San Diego Padres rumors: Turning to Minnesota for a trade deadline upgrade?

Coming off a thrilling weekend sweep of the first-place Texas Rangers in San Diego, the Padres could be turning their attention towards buying at the trade deadline on Tuesday.

One team the Friars could be looking to for reinforcements? The Minnesota Twins, and specifcially, outfielder Trevor Larnach.

Padres rumors: Twins' outfielder Trevor Larnach being linked to San Diego at the MLB Trade Deadline

Larnach, 26, is certainly a puzzling trade target for the Padres at first glance. His 98 wRC+ and 0.4 fWAR appear to indicate he's no more than an average player in 2023. However, his recent top prospect status with the Twins can provide some degree of optimism that San Diego can tap into that potential via a change of scenery.

Between Larnach's underperformance at the big league level and core muscle surgery in 2022, there hasn't been a ton of sample size from which to grade the 26-year-old. Additionally, his team control through 2028, while not even becoming arbitration-eligible until 2025, further makes Larnach a valuable commodity. That explains why other teams, including the New York Mets, are reportedly interested as well.

If the Padres determine that Larnach isn't fully suited to their needs, the Twins also offer other left-handed hitting outfielders such as Max Kepler, who is more well-known in the sport. There's no guarantee the Twins would deal Kepler, but they're rumored to be more likely to deal from their Triple-A and MLB level depth at the trade deadline.

Despite the surface numbers looking less than stellar for Larnach, he would undoubtedly be a fit for the Padres as a change of scenery candidate with upside who, also of note, would come significantly cheaper than say ... Juan Soto.

And while Minnesota would likely ask for a decent prospect or two for Larnach given his years of team control, it shouldn't be an asking price too rich for San Diego's blood.