6 Padres players facing their last stand as trade deadline approaches

As the trade deadline rapidly approaches, the San Diego Padres will be looking to upgrade their roster for a postseason run. That means some players might soon be on the outside looking in. Here are three Padres players facing their last stand on the team as the deadline approaches.

Several Padres veterans could be playing on their last legs

1. Martin Maldonado

The Padres' catching platoon has gone about as poorly as anyone could have imagined in 2025. Maldonado has been worth -0.4 bWAR in 58 games, and not even his defense has been able to overcome his OPS+ of 50. Catcher seems like a position the Padres need to upgrade at the deadline, and if they do add a catcher, Maldonado could get the shaft. He is retiring at the conclusion of this season after all.

2. Elias Diaz

The Friars could also decide to keep Maldonado and ditch Elias Diaz, the other half of their struggling catcher duo. Diaz also has -0.4 bWAR in 79 games, and has an OPS+ just slightly better than Maldonado's, at 62. With 16 RBI and 23 runs scored, Diaz has not pulled his weight on the roster.

3. Jose Iglesias

Iglesias never caught fire in 2025 the way he did for the Mets in '24. He's slashing .240/.301/.281, with an OPS+ at 65 and -0.4 bWAR. The veteran infielder will be a free agent at the end of the season, so moving on from him would be easy. If the Padres target a first baseman at the deadline, they could shift Luis Arraez into a utility role and move off Iglesias.

4. Luis Arraez

Or San Diego could just cut loose on the former batting champion. His offensive numbers have been better than Iglesias, but he still has been a below-average bat this year, with a .707 OPS. If San Diego would rather keep Iglesias, the superior defender, it might make sense to move on from Arraez a year after trading for him.

5. Trenton Brooks

The 29-year-old utility outfielder has a career OPS+ of 25 and has been worth -0.4 bWAR in 22 games. San Diego could do much better than Brooks, who has spent 438 games in Triple-A but never managed to break through in the big leagues.

6. Tyler Wade

The Padres must see something in Wade that helps him stick around. The veteran utility man has a 63 OPS+ and has been worth -1.1 bWAR over the past two seasons in San Diego. It feels like the Padres can find a better option than Wade, depending on what positions they target at the deadline.