave him similar treatment. They mostly stashed him in the minors and only put him into one big league game before designating him for assignment.

Since he has previously been outrighted in his career, Herget has the right to reject outright assignments and has exercised that right. He has 45 2/3 major league innings under his belt, spread out over this year and the previous three seasons. In that time, he has a 4.53 earned run average, 13.9% strikeout rate, 5.7% walk rate and 35.9% ground ball rate.

His minor league work has been decent this year. Between Syracuse and Gwinnett, he has logged 30 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 3.26 ERA. His 21.6% strikeout rate, 8% walk rate and 41.6% ground ball rate are all pretty close to typical averages.

He will head to the open market to see what opportunities await him. Since he cleared waivers, he will probably be limited to minor league offers. If he eventually makes it back to the majors with some team, he can be optioned for the rest of this season but will be out of options in 2026.

Photo courtesy of Dale Zanine, Imagn Images

Travis Jankowski Elects Free Agency

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Outfielder Travis Jankowski has elected free agency rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Syracuse, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by the Mets last week.

Jankowski, 34, is a veteran outfielder of the speed-and-defense variety. He has been bouncing around the league this year, heading wherever there’s an opportunity for him. He has suited up for the White Sox, Rays and Mets, getting into 26 games between those three clubs. He has a combined batting line of .244/.286/.289 in 50 plate appearances this year.

Over his career, he has hit a bit better than that, with a .236/.318/.305 line in 1,759 plate appearances. But as mentioned, his other attributes are how he pays the bills. He has 3,601 innings of outfield work with 29 Defensive Runs Saved and 32 Outs Above Average. He has also stolen 104 bases in 129 tries.

It seems that, at this stage, teams are happy to give him a roster spot when they have a few injuries. Then when guys get healthy, they bump Jankowski off the roster. As a veteran with years of experience, he has the right to reject outright assignments and elect free agency, which he is comfortable doing. This is his third time opting for the open market this season.

He will now see what opportunities await him. With the trade deadline coming up, plenty of roster shuffling will be taking place in the coming weeks. Perhaps that will open a path to playing time for him somewhere.

Photo courtesy of Wendell Cruz, Imagn Images

Twins Acquire Noah Davis

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The Twins have acquired right-hander Noah Davis from the Dodgers, per Phil Miller of the Star Tribune. The Dodgers, who designated Davis for assignment last week, will receive cash considerations in return. The Twins had an open 40-man roster spot and are sending Davis to Triple-A St. Paul, so no corresponding move is required.

Davis, 28, signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox in the offseason. Perhaps that deal contained some sort of upward mobility clause, as the Red Sox flipped him to the Dodgers on Opening Day. The Dodgers put him on their 40-man roster but immediately optioned him to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

He has served as an optionable depth arm for the Dodgers this year, with five big league appearances scattered throughout the season. The first four were pretty normal but the fifth was gruesome. On the Fourth of July, the Dodgers were losing to the Astros 7-1 in the fifth inning. They brought Davis in with two outs in the fifth and he struck out Mauricio Dubón to finish the frame. Davis was sent back out for the top of the sixth and allowed ten earned runs on six hits, three walks and a hit-by-pitch.

That nightmare outing gave Davis an earned run average of 19.50 for the year. He was optioned after the game and designated for assignment a few days later. He also has an unsightly 8.95 ERA in his career, though all of his major league work had been with the Rockies prior to this year.

Presumably, the Twins are looking at the larger sample of work Davis has put together in the minors. This year, he has tossed 32 Triple-A innings with a 3.94 ERA. His 10.9% walk rate is a bit high but his 27.5% strikeout rate is strong and his 48.1% ground ball rate quite good as well. His minor league numbers prior to this year aren’t as strong but he has mostly been a starter until recently. Perhaps the move to the bullpen has allowed him to find a new gear.

The Twins had an open roster spot and Davis is still optionable for the rest of the year, so he’s a sensible depth add. He can give the club an extra arm for now. It seems the Twins are getting lots of interest in relievers like Jhoan Durán and Griffin Jax. It’s unclear if they have any plans to entertain trades of those guys, but the path for Davis would open up if something like that comes to pass.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images

Orioles Outright David Bañuelos

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The Orioles announced Monday that they’ve passed catcher David Bañuelos through waivers and assigned him outright to Triple-A. He had the right to elect free agency but will instead accept his assignment to Norfolk. The 40-man roster count drops to 38.

The 28-year-old was added to the Orioles’ big league roster last week after the team had traded reliever Bryan Baker to the Rays. Bañuelos was already traveling with the O’s on their taxi squad, and he was selected to the roster ahead of a doubleheader versus the Mets.

A short-term stint seemed likely, given that Bañuelos was selected due to his proximity on the taxi squad and a desire to avoid playing a man down in that twin bill. He’d been the third catcher on the roster behind Jacob Stallings and Alex Jackson, though Baltimore gave him a couple of plate appearances during his brief run. Bañuelos has just three MLB plate appearances and is still looking for his first big league hit. He did reach base for the first time in his career when he was hit by a pitch yesterday.

Bañuelos is the consummate glove-first catcher. He’s a career .197/.276/.362 hitter in parts of four Triple-A seasons but has been praised as a plus defender behind the dish dating back to his days at Long Beach State. He was originally a Mariners draftee but has spent the bulk of his pro career in the Twins’ system after Minnesota acquired him from Seattle in exchange for international bonus space. Bañuelos became a minor league free agent after the 2023 season and has since signed a pair of minor league pacts with the Orioles, who clearly value having his defensive skills on hand in the upper minors. He’s now accepted multiple outright assignments to remain with the O’s, so it seems like a mutually agreeable arrangement.

Stuart Sternberg Has Agreed To Sell Rays To Patrick Zalupski, Deal Expected To Be Final By September

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The sale of the Rays seems to be coming to fruition. A report from Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic says that a sale has been agreed to in principle which would see the club be sold from current owner Stuart Sternberg to a group led by Patrick Zalupski. The deal is worth about $1.7 billion and is expected to be completed as soon as September. The report adds that Zalupski plans to keep the club in the Tampa area, with a preference for Tampa proper over St. Petersburg. The sale would need to be approved by 75% of MLB owners in order to become official.

It was reported about a month ago that Sternberg was in “advanced talks” to sell the team to Zalupski’s group. Shortly after that reporting emerged, Marc Topkin and Colleen Wright of the Tampa Bay Times spoke to hedge fund founder Trip Miller, who spoke of his desire to get involved in the bidding. It’s unclear if there was ever any chance of Miller’s group outpacing Zalupski’s, but it now seems basically confirmed that Zalupski’s group will be taking over.

As of a year ago, it seemed like Sternberg was going to stick around for a long time. He purchased the club in 2004 for $200MM. Since then, he has been trying to find a long-term home for the club so that the Rays could move on from Tropicana Field, which has long been viewed as insufficient and outdated for the major leagues.

Various proposals were floated over the years, including a creative plan which would have seen the franchise split its home games between Florida and Montreal. That was nixed but the Rays eventually put a plan in place to build a new stadium on the Tropicana Field site. Under that plan, the Rays would stay at The Trop through 2027 but would open the new facility in 2028. They had agreements in place with the city of St. Petersburg, Pinellas County and private investors for the $1.2 billion project.

That entire plan was thrown off the rails in October when Hurricane Milton swept through the area, doing significant damage to The Trop, particularly the roof. The Trop became unplayable for 2025 and the new stadium plan got delayed. Elections in October changed the composition of local government bodies, with the new paradigm less amenable to the Rays. The club made arrangements to play the 2025 season at George M. Steinbrenner field in Tampa. That seemed to not sit well with some Pinellas County officials, as Steinbrenner Field is in Hillsborough County.

The relationship between Sternberg and local officials seemed to sour, as he claimed the delays would lead to massive cost overruns. It was reported in March that the Rays would not be moving forward with the planned deal. That was shortly after it had been reported that league officials had been pressuring Sternberg to sell.

Now it seems the transition process is making quick progress and Zalupski’s group could be at the helm a couple of months from now. That’s notable timing, as there are key things to be worked out regarding the future of the franchise. It’s still unclear if the The Trop will be playable in time for the 2026 season. There’s also the usual baseball matters of payroll and things of that nature. And of course, new plans will need to be developed for a future stadium.

As mentioned, the report from The Athletic says Zalupski’s preference would be for the club to be in Tampa proper, as opposed to St. Petersburg. That is something that will have to be negotiated with local officials and private investors. If the club can chart a course towards a move into Tampa, there would be logic to that. It has been suggested by many that The Trop’s location isn’t highly accessible, which has contributed to the club’s poor attendance figures over the years, despite generally fielding competitive teams. A move to Tampa could help in that regard, though previous attempts to get the club into Tampa have not been successful.

Zalupski is the CEO of Dream Finders Homes, a publicly traded, Jacksonville-based developer that has built more than 31,000 homes across ten states. Forbes estimates his net worth at $1.4 billion, while his company’s valuation rests at $3.4 billion.

The timeline for the Rays will also have consequences across the league. Commissioner Rob Manfred has long insisted that expansion wouldn’t be a realistic possibility until the Athletics and Rays found new stadiums. The A’s are currently playing in West Sacramento but are expected to start playing in their new Las Vegas stadium by the 2028 season. If that plan progresses on schedule and the Rays get a new stadium plan in the works, then expansion will become a more realistic possibility.

Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images

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