The San Diego Padres didn’t just work the market at the deadline - they waited until the very last second and still came away with a major arm.
According to MLB insider Jeff Passan, San Diego landed former No. 1 overall pick Casey Mize from the Detroit Tigers in a deal that was completed shortly after the 6 p.m. ET deadline. It was a fitting finish to an aggressive deadline push, with the Padres zeroing in on their starting rotation as the area they needed to fix most.
Mize has put together one of the strongest seasons of his career, logging a 2.70 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in 16 starts. That kind of production gives the Padres another starter they can trust near the top of the rotation, and it should go a long way toward stabilizing a staff that has been inconsistent for much of the year.
The move also comes on the heels of San Diego’s earlier addition of Robbie Ray, giving the Padres a pair of notable upgrades in a short span. Taken together, those moves have turned what had been a clear weakness into something that now looks far more dangerous as the playoff race heats up.
For Detroit, the deadline has taken a very different turn. The Tigers had already dealt two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal before moving Mize, a sequence that made their intentions clear: they’re reshaping the roster around younger talent and looking ahead.
The Padres, meanwhile, are locked in on the present. After adding both Ray and Mize, San Diego enters the final two months with a much different rotation picture and a stronger case in the National League playoff race. The price to get there was steep, but the message from the front office was even steeper: the Padres believe they have a real shot, and they acted like it.
In Other News...
Padres Deadline Rumors Hint At One Real Need And One Huge Swing
The Padres deadline search is already starting to look like a two-track operation, with A.J. Preller reportedly weighing both a rotation upgrade and a much bigger offensive swing. Joel Shermans reporting linked San Diego to Mets right-hander Kodai Senga, a name that makes sense if the club decides the pitching market is where it can do the most practical business, especially with New York in a sellers position.
There is also a far more ambitious idea in the mix, one that would take a lot more maneuvering to pull off. Sherman reported Preller has at least considered Rafael Devers as a target, but the combination of Devers contract and the awkwardness of dealing with a division rival makes that path look far less straightforward than the pitching pursuit, which is why the deadline could end up revealing whether the Padres want a fix or a headline. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Just Sent A Clear Message About Their Bullpen Plans
With the playoff chase tightening and injuries forcing the rotation to lean on the relief corps, the Padres are making it clear they are not looking to weaken the bullpen for help elsewhere. Adrian Morejon has become an important part of that group, and San Diegos decision to hold onto him says plenty about how it views its late-season formula.
The Yankees reportedly had interest in prying Morejon away in a deal for Will Warren, a controllable starter, but the Padres passed. For a club trying to stay in position for October, that kind of move would have tested whether immediate bullpen stability matters more than longer-term rotation depth, and San Diego has chosen the former for now. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Face A Trade Deadline Call On One Bullpen Arm
The Padres already had one of the busier buzz cycles around the bullpen market, and Adrian Morejon has become a name worth watching as the trade deadline approaches. San Diego and the Yankees reportedly explored a deal that would have brought right-hander Will Warren to the Padres, a reflection of how clubs are weighing pitching depth against bigger roster needs as the deadline clock keeps ticking.
Nothing has been finalized, and the two sides are still free to keep talking before the deadline. Even so, the fact that Morejon is at the center of the discussion adds a layer of intrigue for San Diego, where every bullpen decision feels tied to the bigger question of how aggressive the front office wants to be in reshaping the roster for the stretch run. [Read more 🡒]