This story was excerpted from AJ Cassavell’s Padres Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The 162-game baseball season is long, and different people compartmentalize it in different ways. Here's how I do it:

Mentally, I've always divided the baseball season into thirds. There's the first third -- in which we take stock of the league and get a decent idea of each team's strengths and weaknesses. There's the final third -- the stretch run and all sorts of pennant-race-related intrigue.

And in between? There's trade season.

It's trade season, baby.

Could be a busy one for the Padres, too. Here's my ranking of the team's three biggest areas of need as things currently stand:

1. An outfield bat
Really, this has been the Padres' top priority since last October. But they came up empty in their search for a corner-outfield bat during the offseason, and now they're dealing with an injury to Wil Myers, who is expected to be out until at least July as he deals with the effects of right knee inflammation. Padres outfielders this season have a combined slash line of .220/.304/.337 with 11 homers, the fewest in the National League. Jurickson Profar’s recent surge helps. But the Padres could still use one more outfield bat to stick in right field, where they’re currently platooning Nomar Mazara and José Azocar.

2. A catcher
The situation at catcher is somewhat less dire. Austin Nola and Jorge Alfaro have mostly struggled at the plate, as Padres backstops have combined for a .233/.296/.326 slash line. But in reality, that's not all that much lower than the league average at catcher, a primarily defensive position. Nola is better defensively than Alfaro, but they’ve both proven capable of handling what’s become one of the sport’s elite rotations. MLB.com analyst Mike Petriello listed the Padres among the best fits for Willson Contreras last week. But among the teams presumed to be sellers, there aren’t that many options available, and the Padres aren’t the only team in need of an upgrade. Catching won’t come cheap. So, is it absolutely imperative that they find a backstop? Maybe not. We'll find out soon enough.

3. Relief pitching
For me, this is the Padres' biggest trade-season wild card. We know how badly they need an outfield bat. (Badly.) We know how badly they need a catcher. (Not quite as badly, but it'd help.) Does anyone know how badly the Padres need relief pitching? (No.) Sure, every team always needs more pitching. But is that where the Padres want to be allocating their trade resources? I’m legitimately not sure. It probably depends on a few things. First, what's the health status of Pierce Johnson, Drew Pomeranz and Robert Suarez? Second, what kind of impact does the now-healthy Adrian Morejon have on this bullpen? And third, are Nabil Crismatt and/or Luis García legitimate setup options for Taylor Rogers? The Padres have less than two months to answer those questions. It is, after all, officially trade season.