Gaslamp Poll: Did the Padres play their Hand right?

The trade deadline has come and gone. The Padres made a deal with the Royals in the week leading up to the deadline, but many trade candidates remained on the roster as the team clearly has the future in focus. Did the team make the right moves by holding on to these players? Did they set the price too high?

Brad Hand isn’t a premium “name” in the league, but he has universally been hailed as the most valuable reliever on the trade market with the sole exception of Zach Britton. Hand has been nothing short of dominant since the Padres acquired him before the 2016 season, and he’s excelled in every conceivable role: LOOGY, long relief, high-leverage, “garbage time”, setup man, closer, ... he’s done anything and everything the team has asked for, and he’s done it as well as anyone in baseball. With two years of team control left after this season and a modest $1.38m salary this year, he’s affordable and controllable. It can be argued that he was at a maximum value at a moment of maximum demand: his performance can’t really get better, he loses value as his salary goes up through arbitration and team control diminishes, and teams get desperate for relief help as they prepare for a playoff push. By keeping him, the team still has an elite lefty arm in their bullpen, which is great for wins but not for the tank. The team may still move him through a waiver trade, or hope to make an offseason deal like they did with Craig Kimbrel a year and a half ago.

The Padres held on to some other tradeable players. Jhoulys Chacin, Clayton Richard, and Craig Stammen were signed to one-year contracts prior to this season, and none of them should be expected to sign an extension with the team. As “rental” pitchers on cheap contracts, either could have had value to a contender looking for a back-of-the-rotation or bullpen arm. Stammen has been excellent since May. Chacin has been particularly effective lately. By holding on to them, their value to the Padres is as innings-eaters to take the ball every fifth day or a bullpen option through the end of the season. By trading them, they could have brought back even minor pieces that could have had longer-term implications.

Brad Hand is still a Padres. So are Jhoulys Chacin, Clayton Richard, Craig Stammen, Kirby Yates, and Yangervis Solarte. Do you think the Padres were wise to keep them, or should they have taken a “low-ball” value to move them? Please cast your votes and comment with your thoughts below.