In what can be defined as a confusing three-team swap, multiple reports now suggest that the San Diego Padres have acquired young outfielder Wil Myers from the Tampa Bay Rays in a trade that also involves an extremely active Washington Nationals club.
ESPN’s Jim Bowden, who was the first to report that the deal was complete, provided a synopsis of the parameters.
In addition to netting Myers, the Padres pick up young pitchers Gerardo Reyes and Jose Castillo from the Rays as well as catcher Ryan Hanigan.
Coming to the Rays are catcher Rene Rivera, starter Burch Smith and first baseman Jake Bauers, all from the Padres. Tampa Bay also acquired outfielder Steven Souza left-handed pitcher Travis Ott from Washington in the three-team swap.
As it relates to the Nationals, they picked up young prospects Joe Ross and Trea Turner from the Padres (via the Rays).
Not too complicated, aye?
Let’s break it down for you in a nice little table.
| Padres Get | Rays Get | Nationals Get |
| OF- Wil Myers | C- Rene Rivera | SP- Joe Ross |
| RP- Gerardo Reyes | SP- Burch Smith | SS- Trea Turner |
| SP- Jose Castillo | 1B- Jake Bauers | |
| C- Ryan Hanigan | OF- Steven Souza | |
| SP- Travis Ott |
San Diego Padres
The centerpiece of this massive three-team, 11-player trade is Myers. The former Kansas City Royals top prospect was acquired by the Rays two years ago in exchange for James Shields and Wade Davis.
After earning AL Rookie of the Year honors in 2013, Myers struggled a great deal this past season. The outfielder hit just .222 with six homers and 35 RBI. He is, however, still seen as one of the top young players in the game. Myers will team up with recently acquired Matt Kemp to help improve what has been a disastrous lineup in San Diego.
The two pitchers San Diego acquired in this deal aren’t necessarily close to the Majors. Reyes, a reliever, is just 21 years old and pitched in low-level Single-A ball last season. Meanwhile, Castillo is just 18 years of age and was in rookie ball.
For all intents and purposes, San Diego made this deal to acquire a young player in Myers who is still under team control until the 2020 campaign.
Tampa Bay Rays
Talk about shaking things up a bit. Not only did Tampa send one of its franchise cornerstones packing, it picked up five young players to help build up a suddenly thin farm system.
Tampa’s biggest acquisition in this massive deal was Steven Souza, who came into the 2014 season as Washington’s seventh-rated prospect. The outfielder hit .350 with 18 homers and 75 RBI last year. He also posted an astronomical .432 on-base percentage and 1.022 OPS.
Washington Nationals
Attempting to find a long-term replacement for Ian Desmond at shortstop, the Nationals parted ways with a couple youngster to acquire shortstop Trea Turner from the San Diego Padres. Turner, the 13th overall pick in the 2014 draft, cannot be traded until a later date. So for now, he’s considered a player to be named later.
In addition to Turner, the Nationals were able to net San Diego’s 11th-ranked prospect in the form of starting pitcher Joe Ross, who is the young brother of one Tyson Ross. He was a first-round pick for the Padres back in the 2011 draft and is coming off a 2014 campaign that saw him split time between high-level Single-A ball and Double-A. Seen as a potential top of the rotation starter, Ross was no throw-in as it relates to this deal.
H/t to MLBTradeRumors.com for some of the information in this article.