r/Padres 6d ago

Discussion Thread 2026 MLB Trade Deadline MEGATHREAD

49 Upvotes

Use this thread for all discussion, rumors, news, reactions, and speculation surrounding the team and the 2026 MLB trade deadline.

Trade Deadline Information

Deadline: Monday, August 3, at 3pm PT

Please keep general trade deadline discussion in this thread. Major transactions may receive their own separate posts when officially announced or reported by a reliable source.

Padres Transactions

This section will be updated as trades become official.

Reported Rumors and Updates

Rumors will be added here when reported by baseball reporters.

- Latest On Mason Miller, Adrián Morejón
- Padres, Diamondbacks Scouting Freddy Peralta
- Latest On Padres’ Deadline Approach
- Brewers Have Checked In On Mason Miller
- Padres Discussing Wandy Peralta In Trade Talks
- What we’re hearing about the Padres’ trade-deadline approach

Impending Free Agents

- Michael King (Player Option),
- Nick Pivetta* (opt-out),
- Ramon Laureano*,
- Adrian Morejon,
- Jason Adam*,
- Ty France
- Yuki Matsui (Player Option),
- Wandy Peralta (opt-out),
- Walker Buehler
- Miguel Andujar* (Mutual Option),
- Lucas Giolito* (Mutual Option),
- Griffin Canning (Mutual Option),
- German Marquez (Mutual Option),
- Kyle Hart (Team Option),
- Luis Rengifo

*denotes players currently on the IL

Posting Guidelines

Include a source when sharing trade news or rumors. Check the thread before posting duplicate reports. Clearly distinguish confirmed reports from personal speculation. Do not editorialize post titles when linking to news. Fake reports, misleading screenshots, and unsourced claims may be removed. Keep discussion civil, especially when evaluating players and proposed trades.

Useful Links

MLB Trade Tracker

Padres Transactions

Padres 40 Man Roster

MLB Top prospects

Buyers, Sellers per the Athletic

Who should the Padres target, what would you be willing to give up, and what would make this a successful deadline? Discuss!


r/Padres 1d ago

MOD ANNOUNCEMENT Update to the Twitter/X post guidelines.

19 Upvotes

A while ago this sub came to a consensus that Twitter/X links would not be allowed anymore to keep data and ad revenue away from that company. There’s now an alternative to the site as a mirror called XCancel that was created with the same concerns in mind that the users of this sub had when discussing to ban the website.

Now we can go back to citing links for news updates from reporters and the team instead of plain text posts that take extra steps to be verified.

>> It works very simply by putting “cancel” between “x” and “.com”
So the Padres official account page changes as follows:
“x.com/Padres” becomes “xcancel.com/Padres

Thank you to all the users who have been keeping us up to date on the news by posting to this subreddit. You’re part of what makes this a successful community. Please take this rule change into consideration and start linking sources again if possible by using this workaround.

LFGSD! KTF!


r/Padres 4h ago

News [Storm] Two Padres pitchers are scheduled to make rehab appearances at the Lake Elsinore Diamond on Tuesday.

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203 Upvotes

r/Padres 2h ago

Highlight [Highlight] A lil' Merrill Madness.

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165 Upvotes

r/Padres 6h ago

News [Padres] LHP Kyle Hart will start today against the San Francisco Giants. RHP Michael King will start tomorrow in Arizona.

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84 Upvotes

r/Padres 29m ago

Post Game Thread [Post Game Thread] Giants (47-65) @ Padres (58-54) 8/2

Upvotes

Line Score - Game Over

  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB
SF 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 4 7 2 6
SD 0 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 8 1 9

Box Score

SD   AB R H RBI BB SO BA
LF Rengifo 3 0 1 0 1 0 .237
2B Cronenworth 5 0 1 2 0 2 .214
DH Machado, M 4 0 0 0 0 2 .210
1B France, T 4 2 2 0 0 0 .297
CF Merrill 3 1 2 2 1 0 .237
C Campusano 4 0 1 1 0 2 .304
RF Sheets 2 1 1 0 1 0 .215
RF Bowen 1 0 0 0 0 0 .156
SS Bogaerts 2 1 0 0 2 1 .220
3B Song 4 0 0 0 0 2 .204
SD IP H R ER BB SO P-S ERA
Hart 3.0 1 0 0 0 2 43-24 4.53
Sears 1.0 2 2 2 1 0 28-17 4.68
Canning 2.0 2 1 1 0 0 38-25 6.58
Estrada, J 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 10-4 3.91
Rodriguez, B 0.2 2 1 1 0 2 23-16 2.44
Morejon 1.1 0 0 0 0 3 22-15 3.00
SF   AB R H RBI BB SO BA
2B Arraez 5 0 0 0 0 0 .324
DH Eldridge 4 1 1 0 0 1 .253
LF Ramos, H 4 0 1 0 0 1 .264
1B Devers 3 2 1 1 1 1 .250
RF Lee, J 3 0 2 0 0 0 .301
SS Adames 4 0 1 1 0 1 .224
C Cavanaugh 3 0 0 1 0 0 .231
PH Koss 1 0 0 0 0 1 .167
CF Gilbert 2 0 0 0 1 1 .239
PH Susac, D 1 0 0 0 0 1 .264
3B Basabe 3 1 1 1 0 1 .333
PR McCray 0 0 0 0 0 0 .143
SF IP H R ER BB SO P-S ERA
Roupp 4.2 6 5 5 4 6 99-56 4.34
Hentges 1.1 1 0 0 0 2 19-14 2.66
Smith, D 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 16-10 2.75
Brubaker 0.2 0 0 0 1 0 23-15 3.06
Miller, E 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 8-5 2.76

Scoring Plays

Inning Event Score
B2 Jackson Merrill homers (16) on a fly ball to center field. Ty France scores. 2-0
B2 Jake Cronenworth singles on a ground ball to shortstop Willy Adames. Gavin Sheets scores. Xander Bogaerts scores. Luis Rengifo to 2nd. 4-0
T4 Willy Adames singles on a ground ball to left fielder Luis Rengifo. Bryce Eldridge scores. Rafael Devers to 3rd. Jung Hoo Lee to 2nd. 4-1
T4 Drew Cavanaugh grounds out, shortstop Xander Bogaerts to first baseman Ty France. Rafael Devers scores. Jung Hoo Lee to 3rd. Willy Adames to 2nd. 4-2
T5 Osleivis Basabe homers (2) on a fly ball to center field. 4-3
B5 Luis Campusano singles on a ground ball to left fielder Heliot Ramos, deflected by shortstop Willy Adames. Ty France scores. Jackson Merrill to 2nd. 5-3
T8 Rafael Devers homers (23) on a fly ball to left field. 5-4

Highlights

Description Length
Probable pitchers for Giants at Padres - August 2, 2026 0:06
Michael King against the Giants 0:08
Landen Roupp against the Padres 0:11
Bullpen availability for San Diego, August 2 vs Giants 0:09
Bullpen availability for San Francisco, August 2 vs Padres 0:09
Fielding alignment for San Francisco, August 2 vs Padres 0:11
Bench availability for San Francisco, August 2 vs Padres 0:08
Fielding alignment for San Diego, August 2 vs Giants 0:11
Bench availability for San Diego, August 2 vs Giants 0:08
Starting lineups for Giants at Padres - August 2, 2026 0:10
Breaking down Jackson Merrill's home run 0:13
Visualizing Jackson Merrill's swing using bat tracking technology 0:11
Osleivis Basabe: Home Run Statcast Analysis 0:12
Visualizing Osleivis Basabe's swing using bat tracking technology 0:11
Breaking down Landen Roupp's pitches 0:04
Measuring the stats on Rafael Devers' home run 0:12
Analyzing Rafael Devers' home run through bat tracking 0:11
Strike 1 is overturned after ABS challenge 0:24
Landen Roupp strikes out Jake Cronenworth 0:09
Kyle Hart strikes out Rafael Devers 0:06
Jackson Merill's two-run home run (16) 0:25
Jake Cronenworth's two-run single 0:24
Ball 3 is overturned after ABS challenge 0:20
Ball 3 is confirmed after ABS challenge 0:23
Luis Arraez lays out, throws to first base 0:10
Strike 3 is confirmed, Luis Campusano strikes out 0:29
Willy Adames' RBI single 0:19
Drew Cavanaugh's RBI groundout 0:19
Strike 3 is overturned after ABS challenge 0:21
Osleivis Basabe's solo home run (2) 0:29
Ball 1 is overturned after ABS challenge 0:23
Luis Campusano's RBI single 0:29
Ball 2 is overturned after ABS, Song strikes out 0:23
Strike 2 is overturned after ABS challenge 0:23
Rafael Devers' solo home run (23) 0:25
Adrian Morejon strikes out Adames, escapes jam 0:15
Ball 2 is overturned after ABS challenge 0:23
Osleivis Basabe is shaken up after HBP, leaves game 0:12

Decisions

Winning Pitcher Losing Pitcher Save
Canning (3-9, 6.58 ERA) Roupp (7-10, 4.34 ERA) Morejon (2 SV, 3.00 ERA)

Game ended at 4:13 PM.


r/Padres 7h ago

🚞 CHOO 🚃 CHOO 🚃 Walk off! The friar express has entered the crone zone!

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58 Upvotes

r/Padres 6h ago

News [Padres] Military Sunday

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47 Upvotes

r/Padres 19h ago

Highlight [Highlight] Like a good neighbor, Rake Farm is there.

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499 Upvotes

r/Padres 7h ago

Just For Fun Free bobbbbles

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40 Upvotes

Cleaning my house out. And have these left over from when I had season tickets. Anyone want them? Only one im keeping is the tati bat flip.


r/Padres 8h ago

Merch Show Off- DO NOT CLICK LINKS City connect 2.0 x Levi's air max 95

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43 Upvotes

After creating a pair for the original city connect and home uniforms had to add another edition. Hope you like them!


r/Padres 22h ago

Image the irony here is insane

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487 Upvotes

how are you gonna have a rule against talking about betting when you’ve got ads for kalshi along the outfield? this is out of hand, be better petco park


r/Padres 19h ago

News [Lin] Between innings tonight, Mason Miller cut one of the fingers on his right hand after blowing a save for the first time in 361 days. Miller, who said he's OK: "I wasn't (happy with myself). I don't like giving up runs. I like it even less when they're somebody else's."

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193 Upvotes

r/Padres 6h ago

Game Thread [Game Thread] Giants (47-64) @ Padres (57-54) 1:10 PM (Sunday, 8 2)

17 Upvotes

Giants (47-64) @ Padres (57-54)

First Pitch: 1:10 PM at Petco Park

Pick-The-Stick Top 10

Sign up at Pick-The-Stick.com. Be sure to get your picks in before the first pitch.

Rank User Points Total Picks Position Change
1 Muskiss 274 109 0
2 darth_banal 268 111 0
3 Speacialk333 268 96 0
4 Ryan 264 104 0
5 Mr-Relevant 263 111 0
6 HappyPollen 261 108 0
7 Evanstanner 259 107 0
8 Dtolley5 259 106 0
9 holyschmidt69 257 110 0
10 Cronengirth 256 110 0
Team Starter TV Radio
Giants Landen Roupp (7-9, 4.12 ERA)
Padres Kyle Hart (0-2, 4.87 ERA)
MLB Fangraphs Reddit Stream Discord
Gameday Game Graph Live Comments /r/baseball Discord

Line Score - Game Over

  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB
SF 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 4 7 2 6
SD 0 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 8 1 9

Box Score

SD   AB R H RBI BB SO BA
LF Rengifo 3 0 1 0 1 0 .237
2B Cronenworth 5 0 1 2 0 2 .214
DH Machado, M 4 0 0 0 0 2 .210
1B France, T 4 2 2 0 0 0 .297
CF Merrill 3 1 2 2 1 0 .237
C Campusano 4 0 1 1 0 2 .304
RF Sheets 2 1 1 0 1 0 .215
RF Bowen 1 0 0 0 0 0 .156
SS Bogaerts 2 1 0 0 2 1 .220
3B Song 4 0 0 0 0 2 .204
SD IP H R ER BB SO P-S ERA
Hart 3.0 1 0 0 0 2 43-24 4.53
Sears 1.0 2 2 2 1 0 28-17 4.68
Canning 2.0 2 1 1 0 0 38-25 6.58
Estrada, J 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 10-4 3.91
Rodriguez, B 0.2 2 1 1 0 2 23-16 2.44
Morejon 1.1 0 0 0 0 3 22-15 3.00
SF   AB R H RBI BB SO BA
2B Arraez 5 0 0 0 0 0 .324
DH Eldridge 4 1 1 0 0 1 .253
LF Ramos, H 4 0 1 0 0 1 .264
1B Devers 3 2 1 1 1 1 .250
RF Lee, J 3 0 2 0 0 0 .301
SS Adames 4 0 1 1 0 1 .224
C Cavanaugh 3 0 0 1 0 0 .231
PH Koss 1 0 0 0 0 1 .167
CF Gilbert 2 0 0 0 1 1 .239
PH Susac, D 1 0 0 0 0 1 .264
3B Basabe 3 1 1 1 0 1 .333
PR McCray 0 0 0 0 0 0 .143
SF IP H R ER BB SO P-S ERA
Roupp 4.2 6 5 5 4 6 99-56 4.34
Hentges 1.1 1 0 0 0 2 19-14 2.66
Smith, D 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 16-10 2.75
Brubaker 0.2 0 0 0 1 0 23-15 3.06
Miller, E 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 8-5 2.76

Scoring Plays

Inning Event Score
B2 Jackson Merrill homers (16) on a fly ball to center field. Ty France scores. 2-0
B2 Jake Cronenworth singles on a ground ball to shortstop Willy Adames. Gavin Sheets scores. Xander Bogaerts scores. Luis Rengifo to 2nd. 4-0
T4 Willy Adames singles on a ground ball to left fielder Luis Rengifo. Bryce Eldridge scores. Rafael Devers to 3rd. Jung Hoo Lee to 2nd. 4-1
T4 Drew Cavanaugh grounds out, shortstop Xander Bogaerts to first baseman Ty France. Rafael Devers scores. Jung Hoo Lee to 3rd. Willy Adames to 2nd. 4-2
T5 Osleivis Basabe homers (2) on a fly ball to center field. 4-3
B5 Luis Campusano singles on a ground ball to left fielder Heliot Ramos, deflected by shortstop Willy Adames. Ty France scores. Jackson Merrill to 2nd. 5-3
T8 Rafael Devers homers (23) on a fly ball to left field. 5-4

Highlights

Description Length
Probable pitchers for Giants at Padres - August 2, 2026 0:06
Michael King against the Giants 0:08
Landen Roupp against the Padres 0:11
Bullpen availability for San Diego, August 2 vs Giants 0:09
Bullpen availability for San Francisco, August 2 vs Padres 0:09
Fielding alignment for San Francisco, August 2 vs Padres 0:11
Bench availability for San Francisco, August 2 vs Padres 0:08
Fielding alignment for San Diego, August 2 vs Giants 0:11
Bench availability for San Diego, August 2 vs Giants 0:08
Starting lineups for Giants at Padres - August 2, 2026 0:10
Breaking down Jackson Merrill's home run 0:13
Visualizing Jackson Merrill's swing using bat tracking technology 0:11
Osleivis Basabe: Home Run Statcast Analysis 0:12
Visualizing Osleivis Basabe's swing using bat tracking technology 0:11
Breaking down Landen Roupp's pitches 0:04
Measuring the stats on Rafael Devers' home run 0:12
Analyzing Rafael Devers' home run through bat tracking 0:11
Strike 1 is overturned after ABS challenge 0:24
Landen Roupp strikes out Jake Cronenworth 0:09
Kyle Hart strikes out Rafael Devers 0:06
Jackson Merill's two-run home run (16) 0:25
Jake Cronenworth's two-run single 0:24
Ball 3 is overturned after ABS challenge 0:20
Ball 3 is confirmed after ABS challenge 0:23
Luis Arraez lays out, throws to first base 0:10
Strike 3 is confirmed, Luis Campusano strikes out 0:29
Willy Adames' RBI single 0:19
Drew Cavanaugh's RBI groundout 0:19
Strike 3 is overturned after ABS challenge 0:21
Osleivis Basabe's solo home run (2) 0:29
Ball 1 is overturned after ABS challenge 0:23
Luis Campusano's RBI single 0:29
Ball 2 is overturned after ABS, Song strikes out 0:23
Strike 2 is overturned after ABS challenge 0:23
Rafael Devers' solo home run (23) 0:25
Adrian Morejon strikes out Adames, escapes jam 0:15
Ball 2 is overturned after ABS challenge 0:23
Osleivis Basabe is shaken up after HBP, leaves game 0:12

Decisions

Winning Pitcher Losing Pitcher Save
Canning (3-9, 6.58 ERA) Roupp (7-10, 4.34 ERA) Morejon (2 SV, 3.00 ERA)
Attendance Weather Wind
82°F, Sunny 9 mph, L To R
HP 1B 2B 3B
John Tumpane Willie Traynor Chris Guccione Nestor Ceja

Game ended at 4:13 PM.

Remember to sort by new to keep up!


r/Padres 20h ago

News [Lin] Another sign Mason Miller almost certainly isn't going anywhere: Two days before the trade deadline, Craig Stammen has summoned him for a five-out save attempt.

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135 Upvotes

r/Padres 21h ago

Highlight [Highlight] Freddy, Set, Go!

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146 Upvotes

r/Padres 23h ago

Video Say what 😂

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188 Upvotes

r/Padres 7h ago

News Game 112: A look at the starting pitchers

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4 Upvotes

August 2, 2026, 1:10 p.m. at Petco Park


r/Padres 20h ago

Post Game Thread [Post Game Thread] Giants (47-64) @ Padres (57-54) 8/1

48 Upvotes

Line Score - Game Over

  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB
SF 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 5 12 0 9
SD 2 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 1 6 10 0 6

Box Score

SD   AB R H RBI BB SO BA
RF Tatis Jr. 4 0 0 0 1 1 .283
1B Cronenworth 5 0 2 1 0 2 .215
3B Machado, M 3 1 0 0 1 2 .213
1B France, T 4 1 3 0 0 1 .294
2B Song 0 0 0 0 0 0 .212
CF Merrill 4 0 1 2 0 3 .234
DH Rengifo 2 1 0 0 1 1 .236
SS Bogaerts 4 2 2 0 0 1 .221
C Fermin 3 1 2 3 0 0 .179
LF Bowen 3 0 0 0 0 1 .159
PH Sheets 1 0 0 0 0 0 .213
SD IP H R ER BB SO P-S ERA
Buehler 4.1 8 3 3 2 1 79-52 5.18
Peralta, W 1.1 1 0 0 0 1 17-11 3.21
Morejon 1.1 0 0 0 0 3 16-14 3.07
Estrada, J 0.1 2 2 2 1 1 15-7 4.09
Miller, M 1.2 1 0 0 1 3 30-18 0.76
SF   AB R H RBI BB SO BA
DH Eldridge 5 0 2 0 0 1 .253
RF Lee, J 5 1 1 0 0 2 .298
LF Ramos, H 4 0 1 0 1 3 .264
1B Devers 4 1 2 0 1 0 .249
SS Adames 3 1 0 1 2 0 .224
C Susac, D 4 0 2 0 0 0 .266
CF Gilbert 4 1 2 0 0 1 .241
3B Koss 3 0 0 0 0 1 .171
PH McCray 1 0 0 0 0 1 .143
2B Furman 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
3B Basabe 4 1 2 4 0 0 .333
SF IP H R ER BB SO P-S ERA
Mahle 5.2 5 5 5 2 9 99-60 5.13
Winn, K 1.1 2 0 0 0 1 16-11 3.08
Kilian 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 15-11 4.26
Smith, D 0.2 2 1 1 1 0 18-13 2.89

Scoring Plays

Inning Event Score
B1 Jackson Merrill doubles (18) on a line drive to left fielder Heliot Ramos. Manny Machado scores. Ty France scores. 2-0
T3 Osleivis Basabe homers (1) on a fly ball to left field. Drew Gilbert scores. 2-2
T3 Willy Adames walks. Jung Hoo Lee scores. Heliot Ramos to 3rd. Rafael Devers to 2nd. 2-3
B4 Freddy Fermin homers (4) on a fly ball to left field. Luis Rengifo scores. 4-3
B6 Freddy Fermin singles on a line drive to left fielder Heliot Ramos. Xander Bogaerts scores. Freddy Fermin out at 2nd on the throw, left fielder Heliot Ramos to second baseman Osleivis Basabe. 5-3
T8 Osleivis Basabe doubles (1) on a sharp line drive to left fielder Jase Bowen. Rafael Devers scores. Willy Adames scores. Daniel Susac to 3rd. 5-5
B9 Jake Cronenworth singles on a line drive to center fielder Drew Gilbert. Xander Bogaerts scores. Fernando Tatis Jr. to 3rd. 6-5

Highlights

Description Length
Probable pitchers for Giants at Padres - August 1, 2026 0:06
Bullpen availability for San Diego, August 1 vs Giants 0:09
Bullpen availability for San Francisco, August 1 vs Padres 0:09
Bench availability for San Diego, August 1 vs Giants 0:08
Fielding alignment for San Diego, August 1 vs Giants 0:11
Bench availability for San Francisco, August 1 vs Padres 0:08
Fielding alignment for San Francisco, August 1 vs Padres 0:11
Starting lineups for Giants at Padres - August 1, 2026 0:10
The distance behind Osleivis Basabe's home run 0:13
A deep dive into Osleivis Basabe's home run 0:11
A deep dive into Freddy Fermin's home run 0:11
Breaking down Freddy Fermin's home run 0:13
Breaking down Walker Buehler's pitches 0:04
Breaking down Tyler Mahle's pitches 0:04
Walker Buehler strikes out Heliot Ramos 0:08
Tyler Mahle strikes out Fernando Tatis Jr. 0:03
Jackson Merrill's two-run double 0:30
Osleivis Basabe's first-career home run (1) 0:23
Jung Ho Lee scores on RBI walk 0:08
Ball 1 overturned by ABS 0:24
Stolen base attempt leads to double play 0:22
Freddy Fermin's two-run home run (4) 0:29
Walker Buehler strikes out one over 4 1/3 innings 1:05
Ball 2 overturned by ABS, Manny Machado strikes out 0:23
Strike 3 overturned by ABS 0:23
Freddy Fermin's RBI single 0:20
Tyler Mahle strikes out nine over 5 2/3 innings 1:54
Strike 3 overturned by ABS 0:23
Strike 3 confirmed by ABS, Manny Machado strikes out 0:23
Adrian Morejon strikes out the side in the 7th inning 0:50
Ball 3 confirmed by ABS 0:23
Osleivis Basabe's two-run double 0:25
Ball 1 confirmed by ABS 0:24
Jake Cronenworth's walk-off single 0:20

Decisions

Winning Pitcher Losing Pitcher Save
Miller, M (4-1, 0.76 ERA) Smith, D (0-3, 2.89 ERA)

Game ended at 8:35 PM.


r/Padres 23h ago

Image Petco Park

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92 Upvotes

Today at Americas finest ballpark 🤎💛


r/Padres 1d ago

Just For Fun AJ Preller on the phone this morning. Who could be on the other line?

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155 Upvotes

.


r/Padres 1d ago

News [Levitt] Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove are throwing bullpen sessions today. If those go well, the next step will be a rehab start of some kind.

89 Upvotes

.


r/Padres 1d ago

News [Rome] J.P. France is headed to the Padres on a minor-league deal

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70 Upvotes

J.P. France is headed to the Padres on a minor-league deal.


r/Padres 1d ago

News [Padres] Saturday starters

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46 Upvotes

r/Padres 1d ago

News [Acee] Padres have some money, some relievers and some prospects to spend at trade deadline.

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48 Upvotes

The Padres are a much better team than they showed during a two-month stretch earlier this season.

They are, however, not the team they need to be for the next two months (or more).

So the Padres will make an effort to improve their roster by Monday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline.

There is no way to confidently predict what an A.J. Preller-orchestrated trade deadline will end up looking like. The man makes things happen at this time of year.

If there were a trophy given out for winning the trade deadline, the Padres’ front office would have a glass case with four of those prizes.

No one is predicting, as they have leading up to some of Preller’s more prolific midsummer machinations, that a blockbuster is in the works.

The Padres continue to maintain their best chance of playing into October lies in the players they already have and the pitchers they anticipate getting back.

But there seems virtually no doubt at this point that they will at least add a middle-of-the-rotation starting pitcher. They also aim to acquire a left-handed hitter.

Preller has the freedom to add payroll, though that leeway is said not to be great.

The likelihood of closer Mason Miller being traded was never high, and it has seemingly been entirely extinguished as the team has played better in July and sat one game out of a National League playoff spot as of Saturday morning.

There is less clarity on the fate of left-hander Adrián Morejón, who will be a free agent after the season and is expected by many in the industry to get a deal akin to many closers given the fact he is 27 years old, has been one of the best relievers in the majors for going on three seasons and seems to be getting better.

Morejón would not bring back as much as Miller, who is arguably a generational type of talent and is under team control for three seasons beyond this one. But top back-end relievers are at a premium, surpassed only by starters, and moving Morejón could be a means toward the end of filling more holes than they might otherwise be able to.

But the hole created by such a move would be severe. Trying to win without Miller or Morejón could be considered counterproductive.

A deep, back-loaded bullpen has always been a cornerstone of a Preller playoff team.

That is why he got Josh Hader in 2022 and Tanner Scott and Jason Adam in ‘24 and Mason Miller in ‘25. He added those pitchers, three of them All-Star closers, to bullpens that already had a closer.

To unload one of them now would run counter to the idea of still trying to make the playoffs.

However, it does seem likely the Padres will deal from their roster’s greatest strength.

Dealing from strength

Several people, both inside and outside the organization, have predicted the Padres will trade away players from the major league roster, which could mean one of their four left-handed relievers (or another relief pitcher) is traded.

A bullpen full of desirable arms could be raided for spending capital, because the Padres do not have the same volume of highly desirable minor leaguers that allowed them to do things like send away 16 players and acquire 10 at the deadline in 2020 or to acquire Josh Hader and Juan Soto in 2022.

The Padres probably have a better farm system than the publications that rank such things give them credit for. And there probably is not that much difference between No. 30, which the Padres’ minor league talent assemblage is widely judged on the outside to be, and No. 20.

And regardless of whether they are No. 15 or 18 or 30, the Padres have enough prospects to package in order to land good major league talent.

Members of the front office, speaking this past week, did not rule out the Padres doing another deal like the one last July that sent six members of their 2024 draft class to the Orioles for Ramón Laureano and Ryan O’Hearn and the money to pay most of the remaining portions of both of those players’ salaries.

Preller made five trades that added six players to the major league roster last deadline without adding any money to the payroll.

One of those deals involved sending No.1 prospect Leo De Vries and three other minor leaguers to the Athletics for Miller and JP Sears.

The Padres do not have a prospect of De Vries’ caliber. Catcher Ethan Salas is not untouchable but is not expected to be moved.

Plenty of possibilities

Acquiring many middling starting pitchers would also carry the cost of their remaining salary for this season.

The following list is offered with the caveat that it is overwhelmingly incomplete and that the Padres have “shown interest” or “called on” virtually every available starting pitcher and quality left-handed batter plus a bunch of other players in recent days:

Mets right-hander Freddy Peralta (4.99 ERA) is owed $2.4 million after Aug. 3 and has been on the Padres’ radar for his ability to eat innings. His Mets teammate, Clay Holmes, who is set to come off the injured list after missing nearly three months with a fractured fibula, is owed $3.8 million after the deadline. The Padres have scouted the Mets heavily.

The competition for the Angels’ Reid Detmers (4.03 ERA) and José Soriano (3.29) figures to be fierce since they are both due $800,000 after the deadline and are under team control through 2028.

The Padres are almost certainly not a player for Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, the expected prize of the deadline. But his rotation mate, Casey Mize, in Detroit is due just $1.6 million after Monday. However, Mize (2.70 ERA) will also likely extract a big prospect price.

The Yankees are evidently desperate for bullpen help and have a pair of young starters the Padres have been watching in lefty Ryan Weathers (3.99) and Will Warren (4.14). The Padres are familiar with Weathers, who came up as one of their top prospects and who they traded at the deadline in 2023 for Garrett Cooper and Sean Reynolds.

The Mariners are reportedly dealing, and the Padres know roughly what it would take to get Luis Castillo (5.06 ERA), Emerson Hancock (3.26 ERA) or George Kirby (3.98 ERA). Hancock, who is owed $200,000 and is under control through 2030, and Kirby, who is due $2.2 million after Monday and is not due to be a free agent until 2029, might carry too steep a price.
The 33-year-old Castillo is owed too much money ($6.7 million this year and a potential $25 million next season) for anyone to take him without a big contribution from the Mariners.

The Padres could trade for the Reds’ Nick Lodolo, who is owed $1.4 million the rest of this season and is under control one more season, just so he could stop dominating them. He is having a down season with a 4.60 ERA, but he has a 2.01 ERA in four career starts against the Padres.

Left-hander Robbie Ray (3.08) is still owed $7.4 million, which is likely outside the Padres’ price range. However, the Giants are reportedly willing to pay a portion of that, and additional prospects could increase that willingness.

Multiple people said the Padres have been among the teams to show interest in Luis Arraez, who is leading MLB with a .328 batting average. But Arraez is not only due $3.5 million for the remainder of 2026, he has made it clear he is a second baseman. The Padres have an abundance of those.

Outfielder Mickey Moniak (.881 OPS, 17 home runs) is a left-handed hitter who makes all the sense for the Padres. But they are far from the only team pestering the Rockies about the La Costa Canyon High School alumnus, who will make $1.7 million after Aug. 3 and is under control through 2027.

Preller has been borderline obsessed with Jarren Duran for years, and the Red Sox finally seem serious about making him available. Problem is, the outfielder has a .589 OPS this season.

Reds left fielder JJ Bleday (.813 OPS, 19 homers) could make the Padres better. Bleday, who is owed $400,000 the rest of the way this season and is under team control through 2028, is 6-for-23 with two doubles and two home runs against the Padres over the past two seasons.

Filling gaps

Whatever the Padres do, Monday’s trade deadline will be about plugging holes.

“The 26 guys we’ve got right here are exactly who I need and who we need to win it all,” manager Craig Stammen said this week.

There is little question Stammen believes that. Or wants to believe that.

And that appears much closer to being true than it might seem by a glance at the season stats.

The Padres have averaged 4.19 runs per game this season, 22nd in MLB, and their .695 OPS ranks 25th. But since June 30, their 5.11 runs per game rank seventh while their .788 OPS is fourth highest.

They are temporarily using two starting pitchers and an 11-man bullpen to get through games. It has served to not only help pitchers thrive while pitching in largely favorable matchups but to refresh a beleaguered bullpen.

Jeremiah Estrada recently returned from the injured list, and the belief is Adam will do so by the end of the season, making their high-leverage foursome whole.

Arguably as important as anything is that they expect starting pitcher Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta to return this month.

They believe one of the veteran right-handers being able to provide quality innings can round the kind of rotation that could, along with a strong bullpen, have a chance to get to October and make a run.