The San Diego Padres are in the chase for one of the top shortstops in MLB free agency, and a new report suggests they could add the one that played for their biggest rival in 2022.
With the MLB winter meetings set for next week, the offseason maneuverings should hit overdrive very soon. While the free agent signing period has been open for a couple of weeks, very few major signings have been made. When superstars like Aaron Judge, Jacob deGrom, and Justin Verlander finally make a decision on their future, it is likely to cause a domino effect in the market.
One area that could see a bunch of major movement when that happens is the shortstop class in this year’s MLB free agency. There are four former or current All-Stars up for grabs at the position and The San Diego Padres are among many teams that are shopping around to add one of those elite talents in 2023.
Related: MLB free agent tracker – Get the latest on the top players available on the market
In the last week, the organization has been linked to Boston Red Sox star Xander Bogaerts. However, one MLB insider believes the Padres could instead shift their focus to the 2022 All-Star who manned shortstop for the rival Los Angeles Dodgers.
San Diego Padres could shift to pursuing Trea Turner in MLB free agency
On Thursday, The Athletic’s MLB insider Ken Rosenthal reported that the San Diego Padres are making a shortstop upgrade a priority despite other needs. And that they could soon take a hard look at two-time All-Star Trea Turner. A player that has connections to the Padres general manager.
“While the team has other needs — first base, a starting pitcher, bullpen, bench — major-league sources continue to suggest the Padres are indeed in the shortstop market, possibly even for Trea Turner, a player general manager A.J. Preller traded to the Nationals as a player to be named in 2015 and has pretty much coveted ever since.”
– Update on Padres shortstop pursuit
What will make a deal for Turner difficult is the fact that he declined a qualifying offer from the Dodgers earlier this month. This means the Padres will have to give Los Angeles a second and fifth-round pick if they acquired him. That would be a tough pill to swallow to give rivals notable draft assets after they badly depleted their farm system in the Juan Soto trade in the summer.
- Trea Turner stats (2022): 298 AVG, .343 OBP, .466 SLG, 21 HR, 100 RBI, 101 R
The organization reportedly asked the representatives for Xander Bogaerts if he would be willing to switch positions in 2023. Unfortunately, it is something he is not interested in. However, Turner has played several positions at the big league level beyond shortstop.