“The farm isn’t as deep as it used to be.”
The San Diego Padres are in a bit of a bind. They’re in fourth place in the National League West and 5.5 games back of third place in the wild-card race. Realistically, they’re not going to make the postseason, but they’re not at the point of giving up. They’ve done a good job of developing prospects over the years, and they’ve been able to bring in superstars from outside the organization. Their batting order is second to none.
The major league trade deadline is about ten days away. San Diego was expected to be a seller, but MLB.com listed the Padres as one of nine teams that could potentially make a deal for Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Angels) on Feb. 22.스포츠토토
Currently, there are a lot of different Otani trade rumors in the U.S. media. Opinions are divided on whether Ohtani will actually be traded, and if so, to which team. MLB.com even broke down the counteroffers by team.
In San Diego’s case, the Dodgers would give up five prospects to acquire Ohtani. Starting with Jackson Merrill (shortstop), the No. 9 overall prospect and the team’s No. 1 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, the Padres included three right-handed pitching prospects – Dylan Lesko, Adam Mazur, and Alec Jacob – and left-hander Ryan Weathers.
“San Diego’s farm system isn’t as deep as it once was,” MLB.com said. “Trading Ohtani when they could have pursued him in free agency may not be a defensible strategy, as they have a recent history of consistently trading away instant power,” said MLB.com.
But San Diego has traditionally made big deals that have surprised the industry. General manager A.J. Preller’s nickname is “Madman. “If we’ve learned one thing from the Padres, they’re a big name, and you should never count them out,” MLB.com said.
San Diego should challenge for a World Series title with the roster they have. When Ohtani suits up for San Diego, he’ll be joined by Fernando Tatis Jr, Mitch Machado, Juan Soto, Xander Bogaerts, and Ha-Sung Kim in a superstar lineup. He will also form a one-two punch with Japanese Major League Baseball senior Darvish Yu.