*Photo from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette*
The San Diego Padres never stop. GM AJ Preller has made yet another move to boost his team's pitching staff. The Padres have acquired RHP Joe Musgrove from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 3 team trade with the Mets, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. Padres LHP Joey Lucchesi heads to the Mets, and the Pirates get prospects Hudson Head, David Bednar, Drake Fellows, and Omar Cruz from the Padres, as well as Endy Rodriguez from the Mets. The trade has been confirmed by all 3 teams.
Musgrove was at the top of the rotation for the Pirates in 2020, posting a 1-5 record with a 3.86 ERA, striking out 55 hitters in 39 2/3 innings across 8 starts for the Pirates. In his 5 seasons in the majors, Musgrove has a 29-38 record with a 4.33 ERA, throwing 496 2/3 innings in 108 appearances, 83 of which were starts. Musgrove has suited up for the Pirates as well as the Houston Astros in his 5 seasons.
Musgrove said of joining the Padres that "It’s extremely exciting to be able to play in the city that I developed my love for the game. It’s always been a dream, I'm sure, for every player, to get a chance to represent their city and play in their hometown, especially right now at a time where I feel like the Padres have never been better. I think about all the guys that I’m going to be surrounded by in that clubhouse, not just the staff and the recent pitchers they’ve added, but some of the dynamic position players that they have, guys like Machado, Hosmer, Tatis Jr."
Preller talked about all the pitching moves made by the Padres this offseason, saying that "What we've tried to create is a staff that's not just five deep, but we want to look up and be eight, nine, 10 deep of real Major League starters. We've talked about it a lot. You can never have enough true front-of-the-rotation-type Major League starters. What we’ve tried to do is: Every single day we have somebody we feel like could be that ace type."
Lucchesi, the sole player heading to the Mets, pitched to an 0-1 record with a 7.94 ERA, striking out 5 hitters in 5 2/3 innings pitched across just 3 appearances for the Padres in 2020, two of which were starts. In Lucchesi's short career, he has an 18-20 record with a 4.21 ERA in 59 appearances, all but one of them being starts. The Mets have said they plan to use Lucchesi as a starter in the back end of their rotation.
Head is the most highly regarded prospect heading to Pittsburgh, ranked in the top 15 of the Padres farm system. He is considered a possible 5 tool player with a long term future in center field, which is needed for the Pirates, although Head is likely at least 3 years away from a shot at the majors. Cruz was signed by the Padres in 2017, and although he won't overpower hitters, his 3 pitches and feel for pitching give scouts the impression of a back end rotation piece if he can increase his velocity. Bednar is a big league ready pitcher who had lights out performances in the minors.
Fellows was selected by the Padres in the 6th round of the 2019 draft from Vanderbilt, a school with great success in building MLB pitchers. Since he was selected, he has yet to pitch at the professional level, but did serve as coach Tim Corbin's number one starter at Vanderbilt. Rodriguez signed with the Mets in July of 2018, and has been developed and played at multiple positions, but the Pirates said they planned to use him solely as a catcher. In his brief showing at rookie ball, he hit .294 with in 31 games, drawing 15 walks.
Pirates GM Ben Cherington said of the prospect haul that "This trade is an important part of our commitment to developing a talent base necessary to win in Pittsburgh. Winning requires a depth of talent that we will only build through a continued focus on acquiring the best young players possible via all avenues. Alongside our commitment to acquiring young talented players is our commitment to developing them. We are excited about the direction of our development program and eager to get back to work with our players on the field as soon as we can. In a little over a year, I’ve gotten to know Joe Musgrove as a pitcher and as a person and have the utmost respect for him. We wish him the very best."
Lucchesi joins a Mets rotation that features Jacob Degrom, Noah Syndergaard, and Marcus Stroman as locks, with Lucchesi, David Peterson, and Steven Matz looking to compete for back of the rotation spots after the big three. The Padres rotation is looking deadlier by the second after the addition of Musgrove, as he will likely slot in the back of a rotation that includes Blake Snell, Yu Darvish, Dinelson Lamet, Chris Paddack, and more top pitching prospects on the way.
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