The Padres have been aggressive, high-spenders over the last few years, making a big trade deadline splash to acquire Juan Soto from the Nationals just over a year ago.
At 43–47, the NL West club is in a precarious playoff position, 8.5 games back of the Dodgers in the division and six games behind the Giants for the last NL wild card spot. However, if the Angels make Shohei Ohtani available, San Diego may still be a player to land him in an attempt to make a late playoff push, and in hopes of convincing him to sign a long-term deal with the team this offseason.
If the Padres decide to push their chips all-in on Ohtani, The Athletic‘s Ken Rosenthal knows one major piece that would likely be headed to L.A.’s farm system in return: 20-year-old Single-A shortstop Jackson Merrill, who “should not get too comfortable,” he says.
