1 move every NL West team could make that would hurt the San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres have an incredibly difficult task ahead of them this offseason. They're not only looking to improve the disappointing 82-80 record they had in 2023 which caused them to miss the playoffs, but they're trying to do this while reportedly trimming their budget.

The Padres already dumped Scott Barlow and will most likely watch both Blake Snell and Josh Hader depart in free agency. There's also a good chance the team decides to trade Juan Soto for financial purposes. Parting with your top two pitchers from 2023 as well as your best hitter makes it very tough to win, but that's what A.J. Preller is likely going to try to do.

While the Padres are in a tough spot, their competition in the NL West remains fierce. The Diamondbacks just won the NL Pennant, the Dodgers consistently win 90-plus games every year no matter what, and the Giants have tons of money to spend. Fortunately the Padres do have the Rockies who, well, are the Rockies.

The Padres offseason is tough enough for Preller to execute, and will be even tougher if his NL West rivals make these moves.

The Colorado Rockies trading away key pieces to other NL contenders would hurt the San Diego Padres

There isn't much the Colorado Rockies could do that would really hurt the Padres this offseason. Even if they signed Shohei Ohtani, they're nowhere near a playoff team. Despite that, they do have some players that could be traded that would be helpful elsewhere.

They can move a guy like Elias Diaz who was an All-Star in 2023 to a team that needs a catcher. They can move a guy like Brendan Rodgers who missed the entire season but has won a Gold Glove. They can also move a guy like Ryan McMahon who is on an extremely addordable contract, is one of the better defensive third basemen in the game, and has hit at least 20 home runs in each of the last four full seasons.

The Rockies can deal some of their better players within the division, or even to other teams in the NL vying for playoff contention. Either or would make the Padres lives much more difficult.