Snell, Hader show their value before Deadline

SAN DIEGO -- Well, then. Maybe the Padres are buyers after all.

If they entered their weekend series against Texas still looking for a direction, still looking for a sign that it might be worth adding to a roster that spent the first four months of the season underwhelming -- maybe this was it.

The Padres swept the first-place Rangers, capping it with a tense 5-3 victory on Sunday afternoon at Petco Park. They still find themselves two games below .500 and on the fringes of the National League Wild Card race. But if this was their last chance to make a statement to their front office that it’s worth buying -- or, at the very least, not selling -- before Tuesday’s Trade Deadline, they made quite a statement.

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“I’m very happy we got a sweep,” said left-hander Blake Snell, who would instantly become the prize of the trade market if the Padres were to decide to sell. “Hopefully, that helps our chances more to be buyers. I believe it does. I’m just not going to think about it at all. Whatever happens happens. But I can focus on my pitching and really just lock into that.”

And is Snell ever locked in. His 2.50 ERA leads the Majors. No, he wasn’t particularly efficient on Sunday afternoon, walking four. But he allowed only one unearned run across five innings and has posted a 0.65 ERA over the past two months.

Two Gary Sánchez home runs gave San Diego an early lead, before the Rangers mounted a late charge, making closer Josh Hader work. He loaded the bases in the ninth, before getting Josh Jung to fly out to end the game.

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Hader, of course, might be the trade market’s next-best chip after Snell -- if he’s even a trade chip at all, that is. It’s been a year since Hader was sent to the Padres in the first of multiple Deadline blockbusters last summer. He’d rather not be moved again.

“We have a really good team, and we’re playing good baseball,” Hader said. “We’ll see what they decide to do in the next couple days. Like I’ve said, I love it here, I love this team, and I’d love to stay.”

That decision, of course, is largely out of Hader’s hands (although Sunday’s pressure-packed save may have helped tilt things in his favor.) Still, the preference of the Padres’ front office remains a mystery. Sources have indicated recently that the team would be open to all paths, listening on all offers -- buying, selling, perhaps even both.

With only one game left before Tuesday’s 3 p.m. PT Deadline, here’s the reality of where things stand:

• The Padres sit five games back in the NL Wild Card race, needing to jump three teams to put themselves in a playoff position.

• The Padres have deficiencies on their roster worth addressing, namely the bottom of their lineup, their bench and their pitching depth.

• The Padres, on paper, still appear to have one of the most talented teams in the sport, loaded with superstars. They have somehow managed to produce the NL’s third-best run differential and its 10th-best record.

“I’m ready to go with the boys that are in this clubhouse,” said Fernando Tatis Jr., and he’s not the only one to espouse that notion.

To a man, the Padres are resolute in their belief that they have enough to reach the postseason as currently constructed. And maybe they do. They’re 15-9 in July -- precisely the type of baseball they’ll need to play to reach the postseason.

It’s a steep climb, nonetheless, and the Padres will need a lot of things to go their way -- not the least of which is health. On both sides of the ball, this roster is precariously thin. Case in point:

After the third inning on Sunday, second baseman Ha-Seong Kim exited with a jammed right shoulder. He injured it diving headfirst into a collision at the plate with Rangers catcher Sam Huff. After the game, Kim said he expects to be OK and could return as soon as Monday’s series opener in Colorado.

Still, the moment underscored the fragility of what lies ahead for the 2023 Padres. Kim has been arguably their best player. Their depth behind him is limited. If they’re going to make a run to the postseason, they’re going to need good health.

They might also need to make a trade or two to reinforce that depth.

If they’re buying, that is.

And that path sure feels more likely now than it did three days ago.