Can Rangers be perfect trade deadline partner for Padres if both teams' trends hold?

The San Diego Padres have played themselves into a position where it makes sense to let the front office, led by AJ Preller, cook. They are firmly in control of their own destiny in the NL wild card race and are playing good baseball outside of an unfortunate showing their last couple of games. One possible source of trade deadline roster additions for San Diego could be their opponent this week in the Texas Rangers.

The Rangers are in a weird spot in 2024 despite winning the World Series last year. Most of the guys who helped them win the title are still around, but Texas has been horribly snakebitten by injuries this year with several of their hurt guys experiencing multiple setbacks along the way. There is still time to turn things around and Texas' front office seems to think they will, but they are falling further and further out of the playoff hunt and could end up being surprise sellers at the deadline.

For the Padres, that could mean a host of more really interesting options available to them as July 30 approaches.

The Padres could take advantage of the Rangers' misfortune at the trade deadline

For the Padres, reinforcing their pitching staff is going to be a priority this month. With both Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove still dealing with injuries, getting some rotation depth is crucial for their chances the rest of the season, and adding some bullpen arms sure couldn't hurt either as San Diego's relief corps looks pretty rough beyond their big three of Robert Suarez, Adrian Morejon, and Jeremiah Estrada.

Luckily, the Rangers have multiple guys that could be quite helpful here if they do end up selling. The sexiest name is obviously Max Scherzer, but both his persistent injury issues and age, combined with the fact that he is owed a lot of money, makes a deal for him very, very sketchy.

However, other Rangers arms could be better options with Nathan Eovaldi leading the pack as a guy with a ton of upside and a vesting option for 2025 that is unlikely to trigger at this point as he needs 156 total innings pitched this season (he already missed time with an injury, too). Michael Lorenzen has pitched well for the most part and is a free agent after the season. A reunion with reliever Kirby Yates also could make sense as he is thriving in the Rangers bullpen.

The Padres' plans are going to become clearer as more sellers enter the trade market. They are already in hot pursuit of White Sox starter Garrett Crochet, and if they do that, some of these guys may not be feasible trade targets. However, getting Crochet is far from a sure thing and the Padres have a front row seat this week to see if some of their other potential options can help them at the deadline.

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