Grading all 4 Padres' 2024 trade deadline deals: AJ Preller's last stand

The San Diego Padres had an eventful week leading up to the MLB trade deadline. While San Diego did not walk away with Chicago White Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet, the Los Angeles Dodgers didn't either, so we'll call that a win.

The Padres did little to bolster their starting rotation, but did make a move just before the deadline with the Pittsburgh Pirates that's gives the club some insurance while Yu Darvish is away from the team dealing with a personal matter.

Without further ado, let's dig into the four trades that Padres President of Baseball Operations AJ Preller made at this year's deadline and put a grade on them.

Padres pull off last minute trade with Pirates

Padres receive: Martín Pérez
Pirates receive: Reynaldo Jimenez

It's hard to be mad at Preller for making this deal. No it's not Crochet, but the price tag to acquire the White Sox ace was astronomical. So rather than get into a bidding war with Chicago, San Diego turned their attention to a veteran who can help eat innings over the final two months of the season.

Pérez is a solid, but unspectacular pitcher whose advanced metrics are quite weak. However, with Darvish on the restricted list, Preller and Co. had to do something at the deadline to help offset the void in their rotation.

Grade: C

Padres deal reliever to Yankees

Padres receive: Brandon Lockridge
Yankees receive: Enyel De Los Santos, Thomas Balboni Jr.

Enyel De Los Santos was out of minor league options, so San Diego couldn't send him down to Triple-A in order to open up a roster spot. With the influx of new players, the Padres needed to make some room.

In 44 appearances this season, De Los Santos posted a 4.46 ERA, but based on the Padres other bullpen additions he was going to be squeezed out. The Friars shipped him and Thomas Balboni Jr. off to the Bronx for a 27-year-old minor league outfielder with a high on-base percentage.

Grade: C

Padres strike mega-deal with Marlins for Tanner Scott

Padres receive: Tanner Scott, Bryan Hoeing
Marlins receive: Jay Beshears, Robby Snelling, Adam Mazur, Graham Pauley

Preller swung for the fences and hit a home run. Yes, the return the Marlins got was a big one, but this trade should get the Friar faithful excited. Why? Because this is the type of move that you make if you're all-in, and the Padres are just that.

While the Padres missed out on significantly upgrading the rotation, San Diego has effectively shortened the game. Now, Cease doesn't need to go all nine innings — he can give you six or seven. Adding Scott to a relief corps that already featured Robert Suarez and Jeremiah Estrada at the back end will make the Padres tough to beat when they're up heading into the latter stages of the ball game.

But, the reason it's tough to give this trade an A is due the massive package of prospects that Miami received in return. Three of the four players were considered top-10 prospects within the Padres organization heading into the season. That's a steep price to pay for two months of Scott, but it'll be worth it if San Diego makes a deep playoff run.

Grade: B+

Padres pull off early-deadline deal with Rays

Padres receive: Jason Adam
Rays receive: J.D. Gonzalez, Dylan Lesko, Homer Bush Jr.

It's hard not to like this trade if you're a Padres fan. While the aforementioned deal for Scott only gives you two months worth of the former Marlins' closer, Adam is under team control through 2026. So while giving up three prospects like Gonzalez, Lesko, and Bush still stings, it's not nearly as bad as surrendering that type of package for a rental.

Adam has good numbers this season and has been a reliable arm coming out of the Rays bullpen for the past three seasons. The right-hander owns a 2.30 ERA and nearly 200 strikeouts over that span. While not as flashy as the Scott trade, Adam has the potential to be just as impactful.

Grade: B

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