Last December, there were some rumors that the Padres were open to trading one or two everyday players. I read the news and some reporters indicated that the Dodgers might be interested in one player. Normally, making trades with division rivals is not common. However, it could happen.
The Padres hired A.J. Preller as their general manager in August 2014. By far, he actually made some trades with division rivals.
Firstly, let’s turn back to 2014. Just a few months after Preller was hired, he decided to make a big trade with the Dodgers. In the trade, the Padres acquired All-Star outfielder Matt Kemp, catcher Tim Federowicz and cash. Kemp slashed .265/.312/.443 with 23 home runs and 100 RBI in 154 games in 2015. In 2016, he played 100 games for the Padres, hitting .262/.285/.489 with 23 home runs and 69 RBI. But in July 2016, the Padres decided to send him with cash to the Braves and acquired Hector Olivera. However, Tim Federowicz didn’t have any big league appearances with the Padres.
For the Dodgers, acquiring catcher Yasmani Grandal might be a great decision. Grandal played for the Dodgers from 2015 to 2018, hitting .238/.337/.453 with 89 home runs and 245 RBI. In particular, Grandal was selected to the All-Star game in 2015. However, Joe Wieland only made 2 starts for the Dodgers in 2015. Furthermore, Zach Eflin didn’t stay too long in the Dodgers organization because he was traded to the Phillies the next day after the trade between the Dodgers and the Padres.
In addition, the Padres sent outfielder Alex Dickerson to the San Francisco Giants and acquired Franklin Van Gurp in June 2019. Dickerson played for the Giants for 3 seasons, hitting .265/.334/.489 with 29 home runs and 91 RBI. But, Van Gurp didn’t have any MLB appearances for the Padres.
Finally, the Padres acquired outfielder Matt Beaty from the Dodgers last March and sent River Ryan to the Dodgers. In 2022, Beaty only played 20 games for the Padres and collected only 4 hits. He became a free agent last September. In January 2023, the Royals signed Matt Beaty to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. In the meantime, River Ryan is in the minors.
A.J. Preller has joined the Padres organization since 2014 and during these years, he did make some big trades. For example, the Padres acquired Fernando Tatis Jr. from the White Sox in 2016. Last August, the Padres acquired Josh Hader from the Brewers. Additionally, the Padres got Juan Soto and Josh Bell from the Nationals. Looking back at the trades that A.J. Preller made with the division rivals, the results might not truly satisfy the Padres fans. Among those players acquired from the division rivals, Matt Kemp is the only player who used to play for the Padres for a full season. Nonetheless, Kemp only played for the Padres for 254 games. At the same time, Yasmani Gradal became an All-Star with the Dodgers. By far, A.J. Preller didn’t make any trades with the Rockies or the Diamondbacks. It’s hard to tell whether he will make any trades with these two teams. Nevertheless, looking at the trades that he made with the Dodgers or the Giants, Preller might have to think carefully before making a decision.
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