Padres: A look at another Sonny Gray trade proposal

MLB.com has made a trade proposal involving the Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres.

It’s the offseason trade rumor that doesn’t seem to go away: Cincinnati Reds right-hander Sonny Gray continues to be linked to the San Diego Padres. We recently looked at one trade proposal put forth by our friends over at Blog Red Machine and concluded that it likely wouldn’t be a good fit.

However, as the rumors continue to swirl, MLB.com has put together another trade proposal involving the two teams. Use the link to read more, but here is what they are suggesting:

Padres get: RHP Sonny Gray

Reds get: LHP Adrian Morejon, RHP Michel Baez, SS Yeison Santana, RHP David Bednar

If the Padres are looking for a solid addition to their starting rotation to replace the injured Mike Clevinger, the 31-year-old Gray could be it. He has three years left on his contract and has revived his career in Cincinnati, posting a 3.07 ERA in 42 starts over two seasons, pitching half of his games in one of the league’s best hitters’ parks.

While Gray would be a nice addition on paper, it is a concern that the Padres would be adding about $10 million in annual salary over the next three years, as it’s been reported that the team is not looking to add much payroll. Then, as we alluded to before, there’s the concern over working with Larry Rothschild, as Gray was less than stellar while the two were together with the Yankees.

Then there’s what the Padres would be giving up. In this deal, they would be holding onto Luis Patino and Ryan Weathers, not to mention the off-the-table MacKenzie Gore. However, they would be giving up two former big prospects in Morejon and Baez, both of whom have graduated to the major league level.

These two haven’t realized their potential yet, though there’s hope that Morejon, as the team is currently constructed, could step into the starting rotation this year. Baez also could be a solid bullpen arm for the team, as could Bednar, though he too has struggled in his small taste of the majors thus far. Santana, currently ranked 16th in the Padres’ system by MLB Pipeline, is still far away from reaching the majors.

The MLB.com article states that the Reds would balk at this deal because they’d have to be blown away by an offer and Gray’s contract is not a heavy burden. Herein lies the paradox of the situation: The Reds would be trimming payroll, yet it might not be enough to make it worth trading Gray.

Whether they would unload Gray for prospects depends on whether they think they can contend in 2021, though the author of the article thinks that an offer revolving around Patino might entice them, something that a lot of Padres fans would not be in favor of.

Yet what we’re concerned about here is how this would impact the Padres. This trade package, on the surface, actually appears to slightly favor the Reds, as they’d be adding three arms that could help them right away. Four prospects total seems to be a bit of a steep price, though no big ones currently on MLB Pipeline’s list would be going the other way.

So, it appears that this could be a fair trade, one that would help the Padres immediately, though at a cost. It likely would be a better fit than the other one alluded to above. It would be a heavy bet on Gray, though one that the Padres really need to make to challenge the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2021.

What do you think, Padres fans? Would you do this deal?