The San Diego Padres flipped a couple of mid-level prospects to the Oakland Athletics in order to bring in left-handed starter Sean Manaea a couple of days ago.
It was a good move by a team in win-now mode, but still a couple of pieces short of the two powerhouses in their division, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants.
The Padres could still finish third in the division and have a good chance of making the playoffs, however, because of the expanded playoffs.
Manaea Will Be Part Of The 2022 Padres; The Same Can’t Be Said About Paddack
San Diego, therefore, has no plans to trade Manaea to another team and will, instead, keep him around to round out the rotation.
“The San Diego #Padres are keeping Sean Manaea, and have no plans to flip him, while continuing to engage with teams on starter Chris Paddack,” USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweeted on Monday.
The San Diego #Padres are keeping Sean Manaea, and have no plans to flip him, while continuing to engage with teams on starter Chris Paddack.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) April 4, 2022
Right now, Yu Darvish is the ace of the Padres’ rotation, as he will get the Opening Day nod.
After him, in some order, Blake Snell, Joe Musgrove, and Manaea will likely start games two through four.
Right now, the fifth starter, which would be Mike Clevinger if healthy, will start the season on the injured list after a knee scare, but he is not actually injured: he just needs some time in the minor leagues to ramp up and be ready to take the ball around the end of the month.
Ryan Weathers could be an option to start in case it’s needed, but the only certainty is that Paddack, who was close to being dealt to the New York Mets last weekend, can still reportedly be had via trade.
