Padres' bats stifled by razor-sharp deGrom

SAN DIEGO -- Set aside the Padres' 4-0 loss to the Mets on Saturday night. Jacob deGrom regularly baffles the best hitters in the sport. This was no different. It'd be awfully unfair to judge San Diego's lineup depth based on its performance against the consensus best pitcher alive.

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“What do you say?” Padres manager Jayce Tingler noted afterward. “He's really freaking good.”

But about that lineup depth...

Over the past week, the Padres have scored 16 runs in seven games. Sure, they’ll tip their cap to deGrom for his seven scoreless frames on Saturday at Petco Park. But lately, as injuries have taken their toll on this offense, it has become clear that reinforcements are sorely needed.

Eventually, those reinforcements will come in the form of a couple key players returning from the injured list. Without Trent Grisham, the Padres have scrambled to fill center field, and the ripple effects have been felt elsewhere in their outfield. Without Austin Nola, they overburdened Victor Caratini behind the plate at first and then they handed semi-regular playing time to journeyman Webster Rivas.

But even if the Padres can finally get back to full strength, it’s worth wondering if their offense might need yet another jolt. The Trade Deadline looms less than two months away, and bench depth almost certainly will sit near the top of general manager A.J. Preller’s list of priorities -- catching and outfield depth in particular.

The Padres are optimistic that Grisham will return from his bruised left heel next week, after a short rehab stint in Triple-A El Paso. Grisham's absence has been a big one. In 36 games this season, he has a slash line of .301/.383/.515 while playing Gold Glove-caliber defense.

“You know how we feel about Trent and all the positive things he does,” Tingler said. “He’s phenomenal out there defensively in center field, takes charge and commands the outfield out there, gets on base, hits for power, one of our better baserunners.”

So, yeah, that’s a pretty important piece off the board right now.

With Grisham out, the Padres have turned to Jurickson Profar in center field. After an excellent 2020 debut in San Diego, Profar has slumped to a .624 OPS this year. His season hit a nadir on Saturday with an 0-for-4 night and his first career ejection for slamming his bat when he disagreed with a strike-three call in the eighth.

“He’s wanting to deliver there for his team,” Tingler said. “I think he just got caught up a bit in the moment, and he’s a competitive guy. … Bottom line, we need him in the lineup and have a ton of belief in him. We know, I know, he’s going to get it going.”

Ideally, Grisham would return to his usual spot, and Profar would share time with Wil Myers and Tommy Pham in the outfield corners. But the season has also been a roller coaster for Myers and Pham. If the Padres are going to make a splash on offense, it’ll almost certainly come in the form of a deal for an outfielder.

Question is: How big do they want that splash to be? The Padres would surely benefit from adding a bench piece to get pinch-hit at-bats and spot starts. But would they want to go bigger than that? Ultimately, that might be determined by health.

As for the catching situation, it’s a bit more straightforward. The Padres love their Nola/Caratini tandem, in theory. They just need Nola on the field. They’re hopeful he’ll return from his left-knee sprain in the week or two leading up to the All-Star break.

Organizationally, the Padres left themselves a bit thin behind the plate after dealing Francisco Mejía, Austin Hedges, Luis Torrens and Blake Hunt in the past 10 months. Considering the stop-start nature of Nola’s season, don’t be surprised if the Padres look for a catcher with Minor League options who they can shuttle between Triple-A and the Majors. (Then again, Rivas might be proving that he can fill that role himself.)

If one thing is clear about the Padres and the Deadline, it’s this: If there are upgrades available, Preller -- routinely one of the most active GMs on the trade market -- is going to explore them. Preller built one of the sport’s deepest rosters this winter. It isn’t without holes.