Report: Padres ‘covet’ Joey Gallo in trade

The San Diego Padres have had a good but not great first half of the MLB season, and it’s pretty clear they’re looking at upgrades ahead of the July 31 trade deadline.

According to Dennis Lin of The Athletic, the Padres “covet” Texas Rangers slugger Joey Gallo as a trade target. However, the Rangers’ asking price is “daunting,” and the first baseman’s recent hot streak has done nothing to lessen that.

Gallo would make plenty of sense for the Padres. The offense has been inconsistent, especially at first base, where Eric Hosmer has struggled in 2021. Gallo, on the other hand, has 24 home runs, including 11 in his last 12 games.

Gallo has been involved in trade rumors for a while now, but the Rangers have not moved him. Part of that might be down to a consistently high asking price. The 27-year-old is also under team control through 2022, so there’s not as much urgency to move him when they could hold onto him for another year if they sochoose.