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

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+

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