Rays trade Emilio Pagan to Padres for Manuel Margot, prospect Logan Driscoll

Saturday night, the Rays traded reliever Emilio Pagan to the Padres for outfielder Manuel Margot and catcher prospect Logan Driscoll, according to The Athletic’s Josh Tolentino.

The 25-year-old Margot was once ranked the No. 24 prospect in baseball by Baseball America. In four years with the Padres, he’s a career .248 hitter with a .301 on-base percentage and .394 slugging percentage. He’s known as a quality defender in center field and stole a career-high 20 bases in 24 attempts in 2019.

He’ll earn $2.475 million in 2020, his first season of arbitration eligibility.

In his only season with the Rays, Pagan was one of the team’s most reliable relievers. The 28-year-old righty saved 20 games with a 2.31 ERA in 70 innings, striking out 36% of opposing batters and walking just 4.9%.

Driscoll, 22, was the No. 73 pick in the 2019 draft. In its predraft scouting report, Baseball America noted the left-handed hitting catcher was known for his solid defense (BA $). He also spent a number of games in right field, showing the versatility that the Rays value. In the Northwest League — equivalent to the New York-Penn League — he batted .268/.340/.458, all significantly higher than the league averages.