Padres' struggles may rob AJ Preller of his trade deadline passion

There may not be a baseball executive alive who enjoys the trade deadline more than AJ Preller. He’s built his brand off of this time of year. However, the Padres might be doing something nearly impossible this season. They may be taking the fun away from him. 

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale wrote that with an underachieving team and bloated payroll, Preller may have no choice but to “wave the white flag” if the Padres’ slide continues. The Padres are a team running out of ways to justify another all-in deadline. 

They just snapped an eight-game losing skid and avoided a four-game sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers by winning the series finale 5-2 on July 5.

Padres snapping their losing streak does not erase the deadline reality

The Padres came into the year with a roster pieced together well enough to believe they could at least compete for a postseason spot. And while that still isn’t out of reach, a 44-45 record at this point in the season doesn’t exactly scream opportunity. The competition in the National League also doesn’t help their case, as they would currently need to climb over six teams just to reach the final Wild Card spot.

They have 24 games remaining before hitting the trade deadline on August 3. So, sure, nobody has to bow out just yet. There is still enough time to change the conversation. But if the Padres are still hovering around .500 in this National League, it’s probably time to stop selling themselves on this season and start thinking harder about the seasons coming next.

On paper, the Padres’ biggest need is obvious. They need starting pitching. Maybe multiple arms. MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell listed starting pitching as San Diego’s biggest deadline need, pointing to Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta as major wild cards while both work their way back from elbow injuries. 

Even if Musgrove and Pivetta were to make it back after the deadline, the Padres can’t responsibly plan as if both will return looking sharp. And with their offensive struggles, it would make sense to build around their starting pitching in order to take the load off of the bullpen. 

But this year, nothing about the Padres is obvious. If they were five or six games over .500 and firmly in the Wild Card mix, this would be an easier conversation. Go get the starter. Patch the holes you can. And let Preller do his thing. But when the team is sitting below expectations and trying to claw past half the National League just to reach the final Wild Card spot, it becomes a much harder sell.

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