The San Diego Padres are once again a team to watch as the trade deadline approaches, and this year the possibilities run in both directions. With A.J. Preller running the show, nearly nothing feels off the table - not even the idea of moving Mason Miller just one year after the club spent a fortune to get him.
At the same time, the Padres could still decide they’re buyers. They sit 4.0 games out of the NL Wild Card, and that gap is small enough to close before the deadline if things break right over the next few days.
If San Diego does push in, The Athletic’s Jim Bowden pointed to an intriguing name as the club’s “perfect” target: Cincinnati Reds All-Star pitcher Hunter Greene.
"However, if the Padres decide to buy, then I think their best target will be Greene," Bowden writes. "They need a long-term ace to lead their pitching staff, and he can be just that."
It would be a bold swing, even by Padres standards. Greene is only 26, and he just came back from the injured list. His numbers this season are rough - a 6.06 ERA - but there’s plenty in his track record to make him appealing.
Last season, Greene put up a 2.76 ERA in 19 starts for the Reds. The year before that, he logged a 2.75 ERA, made the All-Star team and finished eighth in NL Cy Young voting.
The contract is a big part of the appeal, too. Greene is signed through 2028 on a six-year, $53 million deal, and the contract also includes a team option for 2029. That kind of control is exactly what makes him so valuable - and so expensive.
Cincinnati is open to selling, but the Reds are expected to try to contend again in 2027, which makes Greene a difficult piece to pry loose. He’s likely part of that long-term plan, meaning the Padres would have to overwhelm the Reds to get a deal done.
Still, if there’s one executive who could chase a move like that, it’s Preller.
And if San Diego ends up deciding it’s not close enough to buy, the deadline picture changes fast. For now, though, Bowden’s view is clear: if the Padres go for it, Greene is the kind of young, controllable arm that fits the bill.
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