A Realistic Shortstop For The San Diego Padres — And A Crazy One
- Updated: June 29, 2015
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It’s no secret that the San Diego Padres are struggling offensively — just we knew they would — and that a manager change, while important, didn’t magically make them a ball club that could suddenly contend with the Dodgers and Giants.
General manager AJ Preller’s winter and early season moves have slowed down, but it’s likely they will ramp back up now with the trade deadline weeks away. The Padres know there are holes in the lineup (and, let’s be honest, the rotation), and the club needs to improve immediately if they truly believe they can win now.
One of the biggest moves to be made is at shortstop. Currently, Clint Barmes and Alexi Amarista are getting reps at short, but neither ought to be the shortstop on a playoff team.
Barmes is a utility player — a valuable one, for sure — and Amarista hasn’t proven up to the challenge of getting the majority of reps. So what’s the solution? Well… there might be a few of them; Javier Baez, Jordy Mercer, Luis Sardinas, and even Elvis Andrus could be the right guy at the right time for the Friars.
But the way I see it, there is one really realistic option, and one crazy choice that would really change things in the NL West.
Jean Segura is the most realistic option for the Padres for a couple reasons. First, the Brewers have been going nowhere ever since they were swept in their home park over the Opening Series by the Colorado Rockies.
An 0-3 start turned into a fired manager turned into a disaster season for a club with no pitching depth and a struggling offense. And now, as the calendar turns to July, it’s time for the Brewers to sell, sell, sell. The Crew needs one thing in return, too: pitching depth. Mutual needs are met here (the Padres get a shortstop in Segura, and the Brewers could easily get pitching depth back from the Friars’ embarrassment of riches on the mound).
Segura will come cheap; he’ll go through arbitration next season, and though he’ll get a raise from the $534,000 he’s making now, it certainly won’t be enough to scare away the Padres. Through June 26, he’s slashed .264/.293/.355 with six doubles, three home runs, and ten stolen bases in 243 plate appearances, and while that’s nothing incredible, it’s significantly more production — with better defense, to boot — than Amarista.
The Padres could easily build a deal around a bullpen arm like Brandon Maurer or Kevin Quackenbush, or even a starter like Odrisamer Despaigne (and they’d have to include either Barmes or Amarista, you’d think), getting Segura in return to solidify the shortstop position in an easy, low-risk, sensible trade.
But Bobby, you say, sensible is boring and we’re talking about AJ Preller here. What if I’m looking for a crazy trade?!
Well, I thought you might say that. Let’s talk Troy Tulowitzki.
I know, I know, teams don’t make trades in their division, and the chances the Rockies move him to begin with are relatively small, let alone the chances he’s shipped to an NL West team — hence the whole crazy trade thing.
But… Preller has done a major deal in the division before (remember Matt Kemp?), so if there’s a guy to do it, in a year to get it done, why not Preller, and why not now? Preller has shown he’s not scared of taking on money (Kemp) or iffy veterans (the Upton brothers) to remake the team, so why not take a stud shortstop who’s on a very team-favorable long-term contract?
Tulo, by the way, is quietly coming on after struggling to start the season. He’s now slashing .317/.351/.490 with 18 doubles and 8 home runs in 259 plate appearances.
One thing that works in the Tulo-to-the-Padres scenario is a fit; like the Brewers, the Rockies (perennially) need pitching depth. Depth, the Padres have. Unlike the Brewers, though, Tulo is significantly more valuable than Jean Segura, and any deal done would have to include some serious prospects. Prospects, the Padres do not have; Preller traded a few of them away this winter in his plethora of moves.
The Tulo deal is crazy, and the San Diego Padres probably won’t pull it off. I think. But, hey, AJ Preller, man. As for Segura, he’s arguably the most likely candidate to be the Padres’ next shortstop, coming from a team that ought to sell literally everything in the next four weeks. Whomever it may be, it remains to be seen if the San Diego Padres can upgrade the position enough to make a difference for them in the NL West.
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