Padres Involved In ‘Outrageous’ Trade Idea For $75 Million Outfielder

The San Diego Padres are a step behind the Los Angeles Dodgers, but they could look to close the gap on their rival by swinging a few trades to upgrade their roster.

One place the Padres desperately need to upgrade is the outfield, but there aren’t very many quality outfielders expected to be on the market.

Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller recently proposed an “outrageous” trade idea that would send Chicago White Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi to the Padres in exchange for prospect Clark Candiotti.

“To put it lightly, left field has been an adventure for the Padres, with nine players combining for a sub-.600 OPS. They released Jason Heyward on Wednesday, and he had been the team leader in plate appearances in left,” Miller wrote. “Gavin Sheets has been fine as the primary offering there in recent weeks. However, when he’s in left, DH becomes the adventure for San Diego.

“The moral of the story is they need to do something, and options are limited. Trading for Taylor Ward looked like a viable route until the Angels turned into possible buyers instead of sellers. Miami’s Kyle Stowers could be an option, too, but the asking price for Benintendi (who has a .744 OPS for the year) would be much lower.”

A trade for Benintendi seems a bit unconventional, but if the White Sox are willing to eat a little bit of his contract, this deal could make a lot of sense.

The veteran would be a small upgrade in the outfield for the Padres. Paying his contract wouldn’t be ideal, but the prospect return would be minimal to bring on a struggling veteran option like the White Sox outfielder.

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