Trading a young superstar never works out as well as acquiring a young superstar.
nypost.com
Let’s take a look at each of the three entrants.
1. Padres
GM A.J. Preller is a big-game hunter, as he showed again in trading for Josh Hader, the game’s best closer, while gearing up to try to beat out the rival Dodgers and Cardinals for the biggest fish.
The Padres under Preller have done a terrific job stockpiling impressive young players, and some see them as having the kids with the highest ceilings in this derby. Pitchers MacKenzie Gore (who has an elbow issue and may be rested for the remainder of the year) and Adrian Morejon, outfielders Robert Hassell III and James Wood and infielder C.J. Abrams are among many future stars the Padres could offer.
The Padres have become big spenders after pretending to reside in a small market for decades. While they can’t match revenues with the Dodgers, their 20,000-plus season ticket base ranks among the top five in the game, and others around the game see them “spending ahead of revenues,” which is great for the fans and gives them a shot at players they never dreamed of before.
2. Dodgers
They have the prospects, the wherewithal and the recent history of big deals, including only last year with the Nats, when they acquired Trea Turner and Max Scherzer for Keibert Ruiz, Josiah Gray and prospects. Never count them out.
While they seemed to be running third earlier, there really is no reason to assume they are behind in this derby, not now.
Their prospect stash is impressive: catcher Diego Cartaya, pitchers Bobby Miller and Ryan Pepiot, infielders Miguel Vargas and Michael Busch and more. They also have young players Gavin Lux and Dustin May, who’d surely be of interest to the Nats.
3. Cardinals
They looked like a potential match from the start, with a terrific collection of young position players, some of whom are already at the big-league level.
Those who’ve ascended include infielder Nolan Gorman and outfielders Dylan Carlson and Harrison Bader. In the minors, there are infielders Jordan Walker and Masyn Winn.
The Cardinals aren’t known to be as aggressive as their West Coast rivals, so some would be a bit surprised if they pull this off.
They also have a couple issues. One is that starting pitching should be their priority following the losses of Jack Flaherty and Steven Matz. Another is that they have mostly positional prospects. Matthew Liberatore is one nice pitching prospect, but he isn’t a hard thrower, and it isn’t certain he’s on the Nats’ wish list.
