4 players the San Diego Padres can get at the trade deadline who'll help them in 2024

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The 2023 season has been nothing short of a disastrous one for the San Diego Padres. At 48-51, they're 10.0 games back of the first place Los Angeles Dodgers and 5.5 games back of the third Wild Card spot in the National League.

While they have a puncher's chance, at a postseason berth, the chances of the Padres making up the ground they have to make up the way they've played is certainly unlikely.

2023 might be a lost year for the Friars, but 2024 can still be looked at as a year this team plans on competing. Most of the core is locked up, and we know A.J. Preller will stop at nothing to help his team be as competitive as possible.

The Padres can try to make the postseason in 2023 by acquiring upgrades but they can also look ahead to next season by making sure those certain upgrades are under contract. Here are some players who fit that criteria that A.J. Preller should look to bring in.

1) Oakland Athletics outfielder Brent Rooker can help the Padres win in 2024

The Padres have had a rough season, but the 27-73 Athletics have been far worse. One bright spot on that Oakland team has been Brent Rooker, a player who was claimed off of waivers by the A's this past offseason.

Rooker got the chance to play every day with the Athletics and hasn't disappointed. He's slashed .239/.332/.467 with 16 home runs and 44 RBI. Those 16 home runs at this point in the season while playing half of the time in Oakland with no protection around him in the order is quite impressive.

Rooker has a 125 WRC+ which would rank third on this Padres team just behind Juan Soto and Fernando Tatis Jr. While I don't actually expect him to be the third-best hitter on the team, he's certainly an upgrade over the likes of Matt Carpenter and the recently-DFA'd Nelson Cruz.

The Padres rank 29th with an 81 WRC+ from the DH spot this season. Adding Rooker and placing him there will improve that tremendously.

The 28-year-old who did actually play two games for the Padres last season won't even hit arbitration until 2025. With the Padres having a very expensive roster, acquiring an inexpensive player they can have under team control through the 2027 season feels like a no-brainer if Oakland is willing to let him go.

Scott Barlow of the Kansas City Royals / Ed Zurga/GettyImages

2) Kansas City Royals reliever Scott Barlow can help the Padres win in 2024

If the Padres do decide to sell at the trade deadline, Josh Hader is expected to be a name many contenders pursue. Hader is one of, if not the best closer in the game, and San Diego should get a good amount back of what they gave up to acquire him at the deadline last season.

Whether the Padres trade Hader or not, acquiring Scott Barlow from the Royals makes a lot of sense. He can help set up for the star closer if he's still here, and he can close to finish this season as well as next season.

Barlow has been one of the more underrated relievers in baseball in recent years because he's played on some awful Royals teams, but would be a great addition if Preller were to pull it off.

The right-hander has had a down year posting a 4.89 ERA in 34 appearances this season, but his ERA has been inflated by a handful of awful outings. 25 of his 34 outings have been scoreless, and he's given up more than one run in an appearance just six times.

Barlow has one more year of arbitration before hitting free agency following the 2024 season. He's not as good as Hader, but few relievers are. He'd be a solid replacement.

Washington Nationals right fielder Lane Thomas / Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

3) Washington Nationals outfielder Lane Thomas can help the Padres win in 2024

One player who's come out of nowhere this season is Lane Thomas of the Nationals. Not much has gone right for Washington, but Thomas has developed into a player that will at least net them a decent asset or two at the deadline.

Thomas is slashing .290/.337/.488 with 16 home runs and 53 RBI. His 122 WRC+ rivals Brent Rooker's mark, and his 2.1 fWAR would rank sixth on this Padres team.

The fit here isn't perfect as Thomas is more of a corner outfielder, but he has played 128 games across five seasons in center field including four this season.

Offense has been the issue for this Padres team this season, particularly at the bottom of the order. Adding Thomas who's a massive upgrade over Trent Grisham, and if the Padres wanted to stick him or Juan Soto at DH that'd work too.

Thomas is making $2.2 million this season and has two more years of arbitration to go before hitting free agency following the 2025 season. The Padres would be getting him in his prime, and should be calling up the rebuilding Nationals to see if anything can happen.

4) Colorado Rockies catcher Elias Diaz can help the Padres win in 2024

Another player who has broken out this season is Rockies catcher Elias Diaz. The 32-year-old not only made his first All-Star team this season, but was the All-Star Game MVP after hitting a clutch home run late to help the National League earn a rare win.

Diaz has spent each of the last four seasons with the Rockies and is enjoying his best season in 2023. He's slashed .271/.325/.428 with ten home runs and 46 RBI in 86 games this season for Colorado.

I get the hesitation the Padres would have in trading for Diaz. Despite some solid offensive numbers, he only has an 87 WRC+ mainly because he plays half of the time at Coors Field.

Despite that fact, Diaz would still be a massive upgrade offensively for the Padres behind the plate. Padres catchers have a WRC+ of 56 which ranks 27th in the majors, and their -0.7 fWAR ranks 29th. Most of that is thanks to Austin Nola and his struggles, but it's not like the trio of Gary Sanchez, Luis Campusano, and Brett Sullivan have been much better.

Diaz is under contract through the 2024 season at a very reasonable $6 million figure. Adding a bigger offensive force like Salvador Perez would be nice, but it's unlikely that he's available. Diaz will be, and would be a massive upgrade for San Diego, as our own Renee Dechert discussed in this article.

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