Quadruple-A Baseball: The Padres Can Be Buyers

Jul 7, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Ian Kennedy (22) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

I am going to blow people’s minds with what I am going to say…the Padres’ offense needs help. Actually, this shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. I have said throughout this month, the Padres should not be wholesale sellers. We should listen to offers for certain players and also do our best to hold on to others to build around them. We are literally at the exact same place now that we were in 2013 through 90 games, at 40-50. Last year, the Padres didn’t sell a ton either. In fact, they added Ian Kennedy at the trade deadline, and that has panned out nicely. He has 11 wins with a 3.89 ERA and a WAR of 0.7 since joining the Padres. So what is the difference between this year and last year if we have the same record? Why can’t we be buyers this year too?

The Padres need to buy a bat. They are realistically one or two consistent bats away from playing over .500 baseball. The Padres could feasibly trade for consistent bat this month. The White Sox seem to be shopping Gordon Beckham. He may not be the superstar the White Sox wanted, but his stats this year would be among the top among Padres players.  The ChiSox also seem to be putting Alejandro De Aza on the market as well. He too, would be around the top in offensive statistics for the Padres. Emilio Bonifacio is also available from the other side of Chicago. He is hitting .261 with 12 stolen bases. He is also versatile and can play numerous positions. None of these guys put up eye-popping numbers, but the Padres lineup doesn’t need someone to hit .330 with 40 HRs. They just need someone to hit above .250 with occasional pop. A bat like that may have helped the Padres win several close games that they have lost by sheer lack of offense.

What I am trying to say is, why can’t the Padres buy a bat? They bought an arm last year when we were in this same exact position as this year. The Padres have marketable pieces that can get us a bat, and a bat that will work now. I believe we are a few good bats away from making things more interesting in the NL West in the second half. If we stay the way we are now, we will lose close to 90 games, plain and simple. But if we can put something together in the next few weeks and acquire a bat, that will considerably improve this team. Call me, crazy, but we should not be just sellers this month. We should look to get something back that can help out the big league club in 2014. If we don’t, we may just continue to play…Quadruple-A Baseball.