Could the Padres swing a shocking trade for this talented young Brewers outfielder?

There is no denying that the San Diego Padres could use some actual outfield depth. With the team losing both Juan Soto and Trent Grisham in the same trade this offseason, the Padres are currently being forced to figure out which talented middle infield prospect to convert into an outfielder along with giving some strong consideration to outfield prospect Jakob Marsee.

However, AJ Preller recently went on the record to say that the Padres are looking to make some moves before the start of the season. Yes, spring training has already started, but both the free agent and trade markets have moved at the speed of smell this year, so there are plenty more impact deals that are going to be made across the league while spring training is going on.

Most of the trade rumor mill has centered recently on a potential trade with the Red Sox for Jarren Duran. He certainly fits the bill of a talented outfielder that can defend and bring some tools to the table. However, another name that The Athletic's Dennis Lin just dropped as a Padres trade target is Brewers' outfielder Sal Frelick.

Padres Rumors: San Diego has reportedly targeted Sal Frelick in trade talks

It isn't hyperbole to suggest that trading for Sal Frelick would be a huge win for a Padres' front office in desperate need of one. Frelick was considered to be one of the best 10-15 prospects in all of baseball when he was called up in 2023. He burst onto the scene with a hot start in Milwaukee before coolling off towards the end, but Frelick can flat out hit, is at least a plus runner, is a max effort defender, and has a little bit of pop in his bat as well.

The real question here is why the Brewers would make such a move. Milwaukee loves cheap, cost-controlled players who produce, but one factor could be the sheer number of outfielders they have on their roster. Christian Yelich isn't going anywhere for a while and they also have to find some way to use Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell, and Joey Wiemer just among the the guys they have on their 40-man roster alone in addition to Frelick.

That said, don't expect Milwaukee to part with Frelick easily as he has a ton of value on the field and still has a ton of team control left. The same article from Lin pointed out that San Diego is preferring to avoid trading away their top prospects in any deals this offseason. To land Frelick, the Padres are probably going to have to pony up someone they aren't going to be thrilled to part with.

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