Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports
It wasn’t that long ago that the big news around the San Diego Padres was that they had signed Will Venable to a well-deserved two year contract extension. Chris Denorfia also had a good year in 2013 with a WAR that was actually higher than Venable’s. Both contributed quite well to the Padres losing season and figure to be good contributors for the 2014 season as well. That will be true if recent whispers about making the two outfielders trade chips together in a package deal are not true or realized.
Let all of the Padres fans hope it isn’t true. I think Denorfia had a fine season but if they need to couple a few players together and they need a good name in there, make it his. There is no way the Padres should be interested in trading both of these guys especially the one they just extended. Of course after the season Venable just had, he would certainly bring a good return in a trade with two seasons left on his new contract. Stranger things have happened.
The Padres probably do need pitching help but they are also rumored to be upping their payroll to somewhere in the neighborhood of $80MM. That should be plenty enough money for them to grab at least one good free agent one would think, without having to part with either Denorfia or Venable.
Regardless of what is out there on the trade market, there is no reason these guys should part ways with Venable after the big year he had. He is probably heading into the big prime years of his career. If they are going to compete, they’ll need him. So, they should keep him.
David Miller is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @davidmillerrant, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
Related:
San Diego Padres: Will Venable Earned Two-Year Contract Extension
San Diego Padres Smart to Extend Will Venable
San Diego Padres: Month of August a Brilliant one for Will Venable
