San Diego Padres Can Fill Two Big Needs This Week

The San Diego Padres have numerous needs as the winter meetings begin.

As we begin to embark on the next phase of the off-season for the San Diego Padres, let’s see how they can fill two of their needs heading into the Winter Meetings. The two most obvious needs being starting pitching and third base.

General Manager A.J. Preller and his front office contingent will come to Sin City with a game plan but what could it look like? The following scenario helps the team get better without having to sacrifice the farm system too fast and giving the team one more year for evaluating the prospects they’ll keep during their contention window.

San Diego Padres Winter Meetings transactions:

1. 1) Sign third baseman Mike Moustakas (2/30).
2. 2) Trade for RHP Sonny Gray.

Proposal:

Sonny Gray to Padres

Luis Torrens and Reggie Lawson to Yankees

Both of these moves take care of 2019 needs and allow San Diego to evaluate the next wave of rookies. San Diego would add a powerful starting third-basemen in Moustakas who can bridge the gap until Hudson Potts is ready (if he develops into a future major leaguer), and a cheap one-year wild card with great potential and flexibility in Gray.

Giving up Torrens and Lawson might be a bit much, but I’m trying to draw a somewhat comparison to last years one for one trade for Freddy Galvis. The Friars gave up their number sixteen prospect for a one-year rental. This is very similar, giving up their 21st-ranked prospect in Lawson and one of their many catchers in the system in Torrens.

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Hear me out about Gray. It’s his free agent season and he’s not that bad of a pitcher, as long as he isn’t in Yankees Stadium. If they hit on this trade, they can get more value from him at the deadline. In this scenario, Gray would be a placeholder until Dinelson Lamet returns from Tommy John surgery and then helps bring in more talent from a playoff-contending team in need of pitching help.

Maybe he pitches like the former A’s version of himself and San Diego could ride out the season and give him a qualifying offer before he hits free agency. If Preller can trade for Gray at a low price, it is a win-win situation.

This wouldn’t be the most active of winter meetings, however, Preller wouldn’t add too much payroll, gives up hardly any prospect depth, and acquires some flexibility.

What are your thoughts, Friar faithful? Would you be happy If these transactions met our Winter Meeting needs?