Padres get Daniel Hudson as Max Scherzer consolation prize from Nationals

The San Diego Padres have identified a different Nationals pitcher to make up for missing on Max Scherzer, closing in on Daniel Hudson instead.

The San Diego Padres came achingly close to trading for Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer. When the Los Angeles Dodgers grabbed him instead, they had to pivot.

It turns out their backup plan wasn’t very far away.

San Diego is now on the verge of bringing in Washington’s Daniel Hudson, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray.

Hudson isn’t on Scherzer’s level, but he’s still a reliable pitcher who is having an excellent season. He’s 4-1 with an ERA of 2.20.

The 34-year-old was one of several Nationals who landed on the COVID-19 list on Thursday, so he won’t be immediately available to the Padres. That might have been a complication toward getting a trade done. However, it doesn’t look like it’ll stop San Diego from finding the pitcher they needed.

The Padres’ trade for Daniel Hudson includes pitcher Mason Thompson

According to Dennis Lin of The Athletic, landing Hudson will cost the Padres their No. 9 prospect Mason Thompson, a pitcher currently in Triple-A.

Thompson is one of a handful of prospects the Nationals have managed to snag on Thursday. They traded Scherzer and Trea Turner to the Dodgers for four prospects, including LA’s top two. Then they sent Kyle Schwarber to the Boston Red Sox for their No. 19 prospect. Earlier in the day, they picked up Riley Adams from the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Washington rebuild is well and truly on.

On the opposite side of the coin, the Padres are trying to set themselves up for a postseason run. They came into trade deadline week sitting third in the NL West behind the Giants and Dodgers.

With the pressure on to get aggressive in the trade market, they added Pittsburgh Pirates’ second baseman Adam Frazier via trade earlier this week. Now, Hudson will fill the need Scherzer was supposed to as an upgrade for the rotation.