Padres prospect update: Top prospect shockingly in trade talks, Pena's scoreless streak snaps

As we inch closer to the 2025 MLB trade deadline, we are starting to learn more about each team and where they believe they stand. As for the Padres, they are more than likely to trade for a player to hopefully ignite the roster and make a solid postseason push.

The question is who they trade for, and who they will let go in return. Surprisingly, Jim Bowden of The Athletic has the Friars trading away Ethan Salas, their No. 2 ranked prospect who is a Top 25 prospect in all of baseball. San Diego is no stranger to dishing out a top prospect, but some fans feel like the front office should have learned their lesson by now. Letting go of MacKenzie Gore, CJ Abrams, and James Wood has been a tough pill to swallow, so it might not sit well with the Friars community if Salas is dealt this season.

Now, the Padres definitely need to bolster the roster, whether it's adding a left fielder, a catcher, or a starting pitcher. If they want to trade for a solid player, it may be at the cost of parting ways with one of their top minor leaguers, which could be Salas, who is still hurt.

Staying in the farm, Padres No. 18 prospect Francis Pena finally had his scoreless streak come to a close. The 24-year-old right-hander, pitching with Triple-A El Paso, entered July 3 riding an eight-game streak without allowing a run. This span was across 11 frames, which lowered his ERA from 6.52 to 4.15. On July 3, he surrendered two runs (one earned) in two innings against Albuquerque (Rockies).

Also, this isn't quite Minor League Baseball news, but the MiLB social media team made sure to give a nod to Padres All-Star Manny Machado, who collected the 2,000th hit of his MLB career on Monday. They made sure that none of us forgot about that 224 hits he nabbed in the minors.

Padres minor league schedule: July 8-13

Triple-A El Paso (46-41): Six-game home series vs. Las Vegas (Athletics)

Double-A San Antonio (44-37): Six-game road series at Wichita (Twins)

High-A Fort Wayne (40-40): Six-game home series vs. Quad Cities (Royals)

Single-A Lake Elsinore (37-44): Six-game road series at Visalia (Diamondbacks)