Padres Add Pitching Depth By Acquiring Sean Manaea From Athletics

After the Eric Hosmer trade rumors died out late last night, it was a fairly disappointing day after us Padres fans got our hopes up in trading away some of that contract for potentially OF/1B Dominic Smith. However, not even one day later, A.J. Preller has gone out and shown yet again he is not afraid to pull some major moves.

It is pretty obvious the Oakland Athletics are in a complete fire sale, and with players being traded left and right, the San Diego Padres got in on the action. Left-handed pitcher Sean Manaea is on his way to San Diego. You may be asking yourself as a Friar fan "We have enough arms to last us in the starting rotation." That rotation previously consisting of Paddack or Martinez as the fifth starter was not bad; but of course needed to be upgraded. You know what they say... You can never enough too much pitching!

Manaea, 30, is making his quick reunion back with manager Bob Melvin and our skipper could not be more excited to have him back stating that he pictured Manaea pitching with a Padres hat before the season. For Manaea, the Padres traded away two prospects not in the Top 10 in both pitching prospect Adrian Martinez and minor league infielder Euribiel Angeles. The Padres also got minor league right-hander Aaron Holiday in the deal.

This trade also comes at a pretty reasonable time to where Mike Clevinger most likely will start the regular season on the IL with knee soreness. This is a good call in general as San Diego should not rush him back and of course, limit his innings at first.

Manaea shows more craft in his pitches with old-school mechanics. He does not throw hard; however, he is a master with deception and location in his sinker and changeup. Manaea is known more to have the ball put in play in order to achieve outs, but 2021 was the first time where he recorded more strikeouts (194) than innings pitched. Manaea went 11-10 with a 3.91 ERA in 1791.1 IP in the 2021 season. Over his career since 2016, Manaea has a 3.86 ERA in 128 starts. In addition, he threw a no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox back in 2018. Manaea also threw two shutouts in 2021, the same amount as Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove.

Adding a crafty left-handed pitcher bolsters the rotation for the Padres into which they will have to carry the squad as they did for the first half last season. Health is the biggest factor here but with a healthy lineup, the rotation could look like: Darvish, Musgrove, Snell, Manaea, Clevinger. That is in no particular order but also add in Mackenzie Gore who has been a sensation this Spring Training and some others and you have some competition for those spots.

In addition, this past Monday, the Padres made a rare trade with their rival in the Los Angeles Dodgers by acquiring OF/1B Matt Beaty for minor-league pitcher/infielder River Ryan. Beaty, 28, was designated for assignment by the Dodgers and was traded rather than released in order to get a player in return.

Beaty has proven to be a solid professional player despite not being the most recognized in the league by slashing 270/.363/.402 in 2021. In my opinion, the Padres' whole outfield needs renovation rather than just left field. With Tommy Pham signing with the Cincinnati Reds, Beaty could produce as an everyday player for now unless upgraded to a better option. Beaty could also serve as a left-handed bat for pinch-hit situations off the bench, truly showing his versatility.

Ryan, 23, has yet to pitch in the minors since his college days but can be decided on what fits best for him in the future due to him being a two-way player. As odd as it is to say there was a transaction between the Padres and Dodgers, both teams got what they wanted out of this to fulfill their needs at this time.