Padres trade Margot to Rays for Pagan
The San Diego Padres have traded outfielder Manuel Margot and catcher/outfielder Logan Driscoll to the Tampa Bay Rays for right-handed reliever Emilio Pagan, the Padres announced Saturday.
Pagan, 28, led the Rays with 20 saves in 2019. He posted a 2.31 ERA and 0.83 WHIP with 96 strikeouts across 70 innings in his lone season with Tampa Bay. He'll slot into the back end of the Padres' bullpen alongside closer Kirby Yates and southpaw Drew Pomeranz.
Margot, 25, hit .234/.304/.387 with 12 home runs and 20 stolen bases in 151 games last season. His name was mentioned as a potential piece had the Padres managed to trade for Boston Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts, according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The Padres drafted Driscoll 73rd overall in 2019.
It's the second significant trade between the teams this offseason. The Rays previously sent outfielder Tommy Pham and infielder/reliever Jake Cronenworth to the Padres for Hunter Renfroe and infield prospect Xavier Edwards.
The Rays have a multitude of outfielders who will be vying for playing time. In addition to the pair of former Padres, Tampa Bay has Austin Meadows and Kevin Kiermaier as roster holdovers. Both Jose Martinez and Randy Arozarena - acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals in January - have primarily served as outfielders, while Brandon Lowe, Joey Wendle, Daniel Robertson, and newly signed Yoshitomo Tsutsugo have gotten reps there as well.