Padres acquire Scott Barlow from Royals and Garrett Cooper from Marlins

Earlier today the San Diego Padres added starting rotation depth and a left-handed bat with the additions of Rich Hill and Ji Man Choi. All that was needed after that was another bat and a reliever. That’s what AJ Preller went out and acquired.

The news didn’t come out until after the 3 pm deadline but the Padres were able to complete a couple of trades before the buzzer:

• Acquire Garrett Cooper and Sean Reynolds from the Miami Marlins for Ryan Weathers
• Acquire Scott Barlow from the Kansas City Royals for Henry Williams and Jesus Rio

Barlow is the most significant addition of the two, as Cooper doesn’t figure to be an every day player and Sean Reynolds is a minor league reliever.

The 30-year-old has a 5.35 ERA this season so you might think he’s not that good but he was one of the best relievers in the league in 2021 and 2022 for Kansas City, as he posted a sub-2.50 ERA in both seasons.

Josh Hader came over last year and was struggling but was able to find it as the Padres headed towards the postseason so I’d imagine San Diego is hoping for the same thing to happen with Barlow.

Adding Barlow not only improves this year’s bullpen but gives Preller a solid reliever for next season as well with closing experience (56 career saves). Hader could command $100 million in free agency, which Peter Seidler likely doesn’t want to pay him, so Barlow can essentially be his replacement with either he or Suarez becoming the closer.

Below is some information from the Padres on Cooper and Reynolds:

San Diego Padres

San Diego Padres

Do you like what Preller and the front office pulled off at this year’s trade deadline? Sound off in the comments!