San Diego Padres’ Austin Nola (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
Jerry Dipoto and AJ Preller only know one speed at the trade deadline. There is no cruise control
The Padres have completed their fourth trade in the last 24 hours. Previously, San Diego acquired Trevor Rosenthal from the Kansas City Royals, Mitch Moreland from the Boston Red Sox and Jason Castro from the Los Angeles Angels.
Late Sunday night, the Mariners and Padres finalized a seven-player deal that sent Austin Nola to San Diego. Nola is well-respected in analytical circles, and is a late bloomer at 30 years old. He can play a variety of positions, including catcher and first base, and is hitting .306 in 2020. Nola is also signed through 2026 and despite several arbitration-eligible seasons, is a bargain from a financial perspective.
What did the Mariners get in return for Nola?
The complete trade is hard to keep track of on first glance, so stick with us. The Padres are sending over a number of prospects to Seattle, headlined by outfielder Taylor Trammell, who is fifth in San Diego’s system. Ty France, Luis Torrens and Andres Munoz — all young players with big league experience — are headed to Seattle as well.
Austin Adams will join Rosenthal in the new-look Padres bullpen. Adams has an electric arm but is just now coming back from injury. He had 51 strikeouts in 31 innings last year. Dan Altavilla is more of a throw-in at this point.
The initial reaction is this is an overpay from San Diego’s perspective. Trammell is ranked No. 60 on MLB Pipeline’s top-100 prospects list. While Seattle has plenty of outfield prospects, this was an easy deal for them to make, while the Padres are giving up on Trammell’s future.
Reminder: we still have one more day of this.