The Toronto Blue Jays allegedly spoke with the San Diego Padres about a versatile star.
The Padres sent outfielders Juan Soto and Trent Grisham to the Yankees after talking with the Blue Jays and other teams about infielder Jake Cronenworth. The Padres do not want to lose a third left-handed hitter, which makes a trade of Cronenworth seem less likely at this point.
Cronenworth, who will become thirty years old in a month, agreed to a seven-year, $80 million contract last April. A $2 million signing bonus was included in the deal, but the remaining amount has not yet been disbursed. There are guarantees for Cronenworth of $7 million in 2024, $11 million in 2025, and $12 million per season from 2026 to 30.
First off, the Padres might have been open to cutting Cronenworth’s pay. This could have aided in their goal of cutting their payroll below $200 million, according to reports. Perhaps dealing Cronenworth is not as important as Rosenthal suggests, given the organization has already done a decent job of cutting payroll with the trade of Soto and the eventual departures of Josh Hader, Blake Snell, Nick Martinez, and Michael Wacha in free agency.
It would have made sense from the Blue Jays’ end as well. They are willing to fight for Shohei Ohtani, which is a sign that they can afford it. Additionally, with Kevin Kiermaier and Brandon Belt gone via free agency, the team is in serious need of a left-handed bat.
Lastly, Cronenworth’s versatility to cover all infield positions would help offset Whit Merrifield’s loss of versatility. Merrifield is unrestricted as well. Cronenworth is an eternity.52 home runs in 249 innings batted. With 88 RBI in 2022, it was his finest year yet.