3 Seattle Mariners players the San Diego Padres should demand in a Juan Soto trade

3) Emerson Hancock could be part of a Mariners-Padres trade

The Padres won't only be searching for headliners in a Juan Soto trade. We've seen that in their talks with the Yankees. They'll want multiple contributors to help them try to win in 2024. While San Diego would only likely get one of Gilbert or Woo, they should be able to get Emerson Hancock as a secondary piece in the deal. He's not as highly touted and doesn't have a clear role with Seattle right now, but can certainly make an impact for the Padres.

The right-hander was selected sixth overall in the 2020 MLB Draft by the Mariners, and is currently their sixth-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline. No, he's not considered a top-100 prospect, but neither are pitchers the Padres are linked to in reported Yankees packages with the exception of Drew Thorpe.

What makes Hancock so valuable for the Padres is, again, the fact that he's a MLB-ready arm that they can plug into the back of their rotation and keep around for cheep for a long time. Hancock made his MLB debut with Seattle this past season and pitched pretty well in two of his three starts. In fact, he made his MLB debut against the Padres and allowed just one run in five innings. That one run was courtesy of an RBI groundout off the bat of, you guessed it, Juan Soto.

His season did end prematurely due to a shoulder injury which can be scary, but there was no structural damage in his shoulder. Again, he wouldn't be the headliner, but as an addition to Gilbert or Woo, it makes a lot of sense. This team desperately needs pitching, especially cheap pitching.