There are very few people who think that John Lackey can be on the Red Sox' roster come Opening Day. So it's likely that once the general manager situation is squared away, we'll hear plenty of trade rumors surrounding the right-hander.
We've already heard a couple, and both of them involve the San Diego Padres.
The San Diego Tribune reported on Wednesday that the Pads have had internal discussions about the prospect of trading for Lackey.
It's not the first time the right-hander's name has been mentioned with San Diego. Tom Krasovic of the Inside the Padres blog speculated a couple of weeks ago that the Padres could be an option for Lackey. The report cited a Padres source who said the idea was "not far-fetched at all."
Of course, if the Sox were to unload Lackey, there's a good chance they'd have to eat a lot of the more than $45 million he's owed over the next three years. They would probably have to take on a bad contract from whichever hypothetical team they would send him to.
Moving to San Diego would probably serve Lackey a lot better than his time in Boston has. A move to Petco park would mean a move to one of baseball's most spacious parks, and it would also give Lackey a chance to reunite with Bud Black. The Padres manager served as Lackey's pitching coach in Anaheim.
