Padres get Myers in 3-team trade

With a roster that soon could become unrecognizable, Padres General Manager A.J. Preller on Wednesday closed on his second blockbuster in a week, agreeing to a three-team, 11-player trade with the Rays and the Nationals.

According to a source, the Padres will receive outfielder Wil Myers, catcher Ryan Hanigan, right-hander Gerardo Reyes and left-hander Jose Castillo from the Rays. The Rays are expected to acquire catcher Rene Rivera, first baseman Jake Bauers and right-hander Burch Smith from the Padres and, from the Nationals, outfielder Steven Souza and left-hander Travis Ott. The Nationals will get shortstop Trea Turner and right-hander Joe Ross from the Padres.

The deal, first reported by ESPN.com, is pending physicals.

Amid the aggressive reconstruction of a last-place offense, there is this takeaway: The Padres are not done.

The acquisition of Myers, the centerpiece of Wednesday’s deal, comes just days after the end of the winter meetings in San Diego, where Preller struck an intradivision deal for Matt Kemp, a two-time All-Star for the Dodgers, and backup catcher Tim Federowicz. With Yasmani Grandal included in that exchange, the Padres’ first-year GM has now traded two starting-caliber catchers while adding a pair of corner outfielders. Including Kemp and Myers, the Padres would have six outfielders under contract for 2015.

Behind the plate, the Padres would have the 34-year-old Hanigan and Federowicz, with top prospect Austin Hedges possibly less than a season away. Free-agent catcher David Ross is still considering the Padres, a source said.

At shortstop, the Padres have Alexi Amarista, whom some consider a utility player, and the 35-year-old Clint Barmes. Turner, the 13th overall selection this June out of North Carolina State, had been viewed as a potential long-term option at a premium position. In this deal, he is technically “a player to be named later”; under Major League Baseball Rules, he cannot be officially traded until next June, a year into his professional career.

The Padres also face question marks at first base and third base, as second baseman Jedd Gyorko is the only sure infield starter.

Still with pitching to spare, the Padres have arrived at a conspicuous outfield surplus; they have more than $25 million committed for 2015 to Carlos Quentin, Cameron Maybin, Seth Smith and Will Venable. Smith, a corner outfielder who signed a two-year extension in the summer, has the most trade value. Quentin, who has missed most of the last three season with injuries, has indicated he would consider waiving his no-trade clause, but the Padres likely would have to eat the majority of his contract in any deal.

Meantime, in Kemp and Myers, the Padres assume substantial risk but also unprecedented upside.

The availability of the right-handed-hitting Myers was somewhat surprising. Myers, who has made 144 of 150 career starts in right field, justified considerable hype by winning the American League Rookie of the Year award in 2013, hitting .293 with 13 home runs and 53 RBIs in 88 games. Myers, who turned 24 on Dec. 10, is under club control through the 2019 season.

A third-round draft pick by the Royals in 2009, Myers hit 37 home runs in the minors in 2012, but Kansas City, citing a need to win immediately, traded him to the Rays in a six-player deal that winter for James Shields and Wade Davis. While those two pitchers helped lead the Royals to the World Series this October, the small-market Rays would seem to have little incentive to sell low on an affordable hitter with star potential.

In 2014, however, Myers started slowly and missed 70 games because of a stress fracture in his right wrist. He returned from the disabled list but finished the year batting .222 with six home runs and 35 RBIs. As with Kemp, this deal will depend in large part on Myers’ physical. The Padres and Dodgers reportedly face a Thursday deadline to complete the Kemp trade.

As the Rays restock their farm system, Myers’ addition further illustrates the Padres’ hopes for contention in 2015 and beyond. The former top prospect comes at a significant price, of course.

Rivera, 31, last season went from career journeyman to team MVP, establishing himself as a pitching-staff favorite and one of the game’s top defensive catchers. In 103 games, he hit .252 with a surprising 11 home runs. There is some doubt as to whether he will be able to replicate those numbers; for his career, Rivera is a .228 hitter with 15 homers.

Hanigan, who came to the Rays last season from the Reds, has a strong defensive reputation but similar limitations at the plate. Over parts of eight seasons, he is a .256 hitter with 25 home runs. The veteran is owed $8 million over the next two seasons, with a club option for $3.75 million.

Turner, 21, hit .323 with five home runs and 23 steals between short-season Eugene and low Single-A Fort Wayne last season. For the Nationals, the speedy shortstop could eventually replace Ian Desmond, who is a year away from free agency.

Ross, 21, is the younger brother of Padres starting pitcher Tyson Ross. A first-round selection by the Padres in 2011, Joe Ross was one of the organization’s top pitching prospects, viewed as having mid-rotation potential. Last season, he went 10-6 with a 3.92 ERA between high Single-A Lake Elsinore and Double-A San Antonio. He was shut down with shoulder fatigue in August.

Smith, 24, was a 14th-round pick by the Padres in 2011. He made his big-league debut in 2013, posting a 6.44 ERA in 10 appearances (seven starts), but was sidelined nearly all of last season by a forearm strain. He returned to pitch in the Arizona Fall League, posting a 5.52 ERA in nine games.

Bauers, 19, was taken by the Padres in the seventh round of the 2013 draft. Despite being one of the youngest players in the Midwest League, he hit .296 with eight home runs for Fort Wayne last season. He is regarded as an excellent defender at first base.

The two pitchers coming to the Padres are both in the low minors.

Reyes, 21, pitched in relief last season for short-season Hudson Valley, posting a 4.09 ERA in 33 innings.

Castillo, 18, was signed out of Venezuela in 2013 for $1.55 million. He spent the last two seasons with the Rays’ rookie-league affiliate but threw only 4 2/3 innings in 2014 because of a tender arm.