The San Diego Padres are in a tightly contested race in the NL Wild Card, and with a few players set to leave in free agency after this season, it’s becoming an increasingly tricky trade deadline to manage.
Going all-in could set the team back years if they don’t win the World Series, while trading away players could hurt the team’s chances in 2025 for a postseason push. Toeing the line between buying and selling could be difficult.
But, for Mike Ursery of The East Village Times, he proposes a blockbuster trade scenario with the New York Yankees that would allow the Padres to both buy and sell at the MLB trade deadline.
The deal Ursery concocted would have the Padres sending Dylan Cease, Jake Cronenworth, and Robert Suarez to the Yankees. Meanwhile, the Yankees would send Spencer Jones, Forbit Vivas, Rafael Flores, and Brock Selvidge to the Padres.
Cease is a free agent after 2025 and is unlikely to re-sign with the Padres before he hits free agency. Suarez is in a similar situation, as the All-Star reliever will be a free agent, and at 34 years old, the Padres should be fine moving on from him in the offseason.
Cronenworth is the most questionable piece being moved, as he’s signed through 2030 at $80 million total. His massive deal will be tricky to move, and the Yankees may not want to take on such a huge deal.
Headlining the return from the Yankees is Jones, the six-foot-seven outfielder. In the minors this season, he’s hitting .290 with a 1.032 OPS, with 20 home runs in 57 games. He’d slide into the Padres’ left field spot and round out the outfield for years to come.
Vivas is an infielder who’s made his MLB debut already, though in his 22 games, he hit just .156 with a .522 OPS. His struggles offensively didn’t paint an exciting picture, but he’s the 19th-ranked Yankees prospect and would help replace Cronenworth on the big league roster.
Flores, meanwhile, is a catcher who has a .840 OPS in Double-A this season. While he’s a little bit further from the MLB than the other prospects, the Padres’ dire need at catcher, combined with the trend of former Yankees catchers having success elsewhere, makes this potential addition a nice one.
Lastly, Slevidge is the 8th-ranked Yankees prospect, and as a starter, he could help replace Cease in the long term. He has a 3.03 ERA in 2025 in the minors between three different levels. Similar to Flores, he’s not quite ready for the MLB yet, but he’d be a long-term replacement for Cease and/or Michael King if they leave in the offseason.
It’s a massive trade proposal, and would be a complete stunner. While the Padres would get some pieces for the future, they’d still be in decent shape to contend for a Wild Card spot this season.
The Yankees would land a huge return, improving their rotation, infield, and bullpen for a deep postseason run in 2025. This deal from Ursery aims to resolve both teams’ largest issues. While it works in theory, it’d be such a huge shakeup that it’d be hard to see such a deal made at this year’s MLB trade deadline.
