San Diego Padres: If The Diamondbacks Are Selling, Let’s Window Shop

The Arizona Diamondbacks appear to be heading for a complete rebuild. Are there any players the San Diego Padres should pursue?

As the San Diego Padres roster stands right now, next year’s starting rotation could feature an extreme amount of left-handed pitchers. Andy Green has said that every rotation spot is up for grabs, however, Clayton Richard, Joey Lucchesi, and Eric Lauer are all favorites to return to the lineup, giving the Padres three lefties in the starting rotation.

Matt Strahm (LHP) will spend his offseason training his body for a full season of work as a starting pitcher and just might be one of the more underrated pitchers in the National League. If, for whatever reason, he can’t cut it as a starter, the Padres have themselves a dominant bullpen arm.

Robbie Erlin spent much of the season as a starter and figures to be in the mix for a rotation spot in 2019, as well. That’s a lot of lefties fighting for five slots. We also cannot forget about Logan Allen. If Allen has a big spring training, there’s no reason for him not to make the rotation. He’s another lefty.

As for right-handed options, there aren’t many. Luis Perdomo, Jacob Nix, and Bryan Mitchell are all candidates, while Walker Lockett and Brett Kennedy are on the 40-man roster but are longshots to make the active roster next year. Cal Quantrill could also make some noise, but there’s growing doubt about his ability to cut it as a major league pitcher. His AAA performance with El Paso was promising, though.

Should the San Diego Padres work with the Arizona Diamondbacks?

A few days ago, we discussed the idea of the Padres trading for Baltimore Orioles ace, Dylan Bundy. The move makes a lot of sense, but what if the Orioles are unwilling to part with their top pitcher? Per Bob Nightengale, Arizona might be looking to begin a complete rebuild, including a desire to move Zach Greinke and possibly fielding offers for Paul Goldschmidt.

At 35, trading for Greinke makes no sense for San Diego, but what about Zack Godley?

Godley put in a career-high in innings pitched this season, logging 178 innings and finishing with a 15-11 record and 4.74 ERA. His FIP tells a more positive story, sitting nearly one full run lower than his ERA at 3.82. However, the big number that sticks out is his extreme walk rate, just over 4/9 innings.

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Through July and August, Godley was one of the top performing pitchers in the National League, striking out 76 and limiting hitters to 61 hits (just one home run) across 66.1 innings. His walk rate in the month of August was 5.3%. Then the month of September came, ending his season on a sour note.

Mechanical changes, a move on the rubber, and a heavier reliance on his curveball helped make Bradley a solid pitcher during his dominating run, but is it enough for the Padres to trade for?

Godley brings four years of control with him and if Arizona is high on trading Greinke, while also losing Patrick Corbin to free agency, they will need someone to fill their rotation with. Is Godley worth a top 100 prospect plus more? Again, if the doors are wide open in Arizona, why not take a look around and see what the prices are.