Padres Acquire Adam Frazier

The San Diego Padres just got a whole lot better by acquiring All-Star second baseman/outfielder Adam Frazier from the Pittsburgh Pirates. In other MLB news, the Minnesota Twins’ effort to extend Byron Buxton did not work as the trade deadline looms this Friday. The Twins will most likely listen to offers as they dealt Nelson Cruz just a week ago.

THE RICH GET EVEN RICHER

The Padres acquired one of the most popular stars in the trade market. The Seattle Mariners were reported to be interested as Frazier is arbitration-eligible next year. He will not be a free agent until 2023.

This is another trade the two teams have been involved in this year. Adam Frazier will be joining former teammate Joe Mosgrove as the Pirates will be getting more prospects from the Padres farm system that is loaded with talent.

The deal will send Frazier to the San Diego Padres, while the Pittsburgh Pirates will be acquiring utilityman Tucucpita Marcano, outfielder Jack Suwinski, and right-hander Mitchell Milliano. According to The Athletic’s Keith Law, Marcano was the sixth-best prospect in the Padres’ system and number five on MLB.com.

In 44 at-bats at the major-league level earlier this season, he only had a .182 batting average. However, he was slashing .367/.444/.811 at the Triple-A level and will be a big part of the Pirates rebuild moving forward.

Suwinski currently has a .949 OPS at Double-A this season, and Miliano has a 3.60 ERA in 22 relief appearances at the Single-A and High-A levels this season. These two prospects may be on the Pirates roster in two to three years.

ADAM FRAZIER’S IMPACT ON THE PADRES

The San Diego Padres have made a lot of great moves to boost their chances of winning a World Series this year. Bringing in top-notch talent via trade costs higher-tier prospects, but the organization is ready to win now. With all these trades, the Padres still have three of their most prized prospects.

MacKenzie Gore is ranked 6th in the top 100, CJ Abrams is not too far behind as he is slated in at number 8. Finally, Luis Campusano is placed at the 31st spot. These rankings are from MLB.com.

The Padres could make another big move this week. Adam Frazier may not have the power like Joey Gallo, who the Padres are also interested in; however, he can certainly make contact.

Frazier has the third-best batting average in the league and leads the majors with 125 hits. Frazier was slashing .327/.392/.453 with four home runs and 32 RBIs in 97 games entering Sunday. The Padres need all the help they can get as the race in the division will be tight.

The Padres have a record of 58-44 and have a comfortable lead for the second Wildcard in the National League. The Cincinnati Reds are 5.5 games behind, but the Padres have aspirations to dethrone the Los Angeles Dodgers and the division-leading San Francisco Giants. The Padres are 3.5 games behind the Dodgers for the first Wildcard spot and are 5.5 games behind the Giants for first place in the NL West.

The San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers will also be active as the trading deadline approaches. Both of the Padres’ rivals are said to be interested in acquiring starting pitching. The name that has been gaining interest in Kansas City Royals’ Danny Duffy. Max Scherzer will also be another name that these two squads will be interested in as he is a free agent to be.

This will certainly be an interesting race to watch in the next few months. We may also see another World Series coming out of the NL West.