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Padres News: Spangenberg the Answer at Shortstop?

By Nick Wilson |

The San Diego Padres made a splash at the trade deadline, by really making no moves at all.  Yes, Abraham Almonte was dealt for left handed specialist Marc Rzepczynski, but big name players Justin Upton, Ian Kennedy, and Craig Kimbrel were surprisingly not dealt.

By retaining players nearing free agency, AJ Preller and the Padres showed the public that they still believe they can make a playoff push… or at least that they wish to evaluate the club for the 2016 season.

One area of concern for the Padres has been Shortstop.  Alexi Amarista and Clint Barmes have not held up to expectations offensively.  Originally, the plan was to insert prospect Trea Turner in at short, but he was dealt in the offseason to land Wil Myers.  There are reports that Turner is flying through the Nationals minor league system, and all set to take over for Ian Desmond in the coming years.  Ouch!  That almost hurts as bad as the Kluber trade.

There were rumors that a deal with the Cubs could net the Padres Starlin Castro, but obviously that did not work out.

So now what?  Our friend Corey Brock of Padres.com tweeted that the organization may be looking internally.

It remains to be seen whether Spangenberg can take over defensively at shortstop, but he could certainly provide some more pop at the position, and Amarista could slide back into his super utility role.

I believe part of the Padres recent run of success has been consistency.  Solarte has settled into his role at third base and the pitching has improved.  My biggest criticism of Bud Black was his lineup tinkering.  Players were moved around series to series like a little league tryout.  Recently, the players roles seem more defined which has translated to wins.  If this happens, I hope the Padres really let this play out and not just test it for a few days.

What do you think?  Should the Padres stay put at shortstop, insert Spangenberg, or just wait to reshuffle in the offseason?

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