Padres Andrew Cashner Trade Candidate?

As the Padres look at ways to rebuild their team and prepare for 2016, there are a lot of options to consider both short and long term options. One of those might be trying to move one of the Padres own young starting pitchers Andrew Cashner or Tyson Ross.

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As Padres beat writer Corey Brock points out, Cashner’s trade value likely would have been much higher last year, but all teams are looking for cost-controlled pitchers like Cashner. He did throw a career high of innings last year. Depending how you look at that, it either proves his durability or sets himself up for injury this season. His walk rate jumped by over a walk per inning, but his .330 BABIP (Batting Average on Balls in Play) suggests that perhaps a better defense (like a shortstop?) behind him might help turn some of the singles of 2015 into outs in 2016.

Speaking of defense, especially early on it was almost uncanny how many unearned runs were allowed behind Andrew Cashner specifically. Twenty two runs were unearned behind Cashner, which certainly contributed to him having to pitch around more base runners – often unsuccessfully.

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In my mind Cashner still has great potential and I would rather have the Padres try and see if he can turn things around with them than with someone else. At this time it appears Preller is taking a bit more of a cautious approach to 2016 which also might allow for Cashner to put up better numbers for the team. If the Padres are out of it again come July but Cashner has increased his value, perhaps that would allow the Padres to make a real impact trade with him and plan ahead for 2017.

To trade him now might only net a mid-level player and some AA prospects, and the team might miss a chance to get either better results OR higher later trade value from Cashner down the road.

Should the Padres trade Andrew Cashner? If so, what should they expect in return?