Padres Offseason Trade Targets: Spencer Torkelson Is An Intriguing, Yet Imperfect, Replacement If Ty France Walks

As the offseason officially gets underway for the San Diego Padres, they're left confronting a familiar question: who will play first base? The team's preference is obviously to re-sign Ty France. He had an exceptional season on both sides of the ball, and the player & organization very clearly have a positive relationship. Barring some sort of massive fallout in that relationship wrought by negotiations for a new contract, France returning to the Padres seems like as sure a bet as almost any transaction across the big-league landscape this offseason.

Should the unthinkable happen, though, it's possible there's a pivot in store on the trade market in the form of a former No. 1 overall pick. 

Spencer Torkelson could be on the outs with the Detroit Tigers. Despite the former top-prospect pedigree he carries, his inability to remain consistent and the possibility of highly touted prospect Josue Briceño eating into his playing time in the near future could make him a change-of-scenery candidate this winter. Is there a fit in San Diego? 

On paper, sure. The Padres need a first baseman and some additional power. Torkelson mans the cold corner and has touched the 30-homer threshold twice and hit 26 in 2026. He's been an above-average hitter by wRC+ in three of the last four seasons and carries two more years of team control. One doesn't have to squint to see the appeal. 

At the same time, there are a couple of things that could give A.J. Preller pause in pursuing such a deal. 

For one, Torkelson's lack of consistency is part of the reason Detroit might be willing to part with his upside in the first place. He had multiple months of an on-base percentage under .300 this year, and his strikeout rate hit at least 33 percent in four of them. He also had individual months where his ISO, which sat at .205 for the year, dipped to .168 (May) and .060 (August). Any player is liable to experience stretches of poor performance, but this has been a regular feature for Torkelson throughout his career. And no matter how hot he gets at the plate, the strikeouts are always present.

Defense represents another area of concern. Torkelson turned in an Outs Above Average figure of -12 in 2026 and is at -22 for his career. He's only ever been average in just one year. Coming off a season where France's defensive impact was notable as a Gold Glove finalist, that would be a severe drop-off for San Diego. 

When you factor in the idea that the Tigers don't have to trade Torkelson, one can imagine the prospect cost could be more exorbitant than the Padres are able to afford given their ever-barren farm system. 

So, while the idea of bringing the former first overall pick to San Diego has its merits, his shortcomings and the associated cost in a trade would probably lead the Padres to seek solutions elsewhere. Replacing France continues to seem much more difficult than simply retaining him.

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