San Diego pulled the trigger on yet another blockbuster deal, just a day before the season opener. This one... a HUGE shock! The Padres and the Atlanta Braves struck a MASSIVE deal sending All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel and Melvin Upton Jr. to the Padres in exchange for two veteran outfielders -- Cameron Maybin and Carlos Quentin. Atlanta also acquired two highly regarded prospects -- right-handed pitcher Matt Wisler and outfielder Jordan Paroubeck -- and the 41st overall selection in this year's First-Year Player Draft.
This trade surely helps bolster the Padres bullpen and overall pitching... an area of work the Padres needed to address. Matt Wisler was ranked the 4th best overall prospect in the league by MLBPipeline.com. Note that Atlanta is in rebuilding mode so this trade does benefit them. Along with Craig Kimbrel the Braves send Melvin Upton Jr. who will play with his brother Justin Upton in San Diego after he played with him for two seasons in Atlanta. The third brother B.J Upton was acquired by Seattle this offseason... and yes he to played for Atlanta.
This deal took a lot of people off guard but that is what blockbuster trades do. Now the only question that remains is... which team does this deal benefit the most? Lets break it down further. The Atlanta Braves are rebuilding, and after trading away their entire outfield that had a lot of talented players on it, and now trading away arguably the best closer in the game the Braves know what they are getting in return. They acquire some of the two best prospect in the entire world, 2 veteran outfielders that the Padres did not need anymore and the Padres 41st overall draft pick. This deal benefits Atlanta now and in the future.
As for the San Diego Padres, they improve their bullpen by a lot. Also adding some depth with Melvin Upton Jr. This makes the Padres serious playoff contenders. However, they add a ton of salary to their already stacked salary. Not only that, Kimbrel's contract expires in three years. They are paying him to throw about 150 innings for $18.66 million. That is a lot of money for just 150 innings!
So on that note, and further breakdown the winner of the massive blockbuster trade is the Atlanta Braves. Just because the Padres have Kimbrel doesn't mean they have him forever. Also what if Kimbrel gets injured or what if the San Diego Padres don't make the playoffs. This deal would look like a total bust. In the end, the only way to find out is if the season progresses. As of now this is just predictions.
Now, in case you want to know the answer if the San Diego Padres will make the playoffs. Then all you have to look at is their depth chart. With an amazing outfield, an ok bullpen, an ok infield, and a ok starting rotation the Padres have a shot at making the Wild Card. However if a couple of players get injured, those players being the stars of the team, then the San Diego Padres will not make the playoffs. So, on that note it will be interesting to see if they make the playoffs, but the odds are against them.
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