Twins, Padres Discussing Trade For 10-Year Veteran

Neither the Minnesota Twins nor the San Diego Padres have made many waves this offseason. No big free agent signings or other big acquisitions. But reports say the two teams have been engaged in trade talks with each other recently with some notable names involved.

The Padres have interest in two-time All-Star veteran catcher Christian Vázquez, as reported by Dan Hayes and Dennis Lin in The Athletic. And while no deal is imminent, "there appeared to be motivation on both sides to continue talking".

In San Diego, Luis Campusano got off to a fine start to his 2024 season, batting .278 with a remarkable 17 RBIs in April. And that was following up a brief but very successful 2023 when he batted .319 in 49 games with an .847 OPS. But after April of this past season, it was mostly all downhill from there, and he finished with a .227 batting average, and a .642 OPS.

Needless to say, the Friars are looking for a new starting catcher. Vazquez did not have a good 2023 or 2024 in Minnesota (slashed .221/.248/.327 with seven homers and 27 RBIs last season), but with 10 years as a starter behind the plate in the majors, he has the experience that San Diego would be looking for. He'll earn $10 million on an expiring contract this season.

The Padres were also interested in Vazquez in free agency back in 2022, before he signed on with Minnesota.

The Twins, meanwhile, are among the teams who have significant interest in Padres' ace Dylan Cease. Clearly, there's no one-for-one trade of those two that would be in the cards, but perhaps it's the start of something.

As noted by Hayes and Lin, the Friars certainly don't want to give up their ace, but luxury tax issues are forcing them to consider it.

The Padres would like to keep Cease, but some rival officials believe president of baseball operations A.J. Preller ultimately will have little choice but to move the pending free agent and his $13.75 million salary.

Cease is entering his final year of team control and will be a free agent next offseason.

How and if these two teams can work out a deal remains to be seen, but, per The Athletic, the Twins would prefer to offer a package of lower-priced talent "to replenish the Padres’ depth" rather than surrender a big name.