Padres complete up-and-down 1st half as buyers

SAN DIEGO -- Here are two facts that can simultaneously be true:

1. The Padres could not have asked for much more from the first half of their season, all things considered. They’ve been without superstar shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. all year. They’ve also dealt with significant injuries in their outfield and in their bullpen. And yet, they’ll enter the All-Star break 10 games above .500. But ...

2. The Padres clearly need to upgrade their offense. Sunday’s 3-1 loss to the D-backs at Petco Park only further reinforced that notion. The loss completed a first half in which San Diego's offense was middling and consistently struggled against quality starting pitching.

Now, the Padres hit the All-Star break. Manny Machado, Joe Musgrove and Jake Cronenworth will head north on I-5 to take part in the festivities at Dodger Stadium. The rest of the team’s players and staff get a breather, while the front office turns its full attention to the 2022 MLB Draft, which runs through Tuesday.

After that? Well, it’s officially crunch time in the team’s search for offense. The Trade Deadline looms two weeks away, and the Padres have a roster worth investing in. Their rotation is deep (with a number of those starters eligible to become free agents after the season). They have some championship-caliber pieces, but a number of flaws, particularly on offense.

And so begins perhaps the defining fortnight in the tenure of president of baseball operations A.J. Preller.

“It's no secret we’ve got to score some more runs here in the second half, and that will be a focus for us over the next couple weeks,” Preller said Friday at his pre-Draft media availability. “Hoping most of the answers are coming from within. But if not, we’re also out there scouting hard and seeing what’s out there on the trade front.”

And oh buddy, is that trade front enticing. Juan Soto, a generational slugger, is available via trade, after turning down a record-setting contract extension from the Nationals. The Padres will pursue Soto. But the entire baseball world will join them, and the cost will be the steepest imaginable.

Of course, it’s Soto, so he’s probably worth it. But if San Diego can’t find the pieces to trade for the 23-year-old superstar, it still needs to find a way to upgrade its outfield. That group of outfielders has posted a .220/.303/.343 slash line this season, ranking 25th in MLB in OPS.

“We've got a lot of scouts on the road, looking at other clubs, looking at other situations that maybe fit,” Preller said. “And we'll keep looking to see what we have -- either coming off the IL, guys that we've got who can play better in this clubhouse and guys that can help us in our system. … We'll weigh that out as we get to the Deadline and see what the acquisition cost is.”

The most prominent player set to return from injury in the second half is Tatis, whose presence would go a long way toward addressing the offense’s lack of power. The team also expects right fielder Wil Myers to return from injury shortly after the All-Star break.

“We have some key guys that are down, and obviously when they get back, they’re going to help out this ballclub tremendously,” Machado said. “In the meantime, we’ve got to keep playing some good baseball, keep doing what we’ve got to do to win ballgames.”

Of course, a Trade Deadline acquisition or two would go a long way in that pursuit. But that’s not on Machado’s radar.

“I play baseball, I’m not a GM,” Machado said. “I let that GM game go a long time ago. I just go out there and play baseball. Whatever they’re going to do to help this ballclub, we’re going to welcome them with open arms. We’ve just got to worry about the guys we have in here.”

Melvin is taking the same approach.

“I even told A.J., I don’t want to hear about it until something is on the 2-yard line,” Melvin said. “My focus is going forward with this group, getting some guys back that we have down, whether it’s in the bullpen or it’s position players. I don’t get too caught up in that. I like our team.”

There are plenty of reasons for Melvin to like it. There are also plenty of reasons that Preller should be in store for a busy couple of weeks.

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