Padres: Trevor Rosenthal should be a trade deadline target

The Padres and Royals have already made one deal this season. They should make another, but for Trevor Rosenthal to help out the bullpen.

Next week is going to be an important week in the shortened season. How will teams approach the trade deadline? Will potential contenders give up major assets to make the postseason, where anything can happen? If I am the Padres, I am taking a more subtle approach and tweaking ever so slightly.

We recently discussed the biggest needs that the organization needs to address before August 31. A catcher seems to be atop the list, but this bullpen is allergic to scoreless outings right now. For a group that was so highly regarded in the preseason, they have fallen well short of expectations. On Wednesday, the Padres added Michel Baez to the mix, and he could be used to piggy-back Adrian Morejon starts.

But one name that the Friars should take a look at is Trevor Rosenthal of the Kansas City Royals. These two teams already connected for a trade involving a reliever before the regular season, and with Rosenthal’s contract set to expire at the end of the year, it makes a lot of sense for the Royals to get something in return.

Rosenthal, 30, has been nails this season, posting a 0.87 ERA while fanning 12.2 K/9 in 11 appearances. The Padres could really use a big-time strikeout candidate in the back of their bullpen. That was Kirby Yates before he was presumably lost for the season, and Emilio Pagan has failed to look sharp this year.

The Royals reliever has just four walks to 14 strikeouts in 10.1 innings of work and should be highly sought after leading up to the deadline. Because of his expiring contract, Baseball Trade Values (BTV) gives him a rating of 2.2. I have the Padres sending over Owen Miller, who has nowhere to play on the big league roster and could stick in some capacity with the Royals. BTV has the Royals winning this trade, but the immediate need leans towards the Padres.

Of course, Rosenthal could be part of a much larger trade package-one that involves Whit Merrifield, but he is going to be difficult to take from the Royals. For now, Rosenthal bolsters the ‘pen.