San Diego Padres rumors: Shohei Ohtani, magic number before trade deadline

Before the San Diego Padres open the unofficial second half of the season on the road against the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night, let's look at some of the latest Padres rumors.

San Diego Padres rumors: Is this the magic number for the Padres before the MLB trade deadline?

Starting play on Friday at 43-47, former Padres player and current special assistant to the organization Mark Loretta believes San Diego has to go on a significant run in order to truly become buyers at the MLB trade deadline.

Loretta joined the John Kentera Show on 97.3 The Fan on Thursday and threw out his thoughts on what could be to come for the Padres with 17 games left in the month of July.

"One thing about A.J. Preller is that he can pivot on a dime. He can be a seller one day and a buyer the next," Loretta said during the interview. "I think these next two weeks are extremely important. For me, I think you need to have the team go 15-5 or something like that, really show that they're really going to be in it for the playoffs. Otherwise, I think for the long-term health of the franchise, you gotta consider trading guys who are going to be free agents."

Some of those "guys" include closer Josh Hader, who told me during All-Star Game media availability that he is not paying attention to any of the rumors floating out there, as well as starting pitcher Blake Snell.

San Diego Padres rumors: Another connection to Shohei Ohtani

While the Padres must be thinking about 2024 at this season's trade deadline, there are plenty of rumors around where Shohei Ohtani may end up next season as well. MLB insider Jon Heyman once again made it clear on Thursday that, "Baseball folks expect the Padres to be in the free-agent bidding for two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, which shouldn’t surprise anyone."

Heyman went on to say that the Los Angeles Dodgers are seen as "the early favorite" for Ohtani, so a Southern California bidding war could come into play next season for the 29-year-old's services.