Last year, the San Diego Padres systematically decimated their farm system in order to build a winning team. Now, general manager A.J. Preller is rebuilding that same farm system.
The Padres announced Wednesday they traded Marc Rzepczynski and Yonder Alonso to the Oakland Athletics for Drew Pomeranz, Jose Torres and a player to be named.
Pomeranz will likely fill a bullpen role for the Padres in 2016, but Torres, a 22-year-old left-hander, fits in with Preller's new strategy.
MLB.com's Corey Brock noted how the Padres have added a number of talented prospects through trades this offseason:
The A's obviously saw something in Torres to take a chance on him as a 16-year-old, and he started coming into his own in 2015:
Torres entered Oakland's organization as a starter, but he eventually transitioned into a relief role. In 47 appearances across Single-A and High-A, he went 4-5 with a 2.56 ERA. According to Baseball-Reference.com, he also averaged 9.8 strikeouts and 2.8 walks per nine innings, both of which were big steps forward compared to his 2014 numbers.
According to Melissa Lockard of Oakland Clubhouse, the Padres are already familiar with Torres and what he brings to the mound:
Hardball Talk's Matthew Pouliot believes San Diego got a nice return from Oakland given all the circumstances involved:
MLB.com graded Torres' fastball a 60 on the 20-80 scouting scale, and the fact it climbed a bit in speed and tops out at 96 mph was an encouraging step in his development. An overpowering fastball isn't a requisite for success for an MLB reliever, but teams are coveting the proverbial flamethrower increasingly more throughout the league.
Torres also boasts a slider and a changeup, but neither pitch projects to be as dominant as his fastball.
Considering both his experience to date and age, Torres is at least a few more years away from helping the Padres at the major league level unless San Diego plans on aggressively promoting him through the minors.
If he can continue building upon his progress in 2015, Torres will at the very least be a setup man for San Diego down the road.
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