Last night, word trickled slowly out that a big trade between the San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Rays was brewing, involving budding young start outfielder Wil Myers, and presumably much more. And then there was word that another team – or teams – would be involved in the deal somehow, either directly or immediately after.
It was all very mysterious and intriguing, and the fallout from these kinds of huge deals can be hard to gauge immediately – thus, following along is pretty fun.
And, this morning, Jeff Passan adds to the intrigue:
Sounds like one of the pieces in the proposed Wil Myers trade might be on the way to Washington, which has insinuated itself into the deal.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 17, 2014
The Nationals have been among the least active, but most heavily rumored about teams in baseball this offseason, with a huge number of one-year free agents – Jordan Zimmermann, Doug Fister, Ian Desmond, Tyler Clippard, and Denard Span – potentially available in trades.
Is one or more from that group going to be heading to San Diego or Tampa Bay? Is there any relationship here between the rumors that the Mariners were on the verge of acquiring a bat, the rumors that the Nats and Mariners had previously discussed a huge swap involving Zimmermann and Desmond, and this? Are we about to see some kind of crazy four-team trade? Five-team trade? TWENTY-EIGHT-TEAM TRADE?!?
It sure feels like there’s about to be a dam break, which is crazy, given that the transaction water has already been gushing over the dam for weeks now.
Will the Cubs figure into any of this, either directly or indirectly? It’s not at all inconceivable, given their prior rumored connections to the Nationals, and their obvious connections to the Rays (Joe Maddon may have some favorite players he wouldn’t mind bringing over) and Padres (ditto Jed Hoyer/Jason McLeod/Jaron Madison).
UPDATE: Well, this is getting strange and conflicting. I’m trying to follow the Mariners/Ruggiano rumor, which could somehow be tied in to all of this, so I’m just going to dump tweets from today …
Hearing that the Wil Myers trade is nearing the finish line. #rays #padres
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) December 17, 2014
I think it's a straight 2-way trade between #rays and #padres. Hearing Tampa might flip one of the pieces it gets from SD.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) December 17, 2014
As @Ken_Rosenthal + @JeffPassan suggested, also hearing Hedges + Souza are key pieces of return if it turns out to be #Rays–#Padres–#Nats
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) December 17, 2014
Source: #Rays working on "multitude of things" with a "lot of moving parts," including Myers deal with #Padres. Other teams also involved.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 17, 2014
Jake Bauers Joe Ross Burch Smith and 2 others going to TB in Wil Myers deal when concluded
— Jim Bowden (@JimBowdenMLB) December 17, 2014
Austin Hedges is not in Myers deal according to source
— Jim Bowden (@JimBowdenMLB) December 17, 2014
One possibility in brewing trade is for #Nationals' Souza to replace Myers with #Rays. Souza, a promising OFer, is somewhat blocked in DC.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 17, 2014
#Rays talks remains ongoing, with possibility of an even larger deal, so thus no timetable. Could be done today or carry on to Thursday
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) December 17, 2014
Reason #Rays Myers talks remain ongoing is b/c they are still considering 2-, 3- + 4-team deals. So there's time for even more speculating.
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) December 17, 2014
Rumors of a failed physical blowing up the Kemp deal to the Padres are starting to get louder.
— Will Carroll (@injuryexpert) December 17, 2014
So, yeah. Relationship status: it’s complicated.
UPDATE 2: With apologies, I’m currently making dinner, so I can’t quite dissect the latest on this potentially huge trade right now. But here’s what Ken Rosenthal is saying:
Source: In three-team trade, SS Trea Turner would go from #Padres to #Nationals and become potential long-term replacement for Ian Desmond.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 17, 2014
Turner, as others have noted, would be a PTBN because he was drafted only last year (1st round). Per source, trade could look like this:
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 17, 2014
Turner, Joe Ross to #Nationals. Myers, Hanigan, Jose Castillo to #Padres. Souza, Ott, Rivera, Smith, Bauers to #Rays (Souza, Ott from Nats).
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 17, 2014
That is not the official deal, just an outline coming from a source. Competitive-balance picks also might be involved.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 17, 2014