Padres-Jazz Chisholm Jr. prediction raises a costly infield question for A.J. Preller

With the San Diego Padres fighting for their playoff lives down the stretch, it's not necessarily the best moment in time to look ahead to the offseason. However, with the impending lockout threatening to truncate free agency and the trade market -- there's only about one month between the end of the World Series and the expiration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement on Dec. 1 -- it's important to keep our ears to the ground regarding any noise surrounding the Friars.

And, wouldn't you know it, there's some rumors going around that the Padres could find themselves invested in one of the best hitters set to become available: Jazz Chisholm Jr. CBS' Mike Axisa attached the two parties in a free agency preview, noting that the Friars (and Rangers) are two of the best potential landing spots for the two-time All-Star.

Of course, the question isn't whether or not the Padres would actually get involved in Chisholm's market; he's been worth 11.8 fWAR over the past three seasons while hitting 74 homers and stealing 111 bases. It's merely a matter of fit, considering the long-term infield picture in San Diego.

Padres' prior investments will likely preclude them from making a serious run at Jazz Chisholm Jr. in free agency

Save for first base, which has completely been taken over by Ty France, the Padres have an expensive, aging veteran at every infield position already on the roster. Jake Cronenworth (four years, $49 million remaining on his contract after 2026), Xander Bogaerts (seven years, $178.15 million remaining), and Manny Machado (seven years, $273.63 million remaining) are all locked in for the foreseeable future.

You could push Cronenworth over to first in order to make room for an excellent second base defender like Chisholm, but is that really advisable when the Yankees' star will require another nine-figure investment? Chisholm would bring some much-needed youth to the picture -- he won't turn 29 until February -- but he'll still be in his thirties for the majority of his next contract.

For what it's worth, that prediction article also forecasts that the Padres will lose Michael King, Adrian Morejon, and Casey Mize to free agency. Thats the kind of trade-off that will have to be made given the team's finances, though I'd wager most fans would rather see an investment in the pitching staff rather than the offense. If anything, the Padres should be looking to offload some of their position-player talent in order to make room for rotation help.

With a thin talent pool and impending lockout speeding up the urgency of the offseason calendar, this is the kind of decision that A.J. Preller and company will have to make before we get to free agency. There won't be many players of Chisholm's ilk available this winter, but passing on him for the sake of a more cohesive roster is probably for the best.

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