San Diego Padres rumors: Wil Myers trade to Red Sox not dead yet

According to a report Tuesday, the on-again, off-again discussions between the San Diego Padres and Boston Red Sox for Wil Myers are still percolating.

The San Diego Padres have already made a lot of changes this offseason, beginning with the hiring of manager Jayce Tingler, signing free agents Drew Pomeranz and Pierce Johnson and re-signing Craig Stammen for the bullpen and making a number of trades.

But one trade that has been discussed for months is still on the hot stove, according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, a deal that would send former All-Star outfielder Wil Myers to the Boston Red Sox.

Once upon a time, those talks included former AL MVP Mookie Betts, but he was dealt by Boston to the Los Angeles Dodgers (eventually), but that seems to have revived the Myers-to-the-Sox disccussions.

General manager A.J. Preller had a busy offseason, acquiring righthanded reliever Emilio Pagan — who had 20 saves in 29 chances last season — from the Tampa Bay Rays, picking up righthander Jerad Eickhoff as a free agent for a potential rotation spot and getting right-hander Kyle Davies, who started 31 games for the Milwaukee Brewers with an ERA+ of 125, in a trade.

In a second trade with the Rays, the Padres acquired outfielder Tommy Pham, who hit .273/.369/.450 in 654 plate appearances last season with 33 doubles, 21 homers, 68 RBI and 25 stolen bases in 29 attempts for Tampa Bay, while also drawing 81 walks.

San Diego got infielder Jurickson Profar, who is looking to bounce back from a .218/.301/.410 season in 518 plate appearances for the Oakland Athletics last season, in yet another swap. Profar did hit 20 homers with 24 doubles last season, but hit .254/.335/.458 with 20 homers, 35 doubles and 77 RBI for the Texas Rangers in 2018.

The Padres finished last in the National League West at 70-92 last season and fired manager Andy Green with eight games remaining.

Myers was American League Rookie of the Year with the Rays in 2013, when he hit .293/.354/.478 in 88 games with 13 homers and 53 RBI, and was acquired by the Padres in December 2014 as part of a three-team, 11-player deal between the Rays, San Diego and the Washington Nationals.

Myers was an All-Star for the Padres in 2016, when he hit .259/.336/.461 in 676 plate appearances with 99 runs, 29 doubles, 28 homers, 94 RBI and 28 steals, but has not gotten to that level of production since. He his 30 homers with 74 RBI on a slash line of .243/.328/.64 in  2017, but missed nearly half of 2018 with injuries.

Last season, Myers played in 155 games but had only 490 plate appearances, hitting .239/.321/.418 with 58 runs, 22 doubles, 18 home runs, 53 RBI and 16 steals.

He still has two years and $45 million remaining on his contract, with a $20 million team option as well for the 2023 season.

According to Acee’s report, the Red Sox would also like to get righthander Cal Quantrill, a 25-year-old who started 18 games after coming up to the majors on May 1 last season. In 23 appearances, Quantrill had a 5.16 ERA and a 1.301 WHIP in 103 innings, walking 28 with 89 strikeouts while allowing 15 home runs.

He is the son of former Red Sox pitcher Paul Quantrill and was the eighth overall pick by the Padres out of Stanford University on the 2016 June Amateur Draft.

The Padres are reportedly willing to eat roughly half of Myers’ remaining money, with the Red Sox also showing interest in 21-year-old catcher Luis Campusano and 19-year-old Venezuelan infielder Gabriel Arias. Campusano and Arias both spent last season at High-A Lake Elsinore.

Preller wants to gain some payroll flexibility and, if he’s able to move Myers to Boston, may make a run at getting 24-year-old center fielder Nick Senzel from the Cincinnati Reds. Senzel debuted last May 3 and hit .256/.315/.427 in 414 plate appearances, finishing with 55 runs, 20 doubles, 12 homers, 42 RBI while stealing 14 bases in 19 attempts.

Senzel was the No. 2 overall pick by the Reds in 2016 out of the University of Tennessee.