- Padres acquire RHP Joe Musgrove in three-team deal from the Pirates
- LHP Joey Lucchesi goes to Mets, Pirates receive five prospects
- Padres have the second-best odds of any team to win the NL pennant
Just when you thought the San Diego Padres might be done wheeling-and-dealing, they go out and make yet another move. On Monday, the Padres reportedly agreed to acquire right-handed pitcher Joe Musgrove from the Pittsburgh Pirates as a part of a three-team deal. The trade will become official if and when Musgrove passes his physical with the Padres.
San Diego will be sending a package of four prospects to Pittsburgh in the deal. The New York Mets, who are the third team in the trade, will acquire left-handed pitcher Joey Lucchesi from the Padres. The Mets will send minor league catcher Endy Rodriguez to Pittsburgh.
The San Diego Padres are in agreement on a deal to acquire right-hander Joe Musgrove from the Pittsburgh Pirates, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 18, 2021
The headliner of the deal for the Pirates is outfield prospect Hudson Head, who was listed as the seventh-best prospect in the Padres’ decorated farm system. Minor league pitchers David Bednar, Drake Fellows, and Omar Cruz will also be heading from San Diego to Pittsburgh.
The 28-year-old Musgrove went just 1-5 across eight starts in the truncated 2020 season for the Pirates, but he did post a solid 3.86 ERA. He is set to earn about $4.4 million next season after serving as the Pirates’ Opening Day starter in 2020. Musgrove and the Pirates agreed to the aforementioned salary just last week in order to avoid arbitration. He will hit the free-agent market for the first time in his career after the 2022 campaign.
Padres’ Loaded Rotation
The San Diego native is set to join a revamped rotation that should be among the game’s best next season. The Padres have already added a pair of Cy Young-caliber arms in Yu Darvish and Blake Snell this winter to a rotation that already features Dinelson Lamet and Chris Paddack. Mike Clevinger, who was acquired in a blockbuster deal from Cleveland during the 2020 season, will miss all of 2021 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Musgrove has a career record of 29-38 at the big league level with an ERA of 4.33. He was a member of the Houston Astros’ controversial 2017 World Series championship team before being sent to Pittsburgh before the 2018 season in the trade that sent ace Gerrit Cole to Houston. Musgrove actually picked up the win in Game 5 of the 2017 World Series against the Dodgers.
The move should be a good one for Musgrove considering he’s heading from one of the worst teams in baseball to a team many believe will contend for a title for the next several seasons. The Padres ended a 13-year playoff drought in 2020 by finishing 37-23 a season ago. San Diego got past the Cardinals in the Wild Card round of the playoffs before being swept in the NLDS by Los Angeles.
The additions of Musgrove, Darvish, Snell, and South Korean star infielder Ha-Seong Kim have MLB betting sites feeling optimistic about the Padres’ chances in 2021. While the reigning champion Dodgers are still the favorites in the NL West (-170), the Padres (+150) aren’t far behind. San Diego also has the second-best odds behind the Dodgers to win the National League (+380), and the third-best odds of any team to win the World Series (+800) next fall.
Mets Contending, Pirates Rebuilding
The Pirates are in the midst of a rebuild after losing Musgrove and All-Star first baseman Josh Bell this offseason. Bell was traded to the Washington Nationals last month. Pittsburgh finished with baseball’s worst record last season at just 19-41. The Pirates (+5000) have the worst odds of any team to win the NL Central next season by a huge margin.
The Mets, who have also retooled this offseason, will add Lucchesi as a potential option at the back of the rotation. Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman, and newcomer Carlos Carrasco headline the rotation, which will be rejoined by Noah Syndergaard at some point during the season. Lefties Steven Matz and David Peterson are also candidates to challenge for a rotation spot with Lucchesi. The 27-year-old pitched in just three games for the Padres last season after being a key cog of the rotation in both 2018 and 2019.
New York has the fourth-best odds of any team to win the NL pennant (+650) after acquiring Carrasco and All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor earlier this month. The Mets are also listed at +1200 to win it all next season.
Taylor Smith
Taylor Smith has been a staff writer with GamblingSites.org since early 2017. Taylor is primarily a sports writer, though he will occasionally dabble in other things like politics and entertainment betting. His primary specialties are writing about the NBA, Major League Baseball, NFL and domestic and international soccer. Fringe sports like golf and horse racing aren’t exactly his cup of tea, bu …
