The Padres’ biggest problem at the deadline might not be the one fans expected.
San Diego’s offense has been flat all season, and the numbers tell the story. The club owns a .663 team OPS, worst in the Majors, and Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado have not put together superstar-level seasons. Between them, they’ve hit only 18 home runs, with Machado responsible for 15 of those.
Even so, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand pointed to starting pitching help as the Padres’ top trade deadline need.
“Yet another team in the market for pitching depth, the Padres rank 12th in the NL with a 4.51 rotation ERA, using 12 starters this season thanks to a number of injury issues,” Feinsand wrote. “Can Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta come back at full strength to save the day?
Is president of baseball operations A.J. Preller willing to take that gamble?”
That rotation hasn’t exactly been a strength, but it has kept San Diego in the race. The Padres are sitting just one game behind the third and final NL Wild Card spot.
Feinsand also noted that a more realistic pitching target could be a veteran arm like Michael Wacha or Seth Lugo, rather than a blockbuster swing for Tarik Skubal.
“Adding a starter such as Michael Wacha or Seth Lugo could make sense, considering the Padres are unlikely to make the big splash for a top arm like Tarik Skubal,” Feinsand added. “At least we think that’s the case; with Preller this time of year, you just never know.”
Skubal would be the dream addition for just about any contender, but the cost would be enormous.
For San Diego, the path forward looks pretty clear: the rotation needs help, but if the bats - especially Tatis and Machado - don’t wake up, the Padres won’t go very far in October.
In Other News...
Padres Humiliation Just Changed Everything About Their Trade Deadline
After a week like this, the trade deadline looks a lot different for San Diego. The Padres have dropped five straight and are still hovering just above .500, but the bigger concern is how thin the pitching staff has become, with the rotation routinely failing to get deep enough to cover the bullpen. When games start turning into survival exercises, the front office has to weigh whether this is really a roster that should be pushed forward with aggressive additions.
Rodolfo Durn even had to pitch again in the latest unraveling, a reminder of how quickly things have gone sideways. That kind of chaos tends to sharpen the deadline conversation rather than soften it, and for the Padres it may point toward a cautious approach instead of a splashy one. If they do anything significant, it may be more about moving a few usable pieces and short-term veterans than chasing a big upgrade that assumes this group is closer to contention than it has looked lately. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Lose Trusted Bullpen Arm Right Before Huge Dodgers Series
The Padres bullpen took a hit at a bad time, with Jason Adam moved to the injured list as the club gets ready for a four-game set against the Dodgers. Adam has been one of the more trusted late-inning arms in San Diegos relief mix, so losing him just before a division-heavy stretch changes the look of a unit that has already been leaned on heavily.
In the corresponding move, Germn Marquez was activated from the injured list, giving the Padres another arm to work with as they head into one of their biggest series of the season. Even so, the late-inning picture is thinner without Adam, leaving Mason Miller, Bradgley Rodriguez and Ron Marinaccio among the right-handed options manager Mike Shildt can turn to in a matchup that rarely offers much margin for error. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Fans Can Feel Another Classic Preller Deadline Gamble Brewing
The Padres are once again in the middle of deadline chatter, and it already feels familiar for a front office that rarely treats July like a time for caution. San Diego is looking for upgrades, and the kind of arm that would fit the clubs win-now push is the sort of addition A.J. Preller has never been shy about chasing, especially when the market starts to tighten and other contenders begin circling the same names.
Bostons Sonny Gray is one of the pitchers drawing attention, and the fit makes sense on paper for a Padres team trying to keep pace in a crowded National League race. The complication is the same one that tends to slow these talks down: Grays contract and salary make any deal harder to navigate, and with other NL clubs also interested, this may turn into another deadline where Preller has to decide how far he wants to go to land the kind of arm that can change the conversation. [Read more 🡒]