Padres acquire four prospects for Kimbrel

With one trade, the Padres gave their farm system a serious boost.

San Diego dealt arguably the game's premier closer -- Craig Kimbrel -- to the Red Sox on Friday, landing four of Boston's top 30 prospects -- outfielder Manuel Margot (No. 3), infielders Javier Guerra (No. 6) and Carlos Asuaje (No. 23) and left-handed pitcher Logan Allen (No. 25).

"We got four players that we've really been watching," Padres general manager A.J. Preller said on a conference call with members of the media. "We feel like we got guys that will be a part of a championship team in the future."

Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski also praised the prospects but noted the organization remains strong in the outfield and up the middle.

"You don't ever like to give up young talent," he told MLB.com. "We think they're very talented individuals. We do have some depth at those positions ."

Margot, 21, is ranked 25th among MLB.com's Top 100 Prospects. A speedy center fielder from the Dominican Republic, he slashed .276/.324/.419 with 27 doubles and 39 stolen bases across 46 games for Class A Advanced Salem and 64 for Double-A Portland this year.

"In Margot, you get a two-way player [offense and defensive], tons of contact, up the middle, premium defender," Preller said. "That's something we needed to add to the organization."

Speaking of Margot last month, Red Sox director of player development Ben Crockett said, "He's got the on-base skills. He continued to play above-average defense and ran like a force on the bases. It was definitely a positive season for a guy playing at two different levels at age 20."

The 20-year-old Guerra is ranked No. 76 overall by MLB.com. He signed with the Red Sox out of Venezuela in July 2012, and this year made great strides offensively toward matching his highly valued defensive skills. Playing in more than 60 games for the first time, Guerra batted .279 with 15 homers and 23 doubles in 116 games for Class A Greenville.

"He's a shortstop who can flat-out play the position," Preller said.

Asuaje, who turned 24 on Nov. 2, slashed .251/.334/.374 with eight homers and 61 RBIs in 131 games for Double-A Portland this season. A native of Venezuela who was drafted out of Nova Southeastern University in the 11th round in 2013, he has 24 homers, 20 triples and 73 doubles in 312 professional at-bats, and his arm and fielding both earned a 45 on the 20-80 scouting scale.

Allen, 18, was an eighth-round pick in this year's Draft out of IMG Academy in Florida and compiled a 1.11 ERA in eight starts in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League and with Class A Short Season Lowell. He works comfortably in the low 90s with his fastball and has a four-pitch mix that includes an advanced slider, a changeup and a curveball.

The 27-year-old Kimbrel has recorded 225 saves -- seventh among active pitchers -- over six seasons in the Majors, led the National League in that category from 2011-14 and was named 2011 N.L. Rookie of the Year. He's 19-2 with a 1.64 ERA and 563 strikeouts against 130 walks with the Braves and Padres.