The Padres are heading toward the trade deadline with a familiar kind of pressure: they need help, and they have the kind of front office that usually isn’t shy about getting it.
San Diego enters Friday night at 46-47, a record that leaves plenty of room for improvement before the August 3 deadline arrives in less than a month. With AJ Preller’s reputation for swinging big and new ownership in place, it would not be surprising if the Padres end up at the center of the market.
That possibility was reinforced earlier this week when ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel published their list of the top trade candidates for the deadline. San Diego showed up repeatedly as a potential landing spot for some of the biggest names available.
Byron Buxton was the first. The Minnesota Twins center fielder, ranked No. 2 on the trade candidate list, was connected to the Padres as a fit.
Both Buxton and the Twins have played down the idea of a deal, but neither side has shut the door on it completely. Buxton has 25 home runs, a 146 OPS+, strong defense, and elite sprint speed this season, all of which would fit a Padres club that has gotten very little from its stars in 2026.
A move like that would cost a lot, though San Diego has shown before it is willing to pay up for stars such as Juan Soto and Mason Miller.
Another Twin, right-hander Joe Ryan, was also tied to the Padres. Ryan has put together a 2.85 ERA while playing on a $6.2 million salary in 2026, making him one of the most valuable starters who could be moved this summer. Given San Diego’s injuries and thin rotation depth, Ryan would be the kind of addition that changes the look of the staff.
If the Padres decide to chase a left-hander instead, the Angels’ Reid Detmers was mentioned as a possibility, though Los Angeles appears reluctant to deal him. Detmers is in the middle of a career year, so it would take a meaningful return to get the Angels to listen.
San Diego also came up as a fit for a long list of other names: Jung Hoo Lee, Casey Mize, Sonny Gray, Wilson Contreras, Seiya Suzuki, Jose Soriano, Sandy Alcantara, Foster Griffin, Michael Wacha, Ryan Jeffers, Robbie Ray, Mickey Moniak, Taylor Ward, and Freddy Peralta.
The bigger picture is simple enough. The Padres have underperformed, but the roster still has enough talent to chase a postseason spot. If they do lean into an aggressive deadline push, there are plenty of places where they can try to upgrade.
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The Padres moved on from Pablo Reyes last week, releasing the utility player after he had put together a strong run at Triple-A El Paso. It did not take long for another club to pounce, with the Angels signing Reyes to a minor league contract and sending him to Triple-A Salt Lake, a quick reminder that even fringe roster decisions can carry real value for teams looking for depth.
San Diego, meanwhile, chose a different path and signed Luis Rengifo to a minor league deal instead. Rengifo has been swinging it well at Triple-A, and the Padres are clearly hoping that form translates if they need help in the near term, but the swap still leaves Reyes as the more curious departure for a club trying to manage every bit of roster flexibility it can find. [Read more 🡒]
Jackson Merrill Just Reopened A Painful Padres What-If
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For the Padres, the sting is amplified by where the lineup sits at the moment. The club has been battling through one of the weakest offensive profiles in baseball, and Woods rise only sharpens the contrast between what was moved and what was left behind. Merrills perspective matters here because he knows Wood well, and watching a former teammate thrive elsewhere has a way of keeping the old trade debate alive a little longer. [Read more 🡒]