Winter Meetings Day 2 Recap: Much Ado About Nothing

The Shakespearean classic Much Ado About Nothing tells the story of romance, betrayal, and where in the end a character named Hero who was supposed to be dead, actually isn’t dead and ends up marrying the heroine after all. In other words, she thought you had one thing – then thought it was lost – and ended up getting it after all. At the end of Day 2, Padres fans are hoping for a similar ending to the Matt Kemp saga. 

More from Padres News

• Jurickson Profar free agency update likely rules out Padres reunion
• Fernando Tatis Jr. may not take to outfield move after Xander Bogaerts addition
• Padres News: Fernando Tatis Jr. trade rumors, Seth Lugo chase, Manny Machado
• Padres barely missed out on high-end veteran starting pitcher
• This veteran DH target seems ideal for contending Padres roster

You see, this morning we woke up thinking that Matt Kemp was going to be a Padre. After last night we thought we had Yoenis Cespedes. Much ado about nothing?

It pretty much sums up the San Diego Padres experience so far at the 2014 MLB Winter Meetings.  And off-season in general so far. Yesterday, John Hiatt reported that the Padres trade with the Dodgers seemed imminent. In fact some reports had it down simply to which minor league pitcher was to be included with catcher Yasmany Grandal in the deal.

Then this evening reports came through that the Padres Kemp rumors were just “wishful thinking.” So what is it really?

Probably somewhere in the middle, but we all know you can’t trust people saying that “deals are dead”. This whole Winter Meetings hinges on where Jon Lester ends up. You see, the Dodgers have enough money to take a shot at Lester. Then maybe they end up dealing Ryu or Zack Greinke for a better bat they could get otherwise. Or just have THREE top tier aces, you know. So, if they acknowledge the Kemp rumor they figure they might be showing their hand at Lester, and if they show their hand at Lester, it might affect any future trade they are going after.

Or, maybe they aren’t close to trading Matt Kemp.

From my perspective, I like the fact that the Padres are going after Major League talent. This isn’t Jake Peavy for Clayton Richard, Adrian Gonzalez for Casey Kelley and Anthony Rizzo. This is a two-time All Star for a catcher we don’t love and a Double-A pitching prospect. This seems exciting.

I’ve written before that sometimes teams need to overpay on one deal to show the rest of the baseball world they mean business. Matt Kemp could flounder in San Diego. Cespedes could flop and hit .220 with 10 homers.

Or…maybe not. Maybe they do well, other players are attracted to San Diego and the future Pablo Sandoval‘s DO choose San Diego. A few days left for something to happen. Or nothing.

Next: Olney: Padres Match Up Best For Upton