San Diego Padres: Reasons to buy, or sell, at the MLB trade deadline

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CHICAGO, IL – AUGUST 05: Craig Stammen #34 of the San Diego Padres pitches against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on August 5, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. The Padres defeated the Cubs 10-6. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

In the midst of the MLB’s annual garage sale, we look at the San Diego Padres options moving forward in this year’s trade season. Are they buyers or sellers?

Considering where the San Diego Padres were during the All-Star break, you would have thought it a far gone conclusion as to which way A.J. Preller and company were leaning towards the deadline. However, after a 1-6 record to start the second half of the year, we must reassess the direction in which they could now go.

In a previous article, we discussed the team’s top trade chips ahead of the deadline. However, this article won’t talk about specific trade names on either side of the buy or sell equation.

Well, except for one name not mentioned in that previous article. The one person who would make a lot of sense to trade would be Craig Stammen.

Hear me out. It’s not due to his results, which by the way haven’t been as good as the previous two seasons. It’s due more to the direction in which the team plans on going over the rest of the second half — that is, going young.

More importantly, his contract is set to expire at the end of this season, making him expendable in a financial way.

There are legitimate reasons to stand pat, though that’s not the path we believe they’ll take. This is the Rock Star G.M. with Hot Talent Lava flowing at his price, and with 2020 looking more and more like the year for true contention, these next 10 days could go a long way toward the roster construction for that contention window.

Are there other names that could be mentioned as sellers? Absolutely. Aside from Stammen though, we’ll discuss the reasons for selling or buying, not specific players.

First, let’s talk about the reasons to sell.

SAN DIEGO, CA – JUNE 8: Wil Myers #4 of the San Diego Padres walks away after striking out during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals at Petco Park June 8, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images) /

SELLERS

Why sellers? A lot of reasons actually. Even though the team is still technically in the playoff hunt, the reason to sell has been discussed only as far as the players involved.

For instance, we could sell to shed the contracts of players who are set to become free agents, such as Stammen; or we could sell to rid ourselves of bad contracts, such as that of Wil Myers.

Mainly, we can sell to acquire a front-of-the-rotation arm that the front office seems hell-bent on getting, or to help ease the soon-to-be 40-man roster crunch that will present its own set of problems in the off-season.

Those are all good and logical reasons to do so — but is that the best thing to do at this point? Possibly. This front office makes very strategic moves for the short and long-term interest of the team.

light. Related Story. Padres top trade chips ahead of the deadline

Now that the Friars have called up both Luis Urias and Adrian Morejon, that helps a little regarding the 40-man roster; Morejon was going to need to be protected during the winter anyhow.

The corresponding moves that will be made to add each of them to the 25-man roster should provide a glimpse into what direction the front office might be leaning. It’ll be fun to see what the 40-man move will be to add Morejon, too.

Furthermore, if you’ve followed recent team news, there will soon be another move made to add Michel Baez to the team, as has been reported by multiple outlets who cover the franchise.

Could all of this shuffling around be the catalyst that leads the team to sell? The next 10 days will surely answer that question.

Or, could these transactions be leading the Friars to be buyers?

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 02: Noah Syndergaard #34 of the New York Mets pitches in the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Citi Field on May 02, 2019 in the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

BUYERS

We all know the names in discussion if we do in fact decide to buy. Noah Syndergaard, Trevor Bauer, Marcus Stroman, Luis Castillo, and Matthew Boyd have all been written or talked about as potential targets.

If we decide that buying now is the proper action to take, it’s almost a guarantee that it’ll be for a top-of-the-rotation starter with some sort of team control. The aforementioned names all come with some of that control to one degree or another.

But who will it be? It’ll all come down to who the Padres are willing to sell when it comes to buying.

Are the promotions of Urias and Morejon only to give them exposure at the big-league level for a deal before the deadline? That’s a distinct possibility. However, that’s not what this writer thinks.

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It’s my belief that they’ll finally sell some of the their prospect capital to acquire the “Ace” and innings-eater this team so desperately needs.

They could part with some players now on the active roster as well, but that seems somewhat counter-productive.

You never know this time of year, especially with this front office and ownership group. Like it’s been mentioned before, this isn’t the ghost of front office pasts.

A week ago, you could have made a strong point that buying is the only option — but not after the disaster that this team has become since the break.

With the three biggest weaknesses on the offensive end — second base, catcher, and center field — seemingly shaking their way out over the last few weeks, there’s not a real reason to upgrade those positions right now.

The call-up of Urias and giving him the keys to the car at second, the recent play of Francisco Mejía at catcher, and the much improved play from Manuel Margot have all given the Friar Faithful something to look forward to at those positions.

So that leaves only one place to upgrade; the starting rotation.

The Padres need someone who can lead the young staff, eat innings, and be the unquestionable No. 1 starter for the rest of this year and 2020 onward. It is, and has been, the biggest need since this past Hot Stove season.

With the days and hours dwindling just like the Padres playoff chances, which direction do you believe they will go, Friar Family? Sellers or buyers?

Let us know in the comments below on how you would play G.M.

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