Trade rumors are slowly rolling in as baseball moves closer and closer to its biggest trade season, otherwise known as July. With that, there are going to be many players who will be rumored to be available on the market, and ultimately many players will find themselves wearing a different uniform over the next month and a half. One of these players could be Carlos Quentin of the San Diego Padres, who reportedly is willing to waive his no-trade clause in the right deal. What will the market for Quentin be like?
At first look, Quentin is a very desirable player. He has a career .254/.349/.488 line (123 wRC+), which includes a .268/.368/.498 line from 2012-2013. Over a 162 game average in his career, Quentin has smacked 31 home runs. He may not hit for an amazing average, but he makes up for it with an ability to get on base and hit for plenty of power. Needless to say, he is the type of hitter that any team would love to have in their order. However, there are plenty of reasons that would make Quentin undesirable. The biggest is that he has struggled mightily with injuries, never playing more than 131 games in a single season his career, and only playing 194 games from 2012-2014. Quentin has experienced a multitude of injuries- from a torn labrum to plantar fasciitis to knee injuries- in his career, and his knees will likely never be 100% again. Partially because of his knees, he plays poor defense in the outfield in a day and age that defense is being valued more and more. He is owed about $4.5 million for the rest this year, as well as $8 million next year, and while that is more than reasonable when he is healthy, it is also a big hit if he is hurt. Quentin has also struggled at the plate this year, putting up just a .192/.294/.342 line (85 wRC+) in 26 games. So in the end Quentin has shown plenty of ability in the past, but he is also currently a big risk.
Given his knee issues and poor defense, Quentin likely fits in best as a DH. This already significantly limits his trade market, as only half the teams in baseball use a DH in the first place, and most of them already have a set plan at the position. That being said, Quentin’s success with the bat in the past is too hard to ignore, and it is likely the Padres could find someone interested in acquiring his services. AL teams such as the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers could bid on Quentin, and an NL team that needs a bat can’t be completely counted out of the question. That said, especially given Quentin’s struggles at the plate so far this year, the Padres are likely not going to get a huge return. If they want a fringe-prospect or two and some salary relief, then they will likely find a match. However, Quentin is too big of a risk for other teams to part with significant talent to acquire him, and that could cause the Padres to simply hang on to him.
All-in-all there is definitely a chance that Carlos Quentin is traded this summer. Quentin is a talented player- there’s no doubt about it- but he just can’t stay on the field for extended periods of time. In the end it comes down to how much the Padres value Quentin as well as what kind of offers they receive on him. We will just have to wait and see how it all plays out.