Wil Myers to the Padres as part of three-team swap
By Andrew Padyk
After plenty of back-and-forth and hours of deliberation, the San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays and Washington Nationals have completed what has been considered a “roof-blowing” trade with a grand total of eleven players on the move between the three clubs, including former top prospect Wil Myers, per reports by Yahoo’s Jeff Passan and ESPN’s Jim Bowden, who broke down the deal over a series of tweets (links 1, 2, 3, 4, 5).
The pieces that were traded were as followed:
- San Diego receives outfielder Myers, catcher Ryan Hanigan, pitcher Gerardo Reyes, and pitcher Jose Castillo from the Rays
- Tampa Bay receives catcher Rene Rivera, pitcher Burch Smith and first baseman Jake Bauers from the Padres and outfielder Steven Souza and pitcher Travis Ott from the Nationals
- Washington receives pitcher Joe Ross and shortstop Trea Turner from the Padres via the Rays
The major piece of this deal was the movement of Myers from Tampa Bay to San Diego, as the Padres land another outfielder following their trade for Matt Kemp about a week ago. Much like the health of Kemp, the entirety of this deal will depend on Myers’ balky wrist, which was an issue this past season for the 23-year-old right fielder. Myers batted .222/.320/.614 with just six home runs in 325 plate appearances. It was a down year for the youngster, who was coming off a stellar Rookie of the Year season in 2013. His wrist sidelined him for a good portion of last year, but most believe he still has upside that the Padres can work with. He’ll remain under team control through 2019.
Tampa Bay received a slew of players from both sides in the deal, including young prospects in Bauers and Rivera, who’ll step into the starting role left open by Hanigan’s inclusion in the package going to San Diego. Hanigan will likely start for the Padres, after the team sent Yasmani Grandal to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the deal for Kemp. It is clear that the Rays are now trying to reload for the future and do so in an efficient manner.
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Souza is a perfect addition for a Rays club looking to reload without having to spend. He can handle all three outfield positions and has posted strong numbers in the minor leagues. In 96 games last season with the Syracuse Sky Chiefs, Souza batted .350/.432/.590 with 18 home runs in 407 plate appearances. He’ll be the perfect replacement for Myers in the outfield and will start for the Rays, where in Washington he would been pushed into being just a fourth option in an already crowded Nationals outfield.
The Nationals made out like bandits, adding a pair of prospects with serious potential while addressing positions they were lacking in depth. Ross shows promise with his fastball and upside with his slider. Most projections have him as a mid-rotation starter in the big leagues. Turner, on the other hand, is in the deal officially as a player to be named later.
He was the 13th overall pick in the draft this past June and has impressed on the basepaths and at shortstop since. With the Eugene Emeralds and Fort Wayne TinCaps, Turner hit .323/.406/.448 with 16 doubles and 23 stolen bases in 321 plate appearances. Turner could rise quickly in Washington’s system, particularly with Ian Desmond potentially departing a year from now via free agency.
This marks San Diego general manager A.J. Preller’s second significant deal this offseason. It also marks another move in which the club was able to add pieces while not having to move Ian Kennedy, Tyson Ross or Andrew Cashner. It’s unknown if the Padres have more moves in the works.