Padres shockingly urged to trade three-time All-Star in offseason blockbuster

It's hard to say 2024 was a "disappointing" season for the San Diego Padres, but it certainly felt as though they could have gone farther.

The Padres were unceremoniously dumped from the National League playoffs by the hated Los Angeles Dodgers and were shut out by Dodgers pitching in the final two games of the series. For as deep and talented as the Padres lineup and pitching staff were, it felt like a real letdown.

Make no mistake, the Padres' goal is to make it to a World Series in 2025. That could require some bold moves this winter, and perhaps even some unpopular ones.

The Padres made a trade to acquire now-three-time batting champion Luis Arraez from the Miami Marlins back in May. Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer proposed on Tuesday that the Padres could turn around trade Arraez elsewhere this winter.

"In all seriousness, the Padres should at least be willing to listen on Arraez this winter. The alternative is running headlong into a $14.6 million projected salary, and they shouldn't be overly willing to do so," Rymer said.

"That is a lot of money for a guy who, despite all the hits, was only worth 1.1 rWAR this year. It's also money they could then reinvest in Jurickson Profar and/or Ha-Seong Kim in free agency."

Determining Arraez's value is going to be a tremendous conundrum for years to come. He wins batting titles, yet he doesn't walk and doesn't hit for power. His .738 OPS this season was sandwiched between Isaac Paredes and Shea Langeliers on the MLB leaderboard.

Because Arraez is so limited, yet so excellent at his one true skill, it's hard to predict whether another team would give up significant capital to acquire him. He gets a ton of hits, but he's also only suited to play first base, which is not a position of need for many other teams.

Arraez will continue to be a confusing, yet enthralling player in 2025. It remains to be seen whether he will do so on the Padres or some other ballclub.

More MLB: Padres predicted to cut ties with projected $38 million All-Star this winter