The Padres reportedly agreed to a deal that would send outfielder and former top prospect Trent Grisham and starting pitcher Zach Davies to San Diego in exchange for infielder Luis Urias and left-hander Eric Lauer.
A.J. Preller and the Padres said they would look at options from both free agency and the trade market, as they have the prospect capital to make trades without hurting the farm system too much.
Grisham, 23, has a career much like Urias’ so far. He was drafted 15th overall in the 2015 MLB draft and was quickly named one of the top prospects in baseball. Last season, Grisham hit .300/.407/.603 in 97 games split between Double-A and Triple-A, earning his first call to the big leagues. However, in 51 games with Milwaukee, the Texas-born outfielder hit just .231 and hit six home runs.
Davies, 26, had the best season of his career in 2019, where he earned a 3.55 ERA in 160 innings. He has a 3.91 ERA in his five-year career.
However, everything comes at a price as the Padres have traded away top prospect Luis Urias as well as pitcher Eric Lauer.
Urias, 22, struggled in the big leagues in the small time he has gotten. Through 83 games the past two seasons, Urias hit .223/.329/.326 and hit just six home runs. Nonetheless, Urias began getting regular at bats in September and silently hit .300/.371/.425 in 89 plate appearances.
Lauer, 24, also struggled in his second season as a big leaguer. In 30 games (29 starts) he finished with a 4.45 ERA, 11 points worse than his rookie season. Nonetheless, he got better in K/9, BB/9, H/9 and HR/9.
The Padres also struck a deal with Drew Pomeranz to return to San Diego. Pomeranz, 31, was a Padre for the first half of 2016, where he was turned around and became an All-Star. However, since then, he has not been the same. In 2018, Pomeranz finished with a 6.08 ERA with Boston and in 48 appearances (18 starts) with San Francisco, he held a 5.68 ERA. When traded to Milwaukee mid-season, he was turned into a full-time reliever and in 24 relief appearances, Pomeranz had a 2.39 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP.
This is the very beginning to the hot stove as Preller and Co. are fully expected to make a few more big moves to push the Padres into contention now rather than later.