Grading each of the San Diego Padres' major trade deadline moves

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It's over: the 2023 MLB Trade Deadline is officially behind us. And that also means the end of a grueling period of speculation about how exactly the San Diego Padres would handle this important seasonal milestone.

To no one's surprise, GM A.J. Preller opted to buy, hauling in four MLB players and one prospect amongst a series of three deadline day acquisitions.

With the dust having settled, let's grade these moves and see how the Padres fared.

1) Grading the San Diego Padres' trade for Rich Hill and Ji-Man Choi

In the first move executed by San Diego on deadline day, the Padres acquired veteran left-hander Rich Hill and first baseman Ji-Man Choi in a five player swap with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Hill, now 43, gives San Diego a crucial depth piece in their rotation as the team gets set for a playoff chase. With a 4.76 ERA in 22 starts for the Pirates, the southpaw is a serviceable option the rest of the way.

As for Choi, he's been injured for most of 2023, but has left-handed pop and could serve as a solid platoon option against right-handed pitching. At the very least, he's an upgrade over Matt Carpenter. That alone is a win for the Padres.

In return, San Diego surrendered their No. 16 prospect Jackson Wolf, per MLB.com, as well as first baseman Alfonso Rivas and minor league outfielder Estuar Suero. Overall, not too steep of a cost to acquire two key depth pieces for the stretch.

Grade: B+

Colorado Rockies v Miami Marlins / Jasen Vinlove/Miami Marlins/GettyImages

2) Grading the San Diego Padres' trade for Garrett Cooper and Sean Reynolds

Right around the 6 p.m ET cutoff, the Padres were able to pull off two buzzer beater deals, one of them being a trade with the Miami Marlins for designated hitter Garrett Cooper and pitching prospect Sean Reynolds.

Cooper, with a wRC+ of 97, is roughly a league average player in 2023, though he does have 13 home runs on the season. His right-handed pop should form a decent platoon with Ji-Man Choi from the left side, giving San Diego some much-needed punch at designated hitter where Matt Carpenter and Nelson Cruz failed to do so.

The Padres also acquired pitching prospect Sean Reynolds from the Marlins in this trade, a minor league reliever who has had success in Double-A and Triple-A this season and could impact San Diego's bullpen soon.

Going back to Miami was a former Padres' top prospect in Ryan Weathers, who never quite figured out on the mound in San Diego, but who also still has promise. Perhaps the Marlins can turn Weathers around, but on the Padres' side of things, this was another solid trade.

Grade: B

Jul 9, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Scott Barlow (58) throws a / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

3) Grading the San Diego Padres' trade for Scott Barlow

The last piece of A.J. Preller's trade deadline haul was Kansas City Royals' closer Scott Barlow.

Barlow was having a rough season in Kansas City prior to his arrival in San Diego, posting an unsightly 5.35 ERA in 38 appearances, though it's worth noting he also saved 13 games for an awful Royals team and struck out 47 batters across 38.2 innings of work. His 3.64 FIP also indicates bad luck and a chance for positive regression with a change of scenery.

The most signifcant aspect of the Padres' trade for Barlow is the team control element, as the 30-year-old isn't a free agent until after next season. This gives San Diego another late-inning bullpen option both this year and next year.

Going back to Kansas City are minor league pitching prospects Jesus Rios and Henry Williams, neither of whom ranked highly in the Padres' farm system.

Because of Barlow's results so far, we have to bump this letter grade down a bit. However, the low price point for his acquisition does work in San Diego's favor.

Grade: B-

OVERALL GRADE: B

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