San Diego Padres Trade for Phil Hughes and Compensatory Pick

The San Diego Padres made a move to shore up their depleted and underperforming starting rotation today.

In a high-upside move, the San Diego Padres have added another starting pitcher to their rotation in right-hander Phil Hughes. The Minnesota Twins designated the 31-year-old right-hander earlier this week and the Friars apparently saw a need for the 12-year MLB veteran.

In another fun twist, they’ve also virtually replaced the draft pick they forfeited when they signed Eric Hosmer this February with a compensatory pick (no. 74) in next week’s MLB Draft.

The player the Padres gave up in the deal is 21-year-old catcher Janigson Villalobos. The Venezuelan native has slashed .253/.408/.322 in 174 at-bats in the Friars system. The highest level he played in was Arizona Fall League last season.

According to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com, the Twins will be paying the remainder of his 2018 salary and “a little over half” of his 2019 salary. He is due to make $13.2 million each year.

In 274 career appearances (211 starts), Hughes has an 88-79 record, a 4.49 earned-run average, 7.2 strikeouts and 2.2 walks per nine innings, and a 1.308 WHIP. He spent seven seasons (2007-2013) with the New York Yankees and has been with the Twins since then.

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Hughes should be a nice addition to the San Diego Padres

Hughes should fill a glaring hole in the San Diego Padres rotation after Clayton Richard, Tyson Ross, and the soon-to-be-returning Joey Lucchesi.

Jordan Lyles has moved into the starters role admirably, and Eric Lauer is beginning to find a groove too, albeit with some bumps and bruises along the way.

Matt Strahm is starting a “bullpen game” tomorrow for the Friars, with the rest of the Padres lights-out relief corps taking the team through the rest of the game.

Bryan Mitchell and Robbie Erlin‘s name had been floated as possible candidates to eat up some innings to start the game Monday, and will both likely see some time tomorrow still.

Next: Interest in Jankowski

Now that Phil Hughes is in the fold, another hole left by injuries and underperformance has been filled. Even if he’s simply the pitcher he’s been over the last few seasons (4.43 ERA since joining the Twins in 2015), he’ll still be a welcome addition to a beleaguered Padres rotation.