San Diego Padres AM Talk: Syndergaard, Myers Trade Updates And Notes

Have any of the rumored San Diego Padres trades progressed over the holiday? Yes and no.

Happy post-Thanksgiving Day, San Diego Padres fans! I hope your holiday was full of amazing food and quality time with friends and family. While you enjoy the leftovers and avoid the chaos that is Black Friday shopping, let’s run through a number of quick updates that have come in over the last few days.

Per Jon Heyman of Fancred, the New York Mets are “seriously considering” trading away starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard and numerous teams have been in real discussions with the Mets, the San Diego Padres being one of them. Speculations on what it would take to acquire Syndergaard have been varied and laughable (Tatis isn’t happening). A tweet from Dan Federico put the first rumored names to this trade idea.

Per Federico’s tweet, outfielder Manuel Margot and catcher Austin Hedges are two names that have been discussed, with the New York Mets also interested in adding Padres pitching prospects to the deal. With Francisco Mejia and Franchy Cordero appear poised to break into the starting lineup, the two established veterans make sense from the Padres perspective. Plus, with seven pitching prospects in the Top 100 and others that will no doubt become Top 100 prospects as graduations happen at the top, San Diego has plenty of young pitching prospects to offer up.

Updates on San Diego Padres prospects.

Second base prospect and presumed Opening Day starter Luis Urias will not be participating in the Mexican winter league, per The Athletic’s Dennis Lin. Urias has not fully recovered from a pulled hamstring that ended his 2018 campaign nearly as soon as it started and is now back in San Diego to continue treatment ahead of spring training 2019.

Should Padres fans be concerned? Not yet. By not participating in offseason baseball, Urias will now have an additional two months+ to rehab and prepare for 2019.

More from Friars on Base

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• This veteran DH target seems ideal for contending Padres roster
• Padres got steal with Xander Bogaerts after Carlos Correa’s mega-deal
• Failed Padres top prospect makes stunning return with minor league deal
• Padres fail to land ideal Xander Bogaerts teammate at catcher

On a brighter note, it looks like pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza is set to make his much-anticipated return to the mound. Dennis Lin has reported that Espinoza did face live hitters during the instructional league and will return to game action in spring training. Lin believes Espinoza could begin the season with the High-A Lake Elsinore Storm.

Recently added to the 40-man roster, fans who follow the minor leagues have been anxiously awaiting the return of Espinoza who hasn’t pitched since 2016 with the Fort Wayne TinCaps (Tommy John surgery). The 20-year-old is one of the top pitching prospects in baseball and features a fastball that can reach 100 mph and a plus-changeup and plus-curveball. Many evaluators believe that his ceiling is one of the highest in the San Diego system.

Stay tuned for possible trade updates throughout the weekend, with both Philadelphia and New York appearing ready to deal off veteran pieces and the Padres in the thick of many of these rumors. Don’t expect much from the earlier reported Seattle Mariners/Padres trade rumors involving Wil Myers, Mike Leake, and Jean Segura. Numerous insiders have since reported that the two sides have not had any more discussions since the general managers meetings and numerous teams appear in play for the services of Jean Segura. However, Mike Leake is still a likely trade target for San Diego. Hopefully, more news is released about this over the weekend.

Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend, San Diego.