San Diego Padres: Two weeks of torture

A pessimist’s approach to the next two hectic weeks filled with trade rumors ahead of the deadline. The San Diego Padres are already in the news.

It can be a very depressing time for rebuilding teams like the Padres. Yes, the club is young and improving, and there’s ample hope for the future. But that’s the future.

As for the present, the trade deadline brings difficult decisions for a front office balancing their long term outlook and the current composition of the roster. This is the part that isn’t so fun, since organizations tend to look for the future, making them sellers.

Fans who really pay attention to the game know that in the long run, the best way to go at this year’s deadline for the Padres is to be sellers and build for the future. That couldn’t be any more clear. But the pain of giving up a key piece of this season’s roster still isn’t easy.

Rumors are already swirling more than two weeks ahead of the deadline on July 31st, when the majority of deals are made. All-Star reliever Brad Hand is among those with ties to the Yankees and Dodgers, and closer Brandon Maurer‘s name is also beginning to be in the mix with contending organizations willing to give up prospects.

Related Story: Will Preller’s reputation hamper deadline deals?

It’s not that deadline trades are unfair, but for fans of selling teams, they don’t always seem rewarding. After all, key pieces are being shipped out of town, sometimes given to rivals, and in return, prospects fans haven’t even heard of are being brought in. It’s happened to the Padres plenty of times before.

To many, selling is waiving the white flag. So even though it’s not any secret that the Padres aren’t contending for the National League West title this season, the trade deadline and the days leading up to it only serves as a constant reminder of how miserable 2017 has been.

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To make things worse, San Diego’s roster is loaded with potential assets to contenders with manageable contracts. Clayton Richard, Jhoulys Chacin, and Trevor Cahill may not be parts of any rumors yet, but the starters could be dealt since they are in one-year contracts.

This is not going to be fun, but it’s baseball. Every time Hand, Maurer, or another key Padre is rumored to be on the move, fans must be reminded of their rebuilding process and seller status.

And there’s two weeks to go. Some of us are already tired of the rumors. But it’s only going to get so much worse, as rumors will heat up the closer the deadline is.

Next: Series preview: Giants vs. Padres

There are two silver linings to the difficult trade deadline season. One, of course, is that the Padres are bound to receive some exciting young prospects fans will get the opportunity to check out who will hopefully have an impact at the major league level down the road. The other silver lining is that we at Friars on Base will have extensive coverage of all of the rumors and trades when they happen, with up to the minute updates and strong analysis.