The San Diego Padres are staring at a trade deadline that could go in a few different directions, but one target keeps standing out: Joe Ryan.
With the deadline closing in, San Diego still needs help in multiple spots. The lineup could use more offense, and the rotation needs a boost too.
That leaves president of baseball operations A.J. Preller with a lot to sort through, especially with a farm system that doesn’t give him endless trade chips to work with.
That’s why the Padres’ next move feels so important. They’ve already been tied to several All-Stars this season, but it’s still unclear whether they’ll push in as buyers or step back and think about next year instead. Preller could decide to go for it, or he could choose to punt the season and turn the page.
At least one MLB writer thinks San Diego will lean into the market. Mike Axisa of CBS Sports named the Padres the best fit for Ryan, the ace right-hander from the Minnesota Twins, ahead of the deadline. Ryan has already been mentioned as a possible trade candidate this summer, and the Padres have been connected to him before.
He would make sense for a club looking to firm up the top end of its rotation. Ryan has followed up his breakout 2025 season with another strong year, earning his second All-Star selection. Through 20 starts, he owns a 2.85 ERA across 110.1 innings and has piled up 128 strikeouts.
The numbers behind the performance are just as eye-catching. Ryan sits in the 98th percentile in Pitching Run Value, the 82nd percentile in expected ERA and the 90th percentile for walk percentage. He also works with a six-pitch mix that includes a dynamic split-finger and knuckle curve.
That kind of profile is exactly why he would draw interest from plenty of front offices. At 30, Ryan is already established as one of the better pitchers in the league, and he wouldn’t just be a short-term fix. He is under team control through the 2027 season, which gives any acquiring team more than a rental.
For the Padres, that matters. If Michael King and Nick Pivetta both reach free agency this offseason, Ryan would give San Diego a front-line arm in place for next year. He could also become the centerpiece of the rotation for the stretch run of 2026.
There’s another layer here too: if the Padres were to stumble again next season, Preller could always move Ryan later and try to restock the system. That kind of flexibility only adds to the appeal.
For now, though, the simplest case is the strongest one. If San Diego decides to buy, Ryan looks like one of the best pitchers it can chase. With the Padres still chasing a World Series goal, he fits the bill as the kind of arm that could change the look of the staff.
In Other News...
Padres Lose Another Trusted Arm At The Worst Possible Time
The Padres had to shuffle their pitching staff again, this time losing one of their more reliable left-handed options and turning to Triple-A for help. Wandy Peralta was placed on the bereavement list, and Jhony Brito was recalled from El Paso as the club tries to keep the staff intact through a stretch where every arm matters.
It is another reminder of how thin the margin has become for San Diego on the mound. With Joe Musgrove, Nick Pivetta and Lucas Giolito still unavailable, the rotation has left extra pressure on the bullpen, and Peraltas absence only adds to the strain while Brito gets another chance to prove he can help in the majors after recent strong work in the minors. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Fans Wont Like This New Deadline Buzz Around Their Bullpen
The trade deadline always brings out the rumor mill, and this one has a familiar Padres wrinkle: Mason Miller is back in the conversation. The right-handed closer has the kind of power arsenal that makes rival clubs dream on bullpen upgrades, and his longer-term team control only adds to the appeal if San Diego decides to listen.
For Padres fans, the uneasy part is that the front office has not fully locked itself into one lane yet, with AJ Preller leaving open the possibility of both buying and selling. That kind of flexibility can be useful in late July, but it also means almost any hot name attached to the roster can become part of the chatter, even when the team is still weighing what kind of deadline it wants to have. [Read more 🡒]