For a while leading up to Tuesday’s MLB trade deadline, the San Diego Padres were seemingly sellers. Pitchers Blake Snell and Josh Hader were reportedly on the block. To a lesser extent, the Padres were listening on all-world outfielder Juan Soto.
Things changed during this past weekend with San Diego sweeping a good Texas Rangers team in a three-game series. With the team very much back in the playoff race, the idea of selling has gone out the window.
Per ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Padres are now looking to buy with less than 24 hours to go before the MLB trade deadline. Olney notes that San Diego is in the market for outfield and designated hitter help and some relief pitching.
Related: MLB trade tracker with grades
San Diego Padres record: 52-54, eight games out in NL West
Despite having no real shot to compete with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the division, San Diego finds itself just five games out of the final wild card spot in the National League. The hard-luck team ranks third in the league in run differential at plus-63.
This is a clear indication that general manager A.J. Preller believes that San Diego can contend for a postseason spot a year after earning a trip to the National League Championship Series.
While news that San Diego is looking to buy can be considered pretty big, the backdrop here is this team’s unwillingness to move big-name players ahead of the deadline. It’s somewhat of a risk with the aforementioned Snell and Hader set to become free agents in the winter.
As for potential target areas, relief pitching makes sense. While Hader (0.90 ERA, 0.98 WHIP), Nick Martinez (3.98 ERA, 1.27 WHIP) and Steven Wilson (2.45 ERA, 1.05 WHIP) have performed well, there’s a need. Tim Hill (4.04 ERA, 1.42 WHIP) and Luis Garcia (5.40 ERA, 1.45 WHIP) have struggled big time.
As for the outfield and DH spots, there’s also a need for the San Diego Padres. Matt Carpenter (.166 average, .598 OPS) and Trent Grisham (.207 average, .699 OPS) have not been good this season.
