Padres fans will be disappointed with AJ Preller's new rumored trade deadline plans

Eric Cole

Arizona Diamondbacks v San Diego Padres / Sean M. Haffey/GettyImages

Almost everyone assumed that the San Diego Padres were going to be big players at this year's trade deadline. They have one of the most aggressive GMs in baseball in AJ Preller who has already made two significant trades in 2024 and have been long connected to top names like Garrett Crochet. Logically, one would think that means the Padres were truly going for it at the deadline this year.

However, after some observers implying that the Padres could exercise more restraint than you would think, San Diego beat writer AJ Cassavell poured cold water on Padres fans' optimism when he called the Padres "light buyers" at the deadline.

Padres Rumors: San Diego likely to be less busy at trade deadline than initially expected

Cassavell acknowledges that the Padres need another starting pitcher and at least one more bullpen arm. However, trading for Garrett Crochet is even more problematic now that he is demanding a contract extension if his team wants him to pitch in the playoffs this year. Combine that with the Tigers being likely to hold on to Tarik Skubal and you have a trade market that doesn't really have much in the way of marquee names.

Not to mention, the Padres traded for Rays reliever Jason Adam on Sunday morning and paid a hefty price. That could severely limit what they could do between now and Tuesday evening.

While some Padres fans are going to be disappointed that the front office may not be in full wheeling and dealing mode at the deadline, that isn't particularly fair. San Diego already traded for Dylan Cease right before the season and he is on a historic tear at the moment. On top of that, Preller also managed to get a trade for Luis Arráez done in May. Arraez has cooled off a bit and is banged up, but it was still an aggressive move at the time and the front office deserves credit for the roster they have already done.

Cassavell also isn't completely discounting the idea of the Padres making moves. However, it is more likely that a rental starter like Jack Flaherty and one of a many non-closer relievers such as the Angels' Luis Garcia ends up being San Diego's haul instead of the splashy moves that fans have come to expect.

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Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.