When the San Diego Padres acquired Emilio Pagan from the Tampa Bay Rays, the deal seemed strange yet made sense at the same time. It was strange because the Padres gave up a terrific center fielder in Manuel Margot, one who was just 25-years-old but had not tapped into his potential at the plate.
Margot is under team control through the 2022 season, and his departure left a lot of uncertainty in terms of who would take over center field duties. Conversely, adding a guy like Pagan to the bullpen makes a fairly formidable 1-2-3 in Drew Pomeranz, Pagan, and Kirby Yates.