Wildly Speculating on a Wil Myers Trade
If you haven’t been on Twitter tonight, you’ve missed a series of pretty fascinating rumors. According to various reports — most easily summed up over at MLBTradeRumors — the Rays are working on a trade with the Padres that would send Wil Myers to San Diego. The likely return is not yet known, nor is it entirely certain that Myers would stay with the Padres, as Jeff Passan is suggesting that this deal could be the precursor for another trade.
Sense among those in the know is that while Padres-Rays deal involving Wil Myers is straight-up, players dealt could be on the move again.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 17, 2014
With Matt Kemp and Seth Smith already in the fold, the Padres don’t seem like a great fit for another corner outfielder, though they have been previously linked to Justin Upton, so perhaps they’re planning on acquiring Myers to replace Smith. But for a team that seems to be making moves to upgrade now, that would be a little odd, given the projections for 2015.
| Name | PA | wRC+ | Off | Def | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seth Smith | 600 | 114 | 9.2 | -11.1 | 1.7 |
| Wil Myers | 600 | 115 | 10.0 | -7.8 | 2.4 |
So, let’s just speculate a bit. What the Padres need more than another corner outfielder is a shortstop. You know who has an extra young shortstop and needs a corner outfielder? The Texas Rangers. You know where A.J. Preller just worked, running the international scouting department when Jurickson Profar was signed as a 16 year old? Yeah, the Texas Rangers.
Completely speculative, but perhaps the Padres are looking to acquire Myers because Preller knows that Jon Daniels wants him to play right field, and will give up Profar and some other of Preller’s old favorites. Given the injury problems Profar has suffered, I find it unlikely that there would be a one for one trade, but I could see a situation where the Padres are trading prospects to get the guy that gets them Profar.
Or, maybe they just love Wil Myers. There aren’t too many good young above average hitters on the market these days, and Smith isn’t good enough that you don’t acquire a piece of that value simply because it forces another deal. Perhaps we’ll find out soon. I think my wild speculation about a Myers-Profar second deal at least sounds reasonable, even if it’s based on nothing more than imagination.
Dave is the Managing Editor of FanGraphs.
Strong indications that Seattle is the third team in Rays-Padres Wil Myers trade scenario. Walker may end up in SD. Myers to SEA.
That makes absolutely no sense. Why would the Padres trade pitching prospects for another pitching prospect?
Bowden says Austin Hedges would be in the deal going to Tampa, presumably instead of pitching prospects.
That doesn’t really make any sense either – why do the Padres need another injury prone young pitcher? They have a system full of them already.
They also have plenty of injury prone aging outfielders, and they got another anyway.
Wouldn’t Miller make more sense than Walker. Miller for Myers straight up seems like it would make sense for everyone involved.
Exactly: you could perfectly substitute “Mariners” for “Rangers” as a team with a need for a corner outfielder and shortstop to spare. There’s none of Preller’s history, which does make the Rangers speculation more intriguing, but SD and SEA pretty much can’t go through an offseason without trading something. Sometimes I think players just get lost in Peoria and the teams announce a trade as the easiest way to sort it out.