San Diego Padres trade targets from the AL West

Athletics

What the Oakland Athletics do from offseason-to-offseason is anyone’s guess, but you can bet they’ll be active in trying to put together the winning formula for 2020.

One player who could be available is Jurickson Profar.

If the Padres wanted to possibly upgrade their bench bat and have someone push Luis Urias at second, they could make a move for Profar.

He’s only under team control through arbitration for one more season and is coming off a down year in which he hit just .218.

But he has hit 20 home runs in each of the past two seasons and is a very solid defender wherever he plays across the infield.

Profar was a 2.8 WAR player in 2018 and could get back to those numbers in 2020.

However, he is projected to make almost $6 million in 2020, so that would be a little pricey for a bench player.

Reliever Blake Treinen could be a buy-low candidate after he posted a 4.91 ERA in 2019 –a season after being the best relief pitcher in all of baseball with a 0.78 ERA in 80.1 innings with 100 strikeouts.

The overuse in 2018 likely led to him taking a step back this past season. He’s definitely a bounce-back candidate, but he wouldn’t come cheap as he’s projected to make close to $8 million in his final year of arbitration.

Angels

The Angels will be another very interesting team to watch this offseason because I expect them to make a lot of moves. And depending on the moves they make, it could open up the possibility of some players of interest for the Padres being available.

For instance, if they completely revamp their starting rotation, then maybe they look to trade someone like Andrew Heaney.

The lefty has struggled to stay healthy as he’s only thrown over 100 innings twice in the past five seasons.

But I think he could be a very good middle of the rotation pitcher in Petco Park and he has two years of control left through arbitration.

That’s a long shot, though, and not exactly a huge upgrade for the Padres.

What could be a possibility is a trade for Brian Goodwin.

The once highly regarded prospect finally got consistent playing time in 2019 and had a breakout season batting .262 with 17 home runs in 413 at-bats.

FanGraphs had him as a 1.9 WAR player.

Goodwin is a left-handed hitter and has experience in center field but is probably best in a corner outfield spot.

He’s projected to make around $2 million in his first year of arbitration, and he’s under team control for three more seasons.

Again, depending on what other moves the Angels make, Goodwin could become expendable. He makes some sense for the Padres if that’s the case.

Texas Rangers

If you’ve been following along in our Mock Winter Meetings, then you know that I made a trade with the Texas Rangers for Nomar Mazara.

I made that trade before later trading for David Peralta. Had I known that was going to happen, I may not have traded for Mazara also.

But I still think Mazara is a possible trade target for the Padres. He’s a big left-handed bat who you could platoon with Hunter Renfroe in right field.

Mazara is under team control for two more seasons through arbitration and is projected to make $5.7 million in 2020.

Over his career he’s hit .271 against righties with a .337 OBP, very similar to Josh Reddick.

Mike Minor is a name that will get thrown around a lot this offseason, but I kind of doubt the Rangers will trade him away this offseason.

Maybe they deal him during the season once they’re out of it, but it wouldn’t make sense to trade your best starting pitcher when you’re trying to excite your fanbase about a new stadium.

However, if Minor were to become available, the Padres should certainly check in on him.

Somehow Shin-Soo Choo keeps putting together quietly good seasons as he’s been a 2 WAR player the past two years.

He’ll play next year at 37 and is owed $21 million, so he’s not likely a target for the Padres, but I just wanted to point out that he’s still around and playing good baseball.

Mariners

This is where things could get really interesting for the Padres if they want to trade with someone in the AL West.

Seattle is in an obvious rebuild and has some solid assets they might be looking to trade away.

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At the very top of that list for any team hoping to trade with the Mariners is outfielder Mitch Haniger.

The price would be high on Haniger, but the reward could be huge as he was a 4.5 WAR player in 2018 before a disappointing season in 2019, which was aided by an injury that as a man I will not speak of.

Haniger was an All-Star in 2018 when he hit .285 with 26 home runs. This past season he hit just .220 but still had 15 home runs in just 246 at-bats.

And he’s under control through arbitration for three more seasons.

If the Mariners make him available, the Padres should be near the front of the line.

Domingo Santana is another outfielder for the Mariners who has some pop and could be available. He has two years of control left and should be much cheaper.

If the Mariners ate some of the money on Dee Gordon‘s contract he could be a potential target to help push Luis Urias at second base and be a solid bench bat/base runner.

Marco Gonzales has four years of control left so he might not be available yet, but he would be a solid trade target.

Mallex Smith was a name I considered in our mock Winter Meetings for center field. Depending on what else is out there, Smith could make some sense for the Padres as he’s an excellent defender in center and a great base runner.

Who would you like to see the San Diego Padres go after in a trade this offseason from the AL West? Let us know in the comments below.