The Padres have a deadline problem that comes with a familiar Preller flavor: they need help in more than one spot, and they need it soon.
San Diego is looking for offense and starting pitching before the Aug. 3 trade deadline, which leaves president of baseball operations A.J. Preller with a lot to sort through. The club could get a few injured players back in the next few weeks, but there’s still a real chance Preller wants extra cover anyway.
One possible answer has already been floating around this summer: Freddy Peralta of the New York Mets. San Diego showed real interest in him during the offseason before he was eventually dealt to New York, and now former MLB general manager Jim Bowden of The Athletic has put together a specific framework for a deal.
Bowden’s proposal sends Padres No. 4 prospect Kash Mayfield to the Mets for the two-time All-Star.
"The Padres’ pitching room is excellent, and perhaps they’ll find the special sauce to fix what has ailed Peralta this season. Of course, the deal would have to include a physical and MRI to make sure that an injury isn’t the cause of his poor season," Bowden wrote.
"If the Padres decide they want to go for it, this is the type of deal they’ll need to make, in hopes they can turn Peralta back into the pitcher he was a year ago."
Peralta’s first season in New York has not gone the way anyone expected. He has made 21 starts and owns a 5.01 ERA across 109.2 innings. Even so, he still fits the profile of a pitcher teams can talk themselves into at the deadline: a veteran with bounce-back appeal and a track record that suggests better days could still be ahead.
He is also almost certain to be moved before free agency arrives at the end of the season. That matters for San Diego, because the price should be lower than it would be for a pitcher with more team control.
If Peralta rebounds, the Padres could be getting the All-Star version they wanted. If not, they’d still be adding innings, and that alone has value with the bullpen taking on so much this year.
For a club trying to stay in the race without gutting the system, that kind of trade makes sense. Peralta could help the playoff push while keeping the Padres from emptying the farm.
Mayfield is the kind of prospect who would make that conversation real. The Padres took him in the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft, and he’s now at High-A after a strong first pro season at Single-A, where he posted a 2.97 ERA. This year, he has a 3.20 ERA in 14 starts, with 59 strikeouts over 50.2 innings.
There’s also been some concern about his velocity. In the California League, his fastball dipped to 90-92 mph, one of the main questions hanging over the left-hander.
Still, he’s only 21, and his development is far from finished. As he’s piled up more innings, his command has improved, which is another sign the Padres like about his trajectory.
If San Diego decides to make a real push, Bowden’s idea gives them a clear path: use a premium prospect to chase a pitcher who could help right now, without paying the full freight that usually comes with a deadline arm of this caliber.
In Other News...
Mets Already Have One Costly Problem Getting Harder To Escape
Bo Bichettes first season in Queens has not gone the way the Mets hoped when they brought him in on a three-year deal, and the early returns have only made the next few winters more complicated. His contract includes player opt-outs after the 2026 and 2027 seasons, a structure that gives him flexibility but also leaves the Mets with a tricky piece to manage if they ever decide the fit is no longer right.
The on-field performance has only added to the concern. Bichette is hitting .253 with a .670 OPS, numbers that sit well below his usual standard and make any future move harder to envision. For a team that already knows how difficult it can be to navigate expensive roster decisions, this is the kind of problem that tends to linger until someone finds a reason to take it off the board. [Read more 🡒]
Freddy Peralta Just Reopened A Frustrating Mets Debate About Stearns
Freddy Peraltas rough night in Milwaukee did more than dent his own numbers. It also nudged an old Mets conversation back into view, the one about how aggressively David Stearns should chase starting pitching and how much faith the club should place in arms that come with real upside but real risk. Peralta has not looked like the kind of front-line stopper teams dream on, and his season has only added fuel to the idea that the gap between a good starter and a true ace is a lot wider than it looks on paper.
For the Mets, that is the uncomfortable part. Stearns has been open to making moves, but the organization has still drawn a line when it comes to pricey long-term commitments for pitchers, even when the market keeps pushing clubs toward them. Peraltas latest outing did not settle the debate, but it did sharpen it again, because the question is not whether the Mets need more pitching help. It is whether the kind they have been reluctant to buy is exactly the kind they keep ending up needing. [Read more 🡒]