One Wild Blockbuster Trade the Padres Should Make Before Opening Day

This would shake things up dramatically.

Sep 17, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; San Diego Padres second baseman Jake Cronenworth (9) celebrates with right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) after the game against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The San Diego Padres are entering the 2026 season with a strong lineup, a dominant bullpen and an unknown rotation.

The three headliners of the rotation all come with question marks, as Michael King missed nearly four months of 2025 with multiple injuries, Joe Musgrove didn't pitch in 2025 as he recovered from Tommy John surgery and Nick Pivetta had a career year that he now needs to replicate.

After those three, the Padres will be relying on Randy Vásquez as the No. 4 starter and a veteran castoff in the fifth spot.

The Padres could look to fortify the rotation ahead of Opening Day, but their prospect pool is depleted after last year's trade deadline. However, if San Diego really wanted to patch the rotation, there's one blockbuster trade they could make to shore things up.

Padres, Mariners Blockbuster Trade Idea

Padres Receive: RHP George Kirby

Mariners Receive: INF Jake Cronenworth, LHP Kash Mayfield, RHP Garrett Hawkins

Are the Padres likely to make this deal? No. They value Cronenworth and are unlikely to ship him off just a couple weeks before Opening Day.

Now should they make a deal like this? Well, that's a different story.

Cronenworth is valuable as a versatile defender and left-handed bat with some pop. However, he's a step below the superstars in the Padres lineup in Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill and owed significant money through his age-36 season.

While Cronenworth helps lengthen the San Diego lineup, the Padres have plenty of depth this year with Ramón Laureano, Gavin Sheets, Nick Castellanos and Miguel Andujar, among others.

Trading Cronenworth, who's owed over $60 million across the next five seasons, would create a hole in the lineup, but one that could be patched with offseason additions Sung-Mun Song and Ty France.

Cronenworth was an All-Star in 2021 and 2022, but has taken a step back since, hitting .239 with an OPS of .715 since 2023. In his best season in 2021, he hit .266 with an OPS of .800. Last year, his expected batting average (.225) and expected slugging percentage (.353) ranked in the 12th percentile in MLB.

Cronenworth's defense has also dipped over the last few years, going from an above-average defender to one slightly below average. He's unlikely to improve over the back-half of his contract.

As for the rotation, San Diego would add a sure thing in Kirby, who would instantly become the ace of the staff this season.

The 29-year-old, who's under team control until 2029, has a career 3.58 ERA over 112 starts the last four seasons. He pitched over 190 innings in both 2023 and 2024 before getting a late start to the 2025 season, finishing with a 4.21 ERA across 126 innings.

Kirby throws hard with an average fastball velocity over 96 mph, and is great at limiting walks. He also put up the best strikeout numbers of his career in 2025 with a strikeout percentage of 26.1%.

The Mariners, who have one of the best rotations in MLB, wouldn't want to part with Kirby, but adding an impact bat like Cronenworth as well as two pitching prospects would allow Seattle to fix their biggest hole in the lineup while developing two more pitchers.

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