The San Diego Padres are facing a tough offseason. They are at risk of losing two of their frontline starters in Dylan Cease and Michael King, who are currently free agents. On top of that, they will also be without Yu Darvish after the hard-throwing righty underwent elbow surgery when the season ended.
They will have to address this problem over the winter, but it could be tough. The Seidler family has recently come out looking over its options to sell the club.
There is no telling how much this team could spend over the winter or what direction they could be headed. However, they certainly cannot go into the new season without making some moves to acquire some starting pitching depth.
Padres' versatile player viewed as club's most likely trade candidate
The Padres could look at the trade market to acquire a new starting pitcher. There have been plenty of starters already dangled, and with the right package, anyone can be stolen away.
This is where Gavin Sheets comes in. The outfielder/infielder is a versatile player who could help sway the decision in a trade. He is viewed by Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller as San Diego's most likely trade candidate.
"With the new wrinkle of the Seidler family potentially putting the team up for sale, goodness only knows what direction the Padres will try to go in this offseason. Could they trade away one (or more) of the core four (Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts and Jackson Merrill) that are signed through at least 2033? Trading Sheets to hopefully bolster the rotation is probably the path of least resistance."
While Miller mentions trading one of the core four, it could result in serious blowback from the fanbase. Instead, someone like Gavin Sheets would not hurt the fanbase much, but they would be losing one of its most versatile players on the roster.
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