Padres Fielding Trade Calls for Jon Jay

The Padres almost had everything working perfectly. They traded for a quality outfielder on the cheap, then watched him perform at a high level with his contract up at the end of the season. Then Jon Jay landed on the DL.

The Padres still might end up trading Jon Jay before the deadline, particularly as Travis Jankowski impresses and Alex Dickerson in the outfield make him expendable. Where is the best fit?

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Jay is in the final year of a two year deal worth just under $11MM and certainly with the Padres harvesting top prospect outfielders in AAA doesn’t figure in to any long term plans. A.J. Cassavel reports that “Despite a small fracture in Jay’s right forearm that has ruled him out for July, the Padres are still receiving phone calls from interested parties,”

This is good for the Padres and several contenders have major outfield needs. The Cleveland Indians are still waiting for Michael Brantley to be fully healthy in their outfield and have been making do with spare parts in the rest of the field. Jay would be a nice left-handed bat to round things out as the Indians continue their strong season.

The Giants await patiently the return of right fielder Hunter Pence, who has battled another hamstring injury this season but appears to be returning soon. Last night he hit a setback in his first minor league rehab assignment, but it does not appear to be serious.

The Dodgers are still trying to figure out what they need for the stretch run, though pitching seems to be more of a priority unless they really think Bud Norris is a long term solution. Andrew Cashner in LA perhaps?

Next: Padres Balk Off in Victory

The Padres are in a good situation in many respects where they have good players like Jay who they should be able to leverage into some more prospects. If not they won’t be saddled with the player long term who is underperforming or end up having to cut bait completely and get nothing for like they ended up doing with Carlos Quentin a few years back. Where will Jay end up? We will know in just about two weeks time.