San Diego Padres receive Carl Edwards Jr. in exchange for Brad Wieck

After a blockbuster trade on Tuesday evening, the San Diego Padres slid one more in with a deal for Carl Edwards Jr. in exchange for Brad Wieck.

The San Diego Padres are continuing their purge of a crippled bullpen. They made a last-minute deal with the Chicago Cubs that swapped relievers Brad Wieck and Carl Edwards Jr. The Padres also got $500,000 in international bonus money.

San Diego’s bullpen was a massive thorn in their side through the first half of the season. Sending out relievers Matt Wisler, Phil Maton, and Wieck was a recipe for disaster. The bullpen single-handedly caused several losses through the first 90 games of the season.

Now Maton (7.77 ERA, 1.644 WHIP) plays for the Cleveland Indians and Matt Wisler (5.09 ERA, 1.415 WHIP) for the Seattle Mariners. Add Wieck (6.57 ERA, 1.419 WHIP) to the trading list as he joins Chicago and provides Edwards Jr. in return.

If anything, both teams probably thought the relievers could benefit from a change of scenery. Edwards Jr. isn’t much better than Wieck in terms of stats—he owns a 5.87 ERA, though his WHIP is a bit lower at 1.109. That said, Edwards Jr. has exhibited some success throughout his five-year career, sporting a 2.60 ERA through 58 games last season and a 2.96 ERA through 73 games the year prior.

It’s not much, but it’s good to see the Padres ridding themselves of weak pieces in the pen. With Matt Strahm, Luis Perdomo, and Andrés Muñoz bolstering the back-end with Kirby Yates, the bullpen looks much better than just a month ago. Edwards Jr. will attempt to provide additional support.

This trade fell under the radar after the Friars made a big three-way deal with the Indians and Cincinnati Reds. San Diego received OF Taylor Trammell, a top 30 prospect in baseball and the Reds’ former number one prospect.

Giving away Franmil Reyes as part of that deal indicates that move probably had 2020 in mind rather than 2019—and that’s not a bad thing, given where the Padres currently stand.

This trade for Edwards Jr., however, might provide some immediate support to a team that still hasn’t won a series since the All-Star Break.

Welcome to San Diego, Carl Edwards Jr.!

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