Dodgers fans will despise Padres insider's bold prediction for trade deadline

The Dodgers might have been doomed in the Corbin Burnes chase the second the Brewers ace decided to go scorched earth and align himself with Scott Boras, but that doesn't mean LA fans deserve to have it rubbed in!

Considering Los Angeles loves mega-stars and Boras represents a significant number of them, it's certainly ... odd how rarely the two parties interact. But, as Ken Rosenthal so helpfully pointed out earlier in the offseason, these fractures run deep; the last Boras client to earn a high-dollar, multi-year deal with the Dodgers was Hyun-Jin Ryu in 2012.

The Dodgers bid for Gerrit Cole, and came up small. They didn't make much contact with Corey Seager. All Cody Bellinger sought was another one-year pact for 2023, but the Dodgers severed ties.

This could be an issue, to say the least, when Julio Urías -- a Boras client -- wants to talk about a deal this offseason. He will not be shortchanged. Do the Dodgers have it in them to negotiate with their enemy? Who's responsible for the lack of traction here?

Needless to say, an aggrieved Burnes hiring Boras after a Brewers arbitration hearing went wrong was just about a worst-case scenario for a Dodgers team that now has to decide whether a trade deadline pursuit is worth it if they probably won't be dancing to the same tune on a long-term deal.

According to Padres insider Dennis Lin of The Athletic, San Diego would be more than happy to pounce, in that scenario.

Dodgers Rumors: Corbin Burnes spurns LA for Padres at trade deadline

As Lin sees it, the league's main criticism of the Padres is their lack of a perceived "ace," an issue exacerbated thanks to Joe Musgrove dropping a barbell on his toe. Has AJ Preller ever seen a problem area without trying to improve it? Has Peter Seidler ever said no to a long-term commitment? Exactly. The Padres are dangerous here, and the Dodgers-Boras feud only furthers that notion.

Very rarely does an MLB team win the offseason, midseason and postseason, but the San Diego Padres are certainly threatening to do so in 2023.

If they're able to add Burnes, the Dodgers might find themselves blaming whoever got the right-hander agitated enough in the Brewers' boardroom to point him in Boras' direction.