The trade deadline move the Padres would love to take back

The Padres traded for the Detroit version of Casey Mize. Unfortunately, they received something barely recognizable. If there was ever a wish for a deadline do-over for A.J. Preller, this one would be it. The Padres acquired Mize and infielder Gage Workman from the Tigers for left-handers Kash Mayfield and Jackson Wolf. They believed they were buying a front-line starter for the stretch run. Instead, they spent one of their top pitching prospects on a pitcher who made their rotation worse and landed on the IL before the postseason.

Mize arrived with a 2.70 ERA in 16 starts for Detroit. Honestly, it was a nice, aggressive addition we have come to expect from Preller.  Then he put on a Padres uniform and everything collapsed.

Mize finished his Padres stint with a 7.46 ERA across 10 starts. He allowed 37 earned runs and 13 home runs in only 44 2/3 innings. His final start saw him give up seven runs and three homers against the Diamondbacks. That was not the front-line rental the Padres thought they were getting.

Casey Mize gave the Padres none of what they paid for

Mize originally hurt his ankle after slipping on the dugout steps in August, and it reportedly continued affecting his mechanics after he returned. So there were definitely some health issues that correlated with his demise.

But the Padres paid for immediate performance. They surrendered their No. 2 prospect because Mize was supposed to help them win games that mattered. But starts basically became a damage-control exercise for the lineup and bullpen.

A.J. Preller cannot keep paying premium prices for temporary fixes

Preller doesn’t sit still. That’s his reputation. And that aggression has helped make San Diego relevant. Nobody should want him to spend the winter hiding because this deadline deal exploded.

But aggression only works when the return justifies the damage. The Padres have stripped so many prospects from a thin system for short-term additions who leave the club searching for the same answer a few months later.

There were other deadline moves that can be debated. This one does not require much debate. If the Padres could reverse one trade from the deadline, they would put Mayfield and Wolf back in their system, send Mize and Workman to Detroit and pretend the entire thing never happened.

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