Padres Winter Meetings Day 3: Interest in Starling Marte picking up

There wasn’t much news for the San Diego Padres on Wednesday at the Winter Meetings, but they are showing interest in a center fielder.

On Wednesday it was reported at the Winter Meetings that the San Diego Padres have expressed interest in trading for Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Starling Marte.

If you’ve been following along with us this offseason you know Marte is a name I’ve been all over, so this isn’t that surprising.

To be fair, Jon Heyman has been throwing stuff against the wall all Winter Meetings hoping he gets something to stick.

But it does make a ton of sense for the Padres to be interested in Marte.

He’s a 3 WAR player and can play center field, although as I’ve noted in other places he’s a much better fit in a corner outfield spot.

Marte will make $11.5 million in 2020 and has a team option for $12.5 million in 2021 with a $1 million buyout — although I can’t imagine that option not being picked up.

I can’t imagine the cost for Marte being very high. The Padres could likely do this deal without giving up one of their top three prospects.

But there are several other teams who are interested in trading for Marte, specifically the New York Mets who have been linked to him a lot over the Winter Meetings.

There wasn’t really any other Padres’ news at the Winter Meetings on Wednesday.

It does sound like they’re at least having discussions about an extension with Kirby Yates.

Thursday will be the final day of the 2019 MLB Winter Meetings and we don’t usually see many moves on this day. But with the top names coming off the board at the Winter Meetings, look for trade discussions to really pick up in the coming weeks before Christmas.

I really think Preller is hamstrung until he finds a team willing to take on Wil Myers‘ contract. But that’s not going to stop him from looking at potential fits in trades like Marte.