Biggest Q's facing Padres at Trade Deadline

DENVER -- The Padres are struggling. They've dropped 14 of 20. They're playing sloppier baseball than they have at any point this season. Amid their recent slump, they’ve faded from NL West contention, their focus shifting squarely to the Wild Card race.

Things got particularly ugly this week in Colorado, where San Diego lost three of four, including an 8-5 defeat on Thursday afternoon at Coors Field. There are, without question, some championship-caliber pieces on this roster. (The left side of the infield and the front of the rotation, to name a couple.) But there are also a number of very obvious flaws.

If only there were some way to shake things up. If only there were some way to address those flaws midseason -- perhaps a specific date, before which teams could make transactions with other teams to bolster their rosters.

Oh. Right. The Trade Deadline.

Right now, the Aug. 2 deadline looms awfully large in San Diego. The Padres remain nine games above .500, squarely in a Wild Card spot. But it sure feels like the next few weeks could make or break their season. Here’s an early look at it:

They need a bat -- at least one
It’s no longer a question of “if” the Padres will deal for a hitter. It’s a question of when, and for how many.

Entering play Thursday, the San Diego offense had posted a 99 wRC+ -- slightly below league average. But there are some glaring holes, most notably at positions where teams can expect pop -- DH, first base and outfield.

The Padres’ first priority is their outfield, which had combined for a .221/.304/.344 slash line entering play Thursday, good enough for 26th in the Majors. Ideally, San Diego would add someone capable of playing center -- possibly a righty bat who can platoon with Trent Grisham.

But there’s certainly room for more than one upgrade. Perhaps a pair of outfielders -- one a center fielder, one a DH-type thumper. Plus, there’s the tantalizing prospect of dealing for Willson Contreras, the National League’s starting catcher in the All-Star Game, and what that would mean for the Padres’ catching situation.

What about the bullpen?
The Padres' ‘pen has gotten awfully leaky of late, with a 6.44 ERA since the start of July. Most troubling is the fact that Taylor Rogers, Nabil Crismatt and Luis García, three of the bullpen’s most reliable arms, have begun to show some cracks.

Internally, there’s not much panic. Those relievers have been a bit overworked lately, in large part because so many arms are on the injured list. San Diego expects to get a significant boost in the second half of the season when relievers like Drew Pomeranz, Pierce Johnson, Steven Wilson and Robert Suarez return. Adrian Morejon already has.

Still, it’s worth wondering if this relief corps would be better served with one more back-end piece. And if the answer is yes, do the Padres have the resources and the flexibility to get it?

The payroll question
It remains unclear whether the Padres would be willing to exceed the CBT threshold at the Trade Deadline. If they aren’t, they would have little room to maneuver, unless they trade a big contract of an underperforming player.

The biggest is Eric Hosmer’s, though in order to move Hosmer, the team would likely need to attach impact prospects and perhaps eat some of the remaining money. After a hot start to the season, Hosmer has cooled significantly, and he’s still owed $39 million over three more years after this season.

Wil Myers, an impending free agent, is often mentioned in the same breath, and the Padres could clear space by moving what’s left on Myers’ contract. But, remember, they also need an outfield bat, and Myers has spent the past two seasons mostly either underperforming or on the IL.

Perhaps the most intriguing option is Blake Snell, who was roughed up in Denver on Thursday afternoon. San Diego already has a deep rotation. Snell is making over $13 million this season and over $16 million next season. Plus, despite his recent struggles, there’s clearly still some upside.

If the Padres wanted to move Snell and a couple of prospects for an outfield bat, it’s easy to envision a contender rolling the dice for a second-half Snell turnaround -- similar to what he did in 2021.

Will it be enough?
You’ve watched it the past few weeks: As constructed, this Padres’ roster doesn’t look championship-caliber. It might not be playoff-caliber.

But a year ago today, did the Braves have a championship-caliber roster? No, probably not. So, at the Trade Deadline, Atlanta bolstered its outfield and its bullpen, and a few months later won a World Series.

Let’s say the Padres add two bats to their lineup, then get a healthy Fernando Tatis Jr. back at shortstop. Let’s say their bullpen gets healthy, and perhaps adds one more arm. Let’s say they move one of their bigger, underperforming contracts and create flexibility to make those moves. Suddenly it’s a very different team.

The current version has flaws. The current version also has the means to fix those flaws. The Deadline looms 19 days away, and president of baseball operations A.J. Preller has some work to do.