San Diego Padres rumors: 3 star players not named Juan Soto that could be moved this winter

3. The San Diego Padres could trade Jake Cronenworth this winter

Easily the most moveable of the players Nightengale listed, Jake Cronenworth seems like an obvious trade candidate even without the caveat of needing to move money to make a Juan Soto extension work.

Cronenworth would be a sell-low candidate, coming off his worst big league season to date in 2023. However, if the Padres are willing to absorb some of the money he's owed on his seven-year, $80 million extension? They could extract real value from another club given Cronenworth's versatility in the field and prior track record at the plate.

It should be noted that Nightengale believes San Diego "would like" to move Cronenworth, which is a stronger sentiment than the speculative nature of his Bogaerts and Tatis Jr. name drops. Still, nothing is concrete at this stage, so it's worth monitoring these rumors as they come up.

One possible Cronenworth destination? The New York Mets, who we believe would be a good match if they were willing to trade one Pete Alonso in a salary swap deal.