2 Padres the Angels should target in a trade, and 1 they would be wise to avoid

The San Diego Padres have found themselves in a precarious position after the passing of their owner, Peter Seidler, led to an intense legal battle between his widow and two brothers. The franchise is now in difficult financial straits, meaning numerous players could be on the trade block. Several of them would be of interest to the Angels, but not all are slam-dunk targets.

The Padres aren't packing it in completely, however. Despite rumblings of them listening to offers, all of the rumored players are impending free agents at the end of the season. For the Angels this means they must tread cautiously. Their farm system isn't robust enough to overpay for players who, while filling needs, may not stick around for the long haul.

The Angels should pursue Luis Arráez as an unorthodox second base solution

The Angels have a need at second base for 2025, but also have top prospect Christian Moore waiting in the wings. Moore could be ready to snag the opening-day job, but why rush him considering he only has 25 minor league games under his belt?

This is where Luis Arráez comes in. Coming off three consecutive batting titles, Arráez seems like a player who would have a robust market...but that's not exactly the case. Like the top remaining free-agent second base options, Arráez is far from a complete player. While the lefty-swinging contact savant owns a minuscule career strikeout rate of 6.8%, hitting singles is essentially all he does. His career has seen him put up a pedestrian walk rate of 6.9%, and he only has 28 career home runs in 686 games.

Defensively, he's a bad first baseman and an even worse second baseman who posted -7 outs above average last season in 339 innings at the keystone. On top of that, he'll make $14 million this season in what is his final year of arbitration.

Still, Arráez's elite contact skills and left-handed bat could bring something to the Angels lineup. Having him set the table for the likes of Mike Trout, Jorge Soler, and Taylor Ward could actually form a potent offense and negate some of Arráez's defensive shortcomings.

Ultimately, Arráez is a unique and fascinating player who the Angels wouldn't have to give up much to get. The Padres crave cost-controlled arms that can contribute at the big league level, and the Angels have a plethora of those guys to send back to San Diego.

Michael King should be the starting pitcher the Angels target in a Padres trade

Michael King was one of the centerpieces of the 2023 trade that sent Juan Soto to the Yankees, and became an integral part of the Padres' success last year. In his first year with the Friars, he transformed himself from a back-end reliever to a stellar starting pitcher.

King finished 2024 with a 2.95 ERA in 173.2 innings pitched. He struck out an impressive 10.42 batters per nine innings and also limited the long ball, surrendering just 0.88 HR/9. He pitched like a top-of-the-rotation starter despite never accumulating more than nine starts in a single season prior to 2024. That lack of a track record will make him cheap as well. King and the Padres failed to come to an agreement on his contract for 2024 so they will likely head to arbitration, but his final number should be below $9 million.

While the numbers certainly were solid, it's a risky proposition to give up assets for a pitcher entering his age-30 season who has just one full season of experience as a starting pitcher. Starters are less volatile than relievers, but you'd like to see more from a pitcher of his age to justify giving up a huge haul.

Should the Angels acquire King, they could look to Seth Lugo's deal last year with the Royals as a roadmap for his extension. Like King, Lugo spent the majority of his career in the bullpen before breaking out as a top-end starter. Lugo was a few years older than King at the time he signed a three-year $45 million contract, but the principal is the same.

The Angels would be wise to avoid trading for Padres' ace Dylan Cease

Dylan Cease, 29, is the best and most consistent trade target of the trio and also fits the Angels' need for a front-line starter. Over the past four seasons, he's posted fWARs between 3.6 and 4.8 demonstrating his ability to operate as a true ace.

As a result, San Diego will want a king's ransom for the right-handed stud and could look to last year's Corbin Burnes trade as a baseline for what to expect. In that deal, Milwaukee acquired Joey Ortiz and D.L. Hall, both of whom were consensus top-100 prospects.

The Angels don't have a highly regarded system, and therefore would likely be required to part with their top-two prospects, Caden Dana and Christian Moore. Given that the Halos are counting on those two to be significant contributors as early as this season, that's a hefty price to pay.

As mentioned before, Cease like Arráez and King is in his final year of team control. Again, Corbin Burnes is a good barometer for what he might fetch once he hits free agency. Burnes signed a six-year $210 million contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks this offseason which is a price Arte Moreno almost certainly would be unwilling to pay.

Having a true ace would be nice for the Angels, but not at the cost of their top two prospects for a player who would essentially be a one-year rental. That's simply too steep a price to pay, especially when his teammate, Michael King, could provide a reasonable approximation of Cease's value and cost less both in terms of a trade package and future extension.

The Angels haven't necessarily been linked to any of these rumored-to-be-available Padres they'd be smart to inquire and pull the trigger if the price tags of Arráez and King match reality.

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