Despite struggling through arguably the worst season of his career, San Diego Padres starting pitcher Andrew Cashner is reportedly generating leaguewide interest ahead of the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline.
Continue for updates.
Padres Reportedly Looking to Move Cashner
Wednesday, July 20
Jon Morosi of Fox Sports reported that “rival [executives] believe Padres [general manager] A.J. Preller wants to move [Cashner] before [his] Thursday start.”
However, Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com noted that Cashner is expected to pitch on Thursday against St. Louis, citing a source who said they were “99.9 percent” certain no trade would happen before then.
Multiple Teams Interested in Cashner
Tuesday, July 19
According to Rosenthal, several teams could make a run at acquiring Cashner, with the Texas Rangers standing out as one of his primary suitors, per MLB.com.
Cashner Presents Risk to Prospective Suitors
The 29-year-old currently sports a record of 4-7 with a career-worst 5.05 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. His strikeout rate has also dropped since last season with 53 K’s in 67.2 innings. In 2015, the 6’6″ righty posted 165 K’s in 184.2 innings.
Injuries have been a big issue for Cashner in recent years, including this season, as he had a stint on the disabled list in June with a strained neck.
The past two campaigns have been a struggle for the former first-round pick of the Chicago Cubs after he seemingly came into his own in 2013 and 2014 as a potential top-of-the-rotation starter.
Between 2013 and 2014, Cashner posted a modest 15-16 record, but he had an impressive 2.87 ERA and 1.13 WHIP.
He hasn’t been able to get back to that level, but he has the makings of a low-risk deadline acquisition, should a team opt to trade for him.
Cashner is set to become an unrestricted free agent during the offseason, which means the commitment in terms of salary and term will be minimal.
Texas is a sensible landing spot since there are question marks in its rotation outside of the one-two punch of Cole Hamels and Yu Darvish.
With Colby Lewis and Derek Holland injured, the Rangers staff is lacking depth, but Cashner can provide it as long as he remains healthy.
Even if Cashner proves to be little more than an innings eater down the stretch, he is a worthwhile acquisition for the Rangers or any other contending team in need of pitching help since it doesn’t figure to cost a ton to get him with free agency approaching.
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