Trade Deadline Rumors Link Padres to Possible Future Hall of Famer

The San Diego Padres have been one of the better teams following the first two months of the 2022 MLB season, but still trail the Los Angeles Dodgers by 4.0 games for the AL West lead. Needless to say, the Padres could be one of the more active teams ahead of July's trade deadline.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported the latest MLB trade rumors on Friday, with one interesting one linking the Padres with a potential future Hall of Famer: Washington Nationals designated hitter Nelson Cruz.

Jeff Passan: The 148 names you need to know before the MLB trade deadline https://t.co/qfYIKLBDEj
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) June 3, 2022

San Diego Padres Trade Rumors

Cruz might not be the dominant force that he once was, but the seven-time MLB All-Star can still bring a lot to the table to a team like the Padres. He's played over 1,900 regular-season games for a reason and that's the type of presence contenders want to have in their clubhouse.

Even though his .230 batting average this season is hardly impressive, the 41-year-old has still found ways to contribute, tallying four home runs and 27 RBIs in 174 at-bats.

What makes Cruz even more valuable is that he's a proven playoff performer. He's batting .278 with 18 HRs and 38 RBIs in 50 career postseason games and was even named the 2011 American League Championship Series MVP.

The Padres' Luke Voit hasn't performed well this year in the DH spot, so boosting him with Cruz could be one way to give San Diego's lineup an extra jolt.

Padres World Series Odds

Nelson's playoff experience would come in handy if the Padres end up making a deep playoff run. After all, San Diego already has +1500 odds (No. 7) to win the 2022 World Series, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

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Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.