Mets, Padres have talked Paddack, Hosmer, Smith trade

The Mets and Padres have discussed a trade that would send Chris Paddack and Eric Hosmer to Queens in return for Dom Smith, according to The Athletic.

The 26-year-old Paddack had a strong debut season in the big leagues in 2019, having been a consensus top-100 prospect in baseball at the beginning of that year. In 26 starts, he put up a 3.33 ERA and 3.95 FIP in 140.2 innings of work with a 26.9 percent strikeout rate and 5.5 percent walk rate. Since the start of the 2020 season, however, he has a 4.95 ERA and 4.22 FIP. He also attempted to start a feud with Pete Alonso after Alonso was named the National League rookie of the month in April 2019.

As for Hosmer, he is now 32 years old and has been a roughly league average hitter in the last three full-length seasons. Over the last four seasons in total—including the short 2020 season in which he hit better—Hosmer has hit .264/.323/.415 with a 99 wRC+.

Paddack is eligible for arbitration in the 2023 and 2024 seasons before he’s set to hit free agency. Hosmer is under contract through the 2025 season and is set to earn $20 million this year and $13 million in each of the final three years of his contract.