Many general managers around MLB believe there is an obvious way the San Diego Padres should approach the August 1 trade deadline, however, it seems the organization is expected to do the exact opposite in the next few weeks.
With the MLB season at the midway point, there have been several major storylines. Such as the outstanding play of the Tampa Bay Rays and Atlanta Braves, or the surprisingly impressive first half of teams like the Baltimore Orioles, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Cincinnati Reds. However, there are also unexpected teams on the other side of the MLB standings spectrum.
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The New York Mets have garnered a lot of attention for their extremely disappointing play in the first half despite the most expensive roster in baseball history. Yet, the San Diego Padres have been just as big of a letdown with a bloated payroll that features close to $300 million in contracts to a handful of players.
With the Padres entering the second half with a 43-47 record, there is a belief around the league that they should seriously consider selling off some of their more valuable assets and try to retool their roster and farm system in advance of next season. It is something USA Today MLB insider Bob Nightengale wrote about in particular recently.
Rivals believe San Diego Padres could be ‘buyers’ before MLB trade deadline
In a new column, Nightengale reported that “Rival GMs believe the Padres should unload starter Blake Snell and All-Star closer Josh Hader among others at the deadline, while also listening to offers for Juan Soto.” That is a sensible approach since San Diego would need to have a serious turnaround to actually get back into Wild Card contention.
However, it seems the San Diego Padres have no intention of waving the white flag for their 2023 campaign. While GMs around the league think the team should be sellers before the MLB trade deadline — especially since they want some of their players — Nightengale revealed that the word around the league is the “Padres instead plan to be aggressive at the trade deadline and possibly even be buyers.”
While it may not be the right move, it is not completely surprising that Padres GM AJ Preller doesn’t want to give up on the season after investing so much money and minor-league talent in this current roster. It will be interesting to see how they proceed over the next few weeks.