Garrett Cooper Trade to Padres: Marlins send $4,200,000 slugger and Sean Reynolds to San Diego for Ryan Weathers

The Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres made a last-minute trade on Tuesday, with Garrett Cooper and Sean Reynolds making their way to the Friars for Ryan Weathers. The move was completed around the same time as the Marlins landing Josh Bell from the Cleveland Guardians, which could be the reason why the club felt Cooper was expendable.

"The Padres make a late splash, reportedly acquiring former All-Star 1B Garrett Cooper from the Marlins in exchange for LHP Ryan Weathers. Marlins No. 21 prospect RHP Sean Reynolds is also heading to San Diego with Cooper in the deal." - @MLBNetwork

While difficult, trading away Garrett Cooper makes sense for the Miami Marlins, given the fact that they landed both Josh Bell and Jake Burger prior to the deadline.

San Diego have decided to cut ties with their former first-round pick Ryan Weathers, who has struggled mightily at the MLB level.

Earlier on Tuesday, the San Diego Padres made a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates, which saw the club land both Ji-Man Choi and Rich Hill in exchange for prospects. Now, Choi and Cooper will seemingly compete for playing time with the Padres, who are looking to punch their ticket to the postseason.

"Sean Reynolds is FILTHY. #Padres take a look at the other player acquired for Ryan Weathers." - @Famedfriar

Aside from Cooper, the San Diego Padres landed the 21st-ranked Miami Marlins prospect Sean Reynolds. The 6-foot-8 Reynolds is an intriguing prospect as he has experience as both a batter and a pitcher. He is worth a flier for the Friars, especially considering they secured Garrett Cooper, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year.

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A look at Ryan Weathers, the pitcher the Marlins landed for Garrett Cooper and Sean Reynolds

For the Miami Marlins, Ryan Weathers presents the club with a former first-round draft pick who could benefit from a change of scenery. After being selected with the 7th-overall pick in 2018, Weathers has struggled to live up to the draft capital spent on him.

"The Ryan Weathers experiment has moved to Miami. The Padres have sent the 23-year-old lefty to the Marlins. @craigmish reports Padres get 1B/DH Garrett Cooper and Triple-A reliever Sean Reynolds." - @sdutKevinAcee

Now, he will be given an opportunity to reinvent himself with the Marlins, who have a strong track record of pitcher development. There is a chance that Weathers is simply unable to perform in the majors, but joining a club that helped develop Sandy Alcantara, Jose Fernandez, and Pablo Lopez may be the best-case scenario.