From trades to free agents, MLB’s weirdest moves of the offseason

Mar 27, 2022; Fort Myers, Florida, USA; Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa (4) signals from the field prior to the game against the Boston Red Sox during spring training at CenturyLink Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 27, 2022; Fort Myers, Florida, USA; Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa (4) signals from the field prior to the game against the Boston Red Sox during spring training at CenturyLink Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
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Oct 2, 2021; San Francisco, California, USA; San Diego Padres pinch hitter Adam Frazier (12) bats during the sixth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 2, 2021; San Francisco, California, USA; San Diego Padres pinch hitter Adam Frazier (12) bats during the sixth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Padres already shipping out Adam Frazier

San Diego acquiring Frazier last season was an odd one for me to begin with, mainly because even I did not expect him to continue his All-Star level play with the Pirates all the way through the season. He definitely seemed to be overperforming and I figured there would be some regression.

His expected numbers with Pittsburgh were up and down though, meaning sometimes they were higher than his actual batting average and sometimes lower. However, we had never seen this type of play by Frazier before and half a season was not enough for me to believe that this change was permanent.

Despite all that, San Diego made the move to get Frazier and he regressed, as expected. He did play better in September, but he was still overperforming his expected numbers. I also thought the move was odd because he is predominantly a second baseman and they already had Ha-seong Kim and Jake Cronenworth trying to get playing time there, but the depth was good to have especially since he could play outfield as well. Plus, the Padres having a lot of injuries last season.

It is even weirder now as they decided to trade him away to Seattle so soon after acquiring him. He still could have filled a role on this team as they do have an opening in left field and even as a versatile guy that covers for people when they need breaks or are out with injuries would have be valuable.

A.J. Preller, however, decided to sell him off to the Mariners, getting back a far worse package at face value than what they gave up to get him from the Pirates.