Freese eventually earned World Series MVP honors, arguably the highlight of his 11-year MLB career, which was spent with the Cardinals and three other teams.

Chase Headley (2nd round, 2005) — 26.8 bWAR

Headley spent parts of nine seasons with San Diego, including a 2012 campaign where he led the National League with 115 RBI and finished fifth in the NL Most Valuable Player voting. That was also the season when he would collect his only Gold Glove and Silver Slugger.

Primarily a third baseman, Headley was traded to the New York Yankees on July 22, 2014. There, he would make the postseason twice before being returned to the Padres in a trade with the Yankees. He would finish his career in San Diego with 60 plate appearances in 2018.

Max Fried (1st round, 2012) — 27.5 bWAR

The seventh overall pick in the 2012 MLB Draft, Fried was traded as part of a deal with the Atlanta Braves that landed Justin Upton with the Padres. 

Fried made his MLB debut on Aug. 8, 2017, with the Braves, finishing second in the NL Cy Young Award race in 2022, a season where he registered a 2.48 ERA over 185.1 innings.

Corey Kluber (4th round, 2007) — 34.0 bWAR

Another pitcher who found success with another franchise after being drafted by the Padres, Kluber was involved in a three-team trade on July 31, 2010, that landed him with the Cleveland Guardians.

With the Guardians, Kluber won two AL Cy Young Awards (2014 and 2017) and was a three-time All-Star. His .628 winning percentage (98-58) with Cleveland ranks as the second-best in franchise history.

Trea Turner (1st round, 2014) — 39.3 bWAR

Turner is one of the great “what ifs” in Padres history, as he was traded to the Washington Nationals as the “player to be named later” as part of a three-team deal in the offseason before the 2015 campaign.

The three-time All-Star and 2021 batting champion (a season he split between the Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers) finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year competition in 2016.