3 nightmare scenarios for Padres at this year's MLB trade deadline

The MLB trade deadline is just days away and, surprisingly, San Diego Padres President of Baseball Operations AJ Preller just finally dipped his toe into the water on Sunday morning. To be fair, the Friars made two of bggest trades already this season by acquiring both Dylan Cease and Luis Arráez months ago.

Still, the Padres have been rumored to be major buyers at this year's trade deadline, and with only a few days left, the Friar faithful are expecting Preller and Co. to pull off something huge.

But what if they don't? What if the MLB trade deadline comes and goes and the Padres are in worse shape than before? Though most Pads fans have confidence in San Diego's front office, they've been known to make mistakes in the past.

What are three nightmare scenarios for the Padres ahead of the upcoming MLB trade deadline?

Padres trading top prospect Leodalis De Vries for any player but Garrett Crochet would be unforgivable

Garrett Crochet continues to be the most talked about player on the Padres' radar. Everyone up and down I-5 from San Diego to Los Angeles knows that Preller is aching to have Crochet as part of his rotation heading into the final two months of the 2024 season.

If — and this is still a big if — the Padres are intent on acquiring Crochet at the deadline, Leodalis De Vries will have to be part of the trade package. Sorry to any and all prospect-huggers, but the Chicago White Sox are not going to part with Crochet for a bunch of mid-tier prospects. The White Sox know what they have, and this is a quality over quantity type of deal.

But under no circumstances can Preller be conned into trading De Vries to any other team for any other starting pitcher. If the Friars miss out on Crochet, take De Vries off the table. It would be a massive oversight if Preller included De Vries in any trade package that didn't net his team Crochet, and there are even some Pads fans who won't like that either.

The Padres making minimal impact additions to the bullpen would spell disaster

While Crochet has been the name on everybody's mind, the Padres cannot afford to neglect the bullpen. Yes, Robert Suarez has been everything Padres fans wanted to see from Josh Hader, and more. But he can't carry the load on his own.

That's why Sunday's trade for Jason Adam of the Rays was a start, but that can't be the end if this team wants to make a deel playoff run.

Jeremiah Estrada and Adrian Morejon have also had terrific seasons, but that won't be enough come playoff time. And while Yuki Matsui has shown flashes during his first year with the Friars, San Diego needs to go out and get a left-handed reliever (or two) at the deadline.

Wandy Peralta is on the IL and has been underwhelming, to say the least. When the Padres are trying to make a postseason push or have made it to the playoffs and a cadre of left-handed hitters come up in the eight and ninth innings, Mike Shildt is going to want to be able to turn to someone like Tanner Scott in order to shut down that opposing lineup. San Diego can't forget about the bullpen.

Garrett Crochet being traded to the LA Dodgers would be gut-wrenching for the Padres

Okay, let's face it, there's only one real threat to the Padres in the chase for Crochet. Unfortunately, it's the team in the same division, with a deeper farm system and deeper pockets. If the Los Angeles Dodgers trade for Crochet, the Friar faithful will melt into a puddle.

It's bad enough that a loaded Padres team with the likes of Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, and Fernando Tatis Jr. are overshadowed by the Dodgers. But if LA lands Crochet, then just write their name on the Commissioner's Trophy already, right?

The Dodgers already went out and bought Shohei Ohtani for $700 million, then dropped the bag on Yoshinobu Yamamoto and traded for Tyler Glasnow. Throw in the fact that former MVPs Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts are on the roster and few, if any, teams have a shot against them in a playoff series. But if Crochet is wearing Dodger blue next Wednesday, it'll be a nightmare scenario for the Padres and may be the end of the road for Preller in San Diego.

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