4 ways the San Diego Padres can screw up the MLB trade deadline

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With each passing day, the August 1 MLB trade deadline inches closer and closer. Most teams have an idea of whether or not they will be buyers, sellers, or standing pat. The San Diego Padres are still in a wait-and-see situation.

As things currently stand, the Friars are 6.5 games out of the third and final National League Wild Card spot and time is beginning to run out. After dropping three out of four to the Philadelphia Phillies to begin their 10-game road trip, they took two out of three from the Toronto Blue Jays. It feels like this weekend's upcoming series against the Detroit Tigers is an almost must-sweep situation. San Diego will not see Tigers lefty Eduardo Rodriguez in the series, which is key.

The next 10 days before the trade deadline is going to be make or break for the Padres and will point GM A.J. Preller toward which direction he's going to go. No matter what way he decides to go, there are multiple ways he can screw up the deadline for his team.

Here is how the San Diego Padres can screw up the trade deadline

To be clear, we still don't know what Preller is going to do in terms of additions and subtractions or just standing pat. Regardless of what he decides, there should be an eye towards the 2024 season, no matter how disappointing 2023 ends up when all is said and done.

Colorado Rockies v San Diego Padres / Denis Poroy/GettyImages

1) San Diego Padres can screw up the trade deadline by trading Juan Soto

As I stated, regardless of what the Padres do, they need to have an eye toward next season. That starts with not trading Juan Soto. Yes, it has not been the season that the Friars thought they were going to have and he has just one year remaining on his current contract, but with Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, and Fernando Tatis Jr. back next season, some roster tweaking over the winter can get hopes high again.

Soto's bat is a game-changer and a bat that San Diego needs if they have World Series aspirations in 2024, which they should. Soto's numbers say he's had a good season and he was the All-Star representative in the field for the Padres in Seattle. Trading him would be a mistake.

2) San Diego Padres can screw up the trade deadline by not getting another bat

Give Preller credit, two of his offseason signings didn't work out and he cut ties with them. Earlier this month, he DFA'd Nelson Cruz, and Wednesday afternoon, he did the same with Rougned Odor. Cruz was a long shot on a team-friendly deal, however, it just never worked out for the veteran right-handed bat.

Odor's struggles in the field hit rock bottom last Saturday in the first game of a doubleheader in Philadelphia where his error opend the flood gates for a Phillies rally a tough loss for San Diego to swallow. He was splitting left-handed DH at-bats with Matt Carpenter too, but his bat also slowed down. Getting a bat to fill in the DH at-bats down the stretch is a need they have.

Division Series - Los Angeles Dodgers v San Diego Padres - Game Three / Harry How/GettyImages

3) San Diego Padres can screw up the trade deadline by not selling high on Josh Hader or Blake Snell

If Preller deems them as a team that can't catch one of the teams ahead of them for a Wild Card spot, there is no reason why he should not sell high on either Josh Hader or Blake Snell. Both players are in a walk season and there's no guarantee that either will be back in 2024 and both should get a decent return for San Diego.

Snell has been very good since Gary Sanchez arrived in late May, but his stuff is good enough that he can be a big difference-maker for a contender. A reunion with the Tampa Bay Rays would not be out of the question. Hader has been very good out of the Friars bullpen and adding him to a bullpen can shorten a game by one less inning. There are plenty of teams looking for starting and bullpen help that would overpay at the deadline.

4) San Diego Padres can screw up the trade deadline by overpaying for Shohei Ohtani

Would the Padres like to have Shohei Ohtani? Of course, so would every other team. However, if the Los Angeles Angels decide to trade their star, whoever acquires him is going to overpay and overpay big time for a two-month rental who is almost certainly going to test free agency this upcoming winter.

With the position San Diego is in, overpaying for him does not make sense. Giving up prospects would be a colossal waste and if the Angels are smart, they would inquire about catching prospect Luis Campusano. You have to imagine that the Padres will be in on Ohtani over the winter in free agency and selling the farm in a year where it's not worth it is a mistake.

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