San Diego Padres: Evaluating a three-team trade with Blue Jays, Angels

Alek Manoah would be valuable, but I question Trent Thornton

The Padres are also acquiring future and current pitching help in both Alek Manoah and Trent Thornton, respectively. The former was the Blue Jays’ first-round pick last year, and he’s a big man. At 6-foot-6, 260 pounds, Manoah started out as a reliever but converted to a starter later in his collegiate career. He finished out the 2019 season in Class-A Short Season and posted a 2.65 ERA in six starts. More impressively, he struck out 27 batters in 17.0 innings while allowing a .213 average and is projected to be ready by 2022.

MLB Pipeline:

"“Manoah has managed to keep his large frame in sync and has repeated his delivery in order to fill up the strike zone more effectively. Given that he doesn’t have that many starts on his resume, he’s a rare college pitcher with projection. With three pitches, power stuff and natural strike-throwing ability, Manoah has all the ingredients needed to become an impactful Major League starter.”"

Thornton, 26, would essentially slide in as the fifth starter – with everyone else moving up one slot – and he posted a 4.84 ERA in 29 games last year. In 154.1 innings, Thornton struck out 149 batters but also allowed 24 home runs in his first big league season. He’s listed as the sixth starter on the Blue Jays’ depth chart, so he’s without a designated role this year as the bullpen leaves little room for opportunities as well.

Fangraphs has him posting a 5.05 ERA in 26 starts this year (4.91 FIP) and 126 strikeouts in 139.0 innings. I’m not sure Thornton is a good fit in this trade, and I would be tempted to insert Quantrill into the rotation this season while potentially acquiring another future starter in perhaps Anthony Kay for immediate help or Eric Pardinho for help down the road.

Wrapping this up, the trade would provide salary relief in Myers’ contract, but I am not crazy with the prospect of parting with both Lamet and Patino here. I think there are other ways to dump salary without burning long-term pitching, especially in an elite prospect in Patino.

I’m interested in hearing your thoughts on this.