San Diego Padres rumors: 3 trade deadline deals to make, 2 to avoid

An interesting dilemma awaits the San Diego Padres this summer. On the one hand, their all-in commitment to 2023 as evidenced by exorbitant recent spending and trade aggressiveness means it would be difficult to backpedal from this season despite some struggles.

On the other? Their farm system, depleted over the years to pave this window into contention, may not be able to withstand another major hit to its already frail depth at the trade deadline.

Ultimately, though, we should expect the Padres to be buyers once again in 2023 because that has become their identity. And there's no reason to believe San Diego will deviate from that identity. With that in mind, here are three moves the club should consider making, and two to avoid this July.

1) The San Diego Padres should trade for Tigers' starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen

Starting pitching may not be the most immediate Padres necessity, but when has anyone ever suggested having depth is a bad thing? And with Michael Lorenzen having pitched to a 3.80 ERA over his last seven starts for the Detroit Tigers (including a solid 1.09 WHIP) , he's a perfectly viable option for San Diego down the stretch.

Seth Lugo is down. Joe Musgrove has an elbow issue that will linger throughout the summer. Can we really trust Yu Darvish right now? Fortunately, Blake Snell has stepped up of late, but the more options Bob Melvin can have every fifth day, the better.

Lorenzen is playing on a one-year deal in 2023, so as a rental, the Padres should be able to afford the 31-year-old righty this summer without moving heaven and earth. This would be a sensible trade to make for A.J. Preller.