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San Diego Padres general manager A.J. Preller completely rebuilt the team’s roster in the offseason. He brought in Justin Upton, Wil Myers, Matt Kemp, Craig Kimbrel, James Shields, Will Middlebrooks and Derek Norris, trading away many of his top prospects in return which left the team’ s farm system almost completely bare. With those acquisitions, and the team’s franchise-high $107 million payroll, Preller and Padres ownership were expecting the team to compete for the NL West title; instead, the Padres sit at 32-36 after losing seven of their last 10 games, recently fired their manager Bud Black and look like a team poised to sell at the 2015 MLB trade deadline.
The player who would bring the biggest return in a trade is Upton. He is hitting .278 with a .357 OBP, 13 home runs and 41 RBIs without any protection behind him in the lineup. Upton is also in the last year of his deal, and the two sides weren’t able to work out a contract extension in the offseason. With the Padres struggling like they are, it’s unlikely that Upton would re-sign with the team after the season, which should give Preller some urgency to take the best deal for Upton before the July 31 deadline.
If Upton is made available, there should be a number of suitors knocking on the Padres’ door. The New York Mets are one team that makes a lot of sense. The team is desperate for offensive help, and with Upton’s contract expiring at season’s end, he wouldn’t cost the team as much as some of the other big names on the trade market.
The Washington Nationals could also be interested in Upton. The Nationals have had trouble finding consistency within their offense, and with Jayson Werth on the disabled list for another six weeks or more, Upton would give the lineup a huge boost in left field.
At some point, Preller is going to have to make his mind up on whether or not he believes the Padres can still contend in 2015. I think the biggest thing getting in Preller’s way is his pride. He doesn’t want to admit defeat by giving up on the roster that he rebuilt, but the longer he waits for the season to turn around, the more damage he does to the future of the Padres. I’d say if the team doesn’t get hot by the end of June, Preller should sell off any assets that he can in order to improve the minor league system that he stripped bare in the offseason.
Jason Fletcher is a MLB Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JasonFletcher25, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google+.
