Meet the new Padres
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Meet the new Padres
The San Diego Padres made five trades at the trade deadline. Two of the players the Padres acquired went to the minor league system. One of the two, Will Wagner, is the son of Hall of Fame reliever Billy Wagner. The other, Jorge Quintana, is a switch-hitter who was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers out of Venezuela. He is currently being developed as a shortstop, but as he grows and fills out he could be a better fit at third base. He has a .265 average and .699 OPS with 13 doubles, no triples, two homers and 18 RBI with one steal. He could have a legitimate shot as a utility infielder in 2026, especially if Jose Iglesias is not on the roster. He was a one-for-one trade with the Blue Jays in exchange for catcher Brandon Valenzuela, who doesn’t seem to have had a future with the Padres.
Trading away your top prospect, and several more that ranked in the top 20 of the system, got a lot of notice for Preller. But he also received two players that could make their mark with the team, or serve as more trade bait in the future.
Will Wagner
Infielder Will Wagner, drafted by the Astros as their 18th round pick in 2021, is the son of Hall of Fame reliever Billy Wagner. At 27 years old, he has had parts of five seasons in the minor leagues of the Astros and Blue Jays. He has also seen time with the Blue Jays this season as a utility infielder.
Rated #18 by MLB in the Blue Jays system, Wagner debuted in August of 2024 but still has rookie status as his major league experience is 64 games and 196 at bats over parts of 2024 and 2025. He was traded to the Blue Jays in July of last year.
During his time in the big leagues, he has a .265 average and .699 OPS with 13 doubles, no triples, two homers and 18 RBI with one steal. He has 19 walks to 42 strikeouts. The scouting report profiles a player with good on-base skills, but little power and average defense in the infield. He has a high baseball IQ, something that is valued by Padres Manager Mike Shildt. With below average speed, he is only an infield player and doesn’t have a good enough arm for shortstop. His primary skill set would put him at first base, but he played first, second and third for the Blue Jays.
Despite all that, Fangraphs projects him as a .265 hitter with a .698 OPS as a major leaguer with a 10.2% walk rate. It doesn’t seem likely that he will see time with the major league club this season, with the push to the playoffs not conducive to a rookie infielder. He could have a legitimate shot as a utility infielder in 2026, especially if Jose Iglesias is not on the roster.
Jorge Quintana
SS/3B Jorge Quintana is 18 years old, 6’-2” and 183 lbs. He was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers out of Venezuela as part of their 2024 International class. He is a switch-hitter, who debuted in 2025 for the ACL Brewers and has even splits from both sides of the plate. As the Brewers #19 prospect in 2024, he is listed as the Padres #16 prospect after the deadline.
He is currently being developed as a shortstop, but as he grows and fills out he could be a better fit at third base. Currently his time spent in the Dominican Summer League and the rookie league in Arizona, as well as a short appearance with Lake Elsinore, shows a player who has 108 games and 420 at-bats across the three leagues.
He has a .252 average and .735 OPS with 28 doubles, 6 triples, 5 home runs and 55 RBI. He has 42 stolen bases out of 57 attempts. Not surprisingly, he has 109 strikeouts versus 59 walks. Of his 108 games, 53 were in the DSL in 2024 and he now has 55 in the minors in 2025. He has good speed, a good arm and significant potential power. Although, not to be confused with Leodalis De Vries, he could develop into an infield prospect for the Padres.
Wagner was a one-for-one trade with the Blue Jays in exchange for catcher Brandon Valenzuela, who doesn’t seem to have had a future with the Padres.
Quintana was part of the Nestor Cortes trade with the Brewers, that also included cash, in exchange for outfielder Brandon Lockridge. The Brewers had an injury to outfielder Jackson Chourio that required an IL stint, after having an injury to Sal Frelick earlier in the year, and they lacked outfield depth. Lockridge started for the Brewers immediately after the trade and has been playing for them regularly since the trade.
Meet the new Padres
The San Diego Padres made five trades at the trade deadline. Two of the players the Padres acquired went to the minor league system. Jorge Quintana and Will Wagner were both drafted by the Brewers and Blue Jays. Quintana is a switch-hitter, who debuted in 2025 for the Brewers. Wagner was a one-for-one trade with the Blue Jays in exchange for catcher Brandon Valenzuela, who doesn’t seem to have had a future with the Padres. He could have a legitimate shot as a utility infielder in 2026, especially if Jose Iglesias is not on the roster. He has a high baseball IQ, something that is valued by Padres Manager Mike Shildt. With below average speed, he is only an infield player and doesn’t have a good enough arm for shortstop. Although, not to be confused with Leodalis De Vries, he could develop into an infield prospect for thePadres.
Trading away your top prospect, and several more that ranked in the top 20 of the system, got a lot of notice for Preller. But he also received two players that could make their mark with the team, or serve as more trade bait in the future.
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Will Wagner
Infielder Will Wagner, drafted by the Astros as their 18th round pick in 2021, is the son of Hall of Fame reliever Billy Wagner. At 27 years old, he has had parts of five seasons in the minor leagues of the Astros and Blue Jays. He has also seen time with the Blue Jays this season as a utility infielder.
Rated #18 by MLB in the Blue Jays system, Wagner debuted in August of 2024 but still has rookie status as his major league experience is 64 games and 196 at bats over parts of 2024 and 2025. He was traded to the Blue Jays in July of last year.
During his time in the big leagues, he has a .265 average and .699 OPS with 13 doubles, no triples, two homers and 18 RBI with one steal. He has 19 walks to 42 strikeouts. The scouting report profiles a player with good on-base skills, but little power and average defense in the infield. He has a high baseball IQ, something that is valued by Padres Manager Mike Shildt. With below average speed, he is only an infield player and doesn’t have a good enough arm for shortstop. His primary skill set would put him at first base, but he played first, second and third for the Blue Jays.
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Despite all that, Fangraphs projects him as a .265 hitter with a .698 OPS as a major leaguer with a 10.2% walk rate. It doesn’t seem likely that he will see time with the major league club this season, with the push to the playoffs not conducive to a rookie infielder. He could have a legitimate shot as a utility infielder in 2026, especially if Jose Iglesias is not on the roster.
Jorge Quintana
SS/3B Jorge Quintana is 18 years old, 6’-2” and 183 lbs. He was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers out of Venezuela as part of their 2024 International class. He is a switch-hitter, who debuted in 2025 for the ACL Brewers and has even splits from both sides of the plate. As the Brewers #19 prospect in 2024, he is listed as the Padres #16 prospect after the deadline.
He is currently being developed as a shortstop, but as he grows and fills out he could be a better fit at third base. Currently his time spent in the Dominican Summer League and the rookie league in Arizona, as well as a short appearance with Lake Elsinore, shows a player who has 108 games and 420 at-bats across the three leagues.
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He has a .252 average and .735 OPS with 28 doubles, 6 triples, 5 home runs and 55 RBI. He has 42 stolen bases out of 57 attempts. Not surprisingly, he has 109 strikeouts versus 59 walks. Of his 108 games, 53 were in the DSL in 2024 and he now has 55 in the minors in 2025. He has good speed, a good arm and significant potential power. Although, not to be confused with Leodalis De Vries, he could develop into an infield prospect for the Padres.
Wagner was a one-for-one trade with the Blue Jays in exchange for catcher Brandon Valenzuela, who doesn’t seem to have had a future with the Padres.
Quintana was part of the Nestor Cortes trade with the Brewers, that also included cash, in exchange for outfielder Brandon Lockridge. The Brewers had an injury to outfielder Jackson Chourio that required an IL stint, after having an injury to Sal Frelick earlier in the year, and they lacked outfield depth. Lockridge started for the Brewers immediately after the trade and has been playing for them regularly since the trade.
Source: https://www.gaslampball.com/minors/48998/meet-the-new-padres