Sitting 6.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers entering MLB games today, the San Diego Padres may not be able to stake claim to the NL West lead, but they’re still one of the best teams in the National League. Yet, at 37-35, Mike Shildt’s team has plenty of room for improvement.
Just under halfway through the season, the Padres have a lot of time to further their status as a playoff contender after missing the postseason a year ago. That could include making a splash ahead of MLB’s July 30 trade deadline.
Recently, The Athletic’s Jim Bowden outlined a trio of positional trade targets he expects the Padres to focus on this summer, and he even named several targets for each position. Let’s break them down.
Bowden suggests the Padres will be shopping for an “impact” starting pitcher, right-handed relief pitcher, and upgrades to their bench depth.
As for the impact starter, Bowden suggests the Padres could target Jesus Luzardo, Garrett Crochet, Erick Fedde, or Jack Flaherty. He points out that San Diego has already discussed a trade for each starter, but for whatever reason has yet to pull the trigger on a deal.
Bowden then highlights a long list of relievers for the Padres to monitor ahead of the deadline — Lucas Erceg, Adam Ottavino, Hunter Strickland, Carlos Estévez, Kyle Finnegan, Michael Kopech, Steven Wilson.
But if the Padres want to add more depth, Bowden suggests targeting one of Brendan Donovan, Tommy Edman, or Abraham Toro.
As Bowden noted, the Padres have developed a reputation as a team that likes to make bold moves ahead of the trade deadline, and this year will likely be a similar story. The only question is which player San Diego prioritizes after adding Luis Arraez earlier in the season.
Related: MLB power rankings: Where do San Diego Padres rank?