While the Padres were swept in today’s doubleheader against the Phillies, dropping their season record to 44-49 that puts them ten games back in the NL West, the club is nonetheless expected to pursue additions prior to August 1’s trade deadline. Club chairman Peter Seidler indicated as much earlier in the month, and now Jon Heyman of the New York Post adds additional details about the team’s expected deadline approach. While San Diego will look to make additions, Heyman suggests it will be a far more modest than the massive outlay last year that brought back Juan Soto, Josh Hader, and Josh Bell. The club reportedly hopes to add a bat to the lineup, along with possibly a relief arm to the bullpen.
With clear starters entrenched all across the infield and outfield, the clearest hole in the club’s lineup appears to be at designated hitter. The club recently released Nelson Cruz, and fellow offseason signing Matt Carpenter has struggled similarly with a 76 wRC+ in 191 plate appearances this season. Rougned Odor and Brandon Dixon have also mixed in recently, though both are also hitting well below league average. Given this need at DH, the Padres should have plenty of options on the rental market. Speculatively speaking, Tommy Pham woulld certainly improve the club’s production at the DH spot, while a more versatile player like Cody Bellinger could do the same while also mixing in at all three outfield spots and at first base.
More from around the NL West…
- Sticking with the Padres, Fernando Tatis Jr. exited play against the Phillies today with an apparent injury. As noted by Annie Heilbrunn of the San Diego Union-Tribune, manager Bob Melvin told reporters that Tatis suffered a twisted ankle on the warning track and left the game after his ankle began to swell. Tatis is currently considered day-to-day, though given Tatis’s injury history and importance to the Padres, it would hardly be surprising if the club decided to sit him for a game or two to ensure the issue doesn’t become more significant.
- Giants left-hander Alex Wood is slated to take the ball for a start tomorrow against the Pirates, as noted by Susan Sussler of the San Francisco Chronicle. Across 50 innings of work this season, Wood sports a 4.68 ERA and 4.74 FIP. He was moved to the bullpen at the end of June and sports a 3.09 ERA in 11 2/3 innings of work since then, including two five-inning, scoreless appearances. Now, Wood will get another opportunity as a member of the club’s starting rotation where he will be joined by Logan Webb, Alex Cobb, and Ross Stripling.
- The Dodgers have struggled to keep their starting pitchers healthy this season as each of Clayton Kershaw, Julio Urias, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, Noah Syndergaard, Ryan Pepiot, Michael Grove, and Gavin Stone have spent time on the injured list throughout the season. Fortunately for LA, the club appears poised to get reinforcements from the injured list in the near future, with both Syndergaard and Pepiot beginning rehab assignments with Triple-A Oklahoma City per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. Pepiot made his first appearance since Spring Training with Oklahoma City yesterday, allowing one run over two innings while racking up two strikeouts. Syndergaard, meanwhile, allowed two runs on four hits over five innings of work in a start this evening, striking out six without issuing a walk. Both pitchers, if healthy and effective, figure to impact a Dodgers club that has surged to recapture the lead in the NL West race in recent days.
We’re all day to day.
From vin scully himself
The Los Angeles Dodgers have beat down the insurgents and restored Law & Order in the National League West.
Rest easy.
Go Giants. Dodgers not looking in the rear view mirror apparently. I like it.
Nothing to worry about.
The Padres can’t splurge like last season because Preller has already shipped out most of the teams prospect capital. He’s basically Dave Dombrowski, but without the results.
I’ve long felt AJ Preller is most likely bipolar. Fernando Tatis is completely phenomenal and I’ve never seen an IF transition to OF so seamlessly. That being said, they should move Soto in trade to replenish the farm and more evenly distribute resources. Soto is an above average player, but he’s a poor defender/baserunner, a lot of his value is tied to walks and he almost certainly won’t be worth the contract he’ll command in about 1.5 yrs.
Mookie betts came up as a 2b and transitioned pretty well to rf
“Soto is an above average player” – yeah, slightly – LOL understatement of the year!
“Understatement of the year”…Tatis is MILES better than Soto. Tatis is multi tool, excellent defender, baserunner ,Power bat and shotgun arm. Drawing walks in crucial situations is not nearly as impactful as getting hits. Soto is above average at the plate and average or below average, pretty much everywhere else.
Mlb – ok so what’s your point? Your post that I commented on didn’t compare Soto to Tatis. You simply called Soto “an above average player”.
To pick one – I’ll take Tatis. To compare stats – well, they are what they are.
Above average player, many flaws and hardly the next coming and hardly merits the overwhelming media hype he generates. For me, I could easily name 25 players off the top of my head, that I’d prefer to see on my team. Soto could easily be the FIFTH best player on his own team, behind Tatis, Machado, Bogey and possibly Kim.
Have you even bothered to see where Soto stands on all time lists statistically at his current age?
If you have then how do you justify ignoring them and not just a little bit bit to that extreme. Ok, you don’t like him. Ok you don’t think he is worth 500 mil but really dude the stats accomplished are what they are and until we stop evaluating players based on these stats he is quite far more than an above average player.
“Soto all time lists”..I’m sure he rates well, but I don’t buy into the “historical” argument for guys in their 20’s. To hear ESPN or other media tell it, “history” happens every 15 minutes or everytime someone sinks a buzzer-beater on television.
“all time lists”…..comparing guys from different eras is pretty much a farce, because too many things change(rules, conditions, even equipment changes matter..).. throughout decades to get any kind of accurate comparison….what you end up with is a bunch of yoyos arguing over whether their favorite player from 40 years ago is better than the favorite players of others……I don’t buy into much of the garbage and hype that the media and ESPN are trying to sell.
So you choose to utilize some personal eye test for your assertion that he is “an above average” player with no justification or measurement devise whatsoever?
Wow. Just wow.
Yeah? No. Soto is downright lousy at defense. I can’t believe he was that inept with Washington; the scouts never would have recommended him. The only answer is apathy.
Soto’s .874 OPS for 2022-23 barely cracks the NL’s top 10 this year. Anyone who gives him more far more than peak Trout, as the Nats tried to do, are beyond foolish. Granted he’ll be 26-37 on a 12 year deal, but for a player who should already be a DH?
and for how long have you been having these feelings?…..
Rockin’ Robin.
They don’t care about replenishing the farm. If they did they never would have traded for Soto at all. They won’t get back half as much as what they gave up to get him if they trade him now.
Dombrowski gets less results than people give him credit for.
No he really doesn’t. He just ended a decade + playoff drought for the Phils. He’s succeeded everywhere he’s been. He hasn’t really touched the Phillies farm…yet.
The Phillies payroll has gone up up up since they brought him in. Why should he get credit for that?
The “Dom” is only brought in to “win now”. By that metric, he’s been quite successful at everyone of his stops.
He didn’t win in Detroit. He hasn’t won in Philly. I think he was the GM when the Marlins won a while back. I don’t recall that was a long time ago.
I understand the Dombrowski reputation, but he hasn’t shipped the Phillies prospects out…yet.
Per BA’s top 100 updated list from this weekend the Padres have the top 17, 18, 45 & 52 prospects. The O’s have 5 of the top 52… from my scanning I don’t think any other team has 4 prospects ranked that highly which is kinda crazy with all their recent trading.
The Giants will get Ohtani…
Hopefully not via trade. Fangraphs stated that they would demand Harrison, Luciano and whisen…all three top 100 prospects. Tripping
hopefully not..that’s ridiculous, considering they were all-in on Judge last season..it would be a pipe dream to land Ohtani based off the Giants off-seasons, I’m condition to being disappointed everytime..But, that lineup would look crazy good if majority of their prospects pan out
Wow. A team will be good if the majority of the prospects pan out?
Isn’t that the case with any team? Duh!
Unfortunately, the majority of prospects don’t pan out.
Just to be clear, we are talking about Arson Judge?
of course it’s an obvious and superficial statement but just try to think deeper of the overall message and looking at the Giants farm situation, especially since Zaidi took over..the timing couldn’t be any better considering when Ohtani becomes a FA and prospects like Luciano gets the call..attempt to do some research or think beyond the statement “if a those prospects pan out”
Also, look at the context of the subject..Balk stated that hopefully the Giants don’t trade those aforementioned prospects for a half year of Ohtani..so in response, I basically said imagine if they didn’t plus why would they trade when they have the funds to sign in FA
Dubtastic Judge also wanted to stay in New York and New York wanted to pay, that’s not the same situation as Ohtani. If it was money, the Giants were willing to pay. It wasn’t the money.
BWAH HA HA…that’s a pipe dream! Ohtani will put on an LA Dodgers cap in the off season.
Brooklyn62…I don’t get why people like you say these things when they have no clue. It really depends on the player right? San Fran has a legitimate chance just like the Dodgers or even Mets have at landing this dude. But you do you
The Padres depth is so awful. They are DH’ing Dixon & Odor right now. No one in the bullpen besides Hader is any good and they have absolutely no one in the system to even try at the big league level. AJ Preller is the worst GM in baseball, this is the second time he thought he could shortcut building a solid system and just throw a handful of flashy players on the field.
Dude is trying to build NBA superteams in MLB, that doesn’t work, you need more depth.
Every time a team wins the offseason they seem to fail to live up to those lofty expectations.
Teams are far better off learning how to lose and watch someone celebrate on the field in front of them. Hopefully that team is controllable and all homegrown. Then you add a veteran or two to put the team over the top that has had some playoff success.
These teams who try to hotshot their way to the WS without making the playoffs for a couple years prior and turnover half their team seem to struggle badly. Team chemistry definitely seems to be an underrated thing.
I would like to know what the W% is for teams who add the most new players to their major league roster and the W% of the teams who add the most to their payroll. You are right that it feels like the off season winners always underperform.
99socal
I agree with everythjng you said.
Except one thing.
Eppler, not Preller, is worst GM in baseball. Re-shuffle the anagram!
Cashman is pretty high up there for me. Think how lucky he is to be able to just cut guys like Aaron Hicks and pay $50M for a AAA starter in Kei Igawa! Don’t forget the Michigan QB Drew Henson who never amounted to anything and got a $17M/6 year deal. But you can see where Eppler learned to suck!
trade Soto,Hader, Snell,before August,…..AND FIRE A.J.PRELLER,NOW.
Can’t trade Soto unless they get Abrams, Gore, Hassell, Wood and Susana back or get back something outrageous like Acuña from the Braves or Rodriguez from the Mariners.
I’ll take it that you believe those players have some value that other GM’s will want. Ok, Preller traded for them all so, are you going to fire every GM that trades for them from the Padres?
Huh? How about this, if you go find any GM in baseball willing to trade for Bogaerts, Machado, Cronenworth, Darvish or Suarez and take on the contract then Preller can keep his job.
Imagine inking 5 totally untradable contracts in a single offseason, and still somehow convincing some fans (and the owner) that you have the first clue what you are doing.
99 – what does your post have anything to do with my reply? I merely pointed out that the specific guys he referenced were in fact traded for by Preller. Leave your orange out of our apple convo.
Thor is reinforcements?
Maybe, if you’re building a levee.
LA River needs revetment
“Meanwhile” needs to start the sentence, not come in the middle, separated by commas.
Calm down Poindexter
If we’re just going to call people names, then you’re an a$shole for this comment
Calm down, Poindexter.
a$$
ButItDo, sounds like somebody has a case of the Mondays.
That is blatantly false. “meanwhile” can be in the middle of a sentence, most times following a semi-colon.
It is not blatantly false, Dorothy. Check CMOS.
Isn’t CMOS the sensor in my 1990’s camcorder? It has no opinion on this.
I quote: A complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) is the semiconductor technology used in most of today’s integrated circuits (ICs), also known as chips or microchips. CMOS transistors are based on metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) technology.
You can spend time correcting people’s grammar on internet forums, but meanwhile you should be studying English.
And what is wrong with my English?
For starters, your name s/b But it does. But it aint.
Obviously, you’ve never heard of Oscar Gamble. Again, what is your point?
Yeah Preller will be scrambling for cigarette butts in the Walmart parking lot trying to make up for his prima Donnas and the 7 scrubs team construction. All he can really do is swap one set of dumpster dive hopes for another.
But…wait…. O’Tawny for Soda? That would be a Prelleresque centerpiece for a deal.
Who are O’Tawny and Soda? Maybe the former is a brand of whisky I haven’t heard of.
That’s funny,yo!
LOL. O’Tawny and Soda, but never on the Rocks!
If they don’t improve, this is another 78 win Pad team. That is just amazing. That’s like a Phil Plantier or Phil Nevin or Tim Stauffer era team. Unreal!
Adding to a team that is 7.5 games back of the 3rd wild card. Preller knows his days are numbered
He’ll swap managers in August out of desperation and start the fire sale in October. Then he’s out
Pods can’t run support their starting pitchers. The infield rotations and days off for starters need to stop. Feels like everyone is waiting for the other guy to step up.
Trading soon to be free agents and Juan Soto should be top priority.
Snell to the Rays
Soto to the Orioles
Wacha to the Rangers
Lugo to the Astros
Hader to the Marlins
Look to retool with mlb ready pieces and finish 2023 however we do.
I agree with you, but, please, FIRE PRELLER.
You can’t trade Soto unless you get back a better package than the one you gave up to get him which just isn’t going to happen with him being a year closer to FA and struggling for a large chunk of the last year.
When Ryan Pepiot is the returning hero….
… and you’re in first place by 2 games.
The Dodgers are reasserting their control. The Dbacks are sliding hard since the Kelly injury and need rotation help if they want to stay in the division race
The D’backs never looked completely real. Their run differential just isn’t good enough to support their W-L record. Regression to mean isn’t guaranteed but it is likely.
If Seidler’s stating they won’t reverse course and Heyman is suggesting the Padres will have a modest offseason, I take that as a sign the Padres will be looking for cheap, controllable players. That would amount to an indictment of Preller’s entire strategy. Either the superstars step up or they don’t. Any moves would either weaken this year’s team or require trading what little remains of the farm system.
The article says that the Padres will have a moderate trade-deadline as far as acquisitions go. It does not mention their offseason plans. They will need to either re-sign or replace some of their key free agents so they will spend some significant dollars this offseason one way or another.
I meant to type trade deadline, excuse me. I take this as a sign they are looking for the type of cheap, controllable players they’ve traded away so frequently. Trading Hader at his absolute apex would make the most sense.
Would that be considered a Phamily reunion?
No Pham. Let us finish 20 games out. But no Pham.
Pham is an angry guy.
The padres definitely should be sellers not buyers this deadline. Should for sure trade snell and hader. You can make a real case they should trade Soto, Kim, Wacha and Lugo. If they traded them all they would have about 87m come off the tax line next year. They would also get a massive all of prospects back if they traded them all.
They would have a lot of holes to fill but the farm system would be loaded again and would have some money to help fill some of the holes. If they can get some near prospects back that they can play next year they would be able to field a possible contender next season.
The goal is for the Padres MLB team to compete right now and 2024. Having the best farm system is not the overall goal. Selling out every home game and you think the owners are going to deplete the MLB team and send that message to those fans packing Petco and packing bank accounts?
If they lose today ( yes it’s come down to that) then it’s likely they shift to being pseudosellers. But with 2023 in rear view mirror, Seidler is all in for winning in 2024 and so they will keep Soto and Kim and any departures (Hader, Snell, Lugo) will be in trades meant to boost team in 2024 and beyond. That will be a tall task though because the contenders interested in those players now will only offer prospects. Pads are in a tough spot.
Brew – in past 10 games they have made up ground on Miami and Arizona – top 2 spots in WC.
All is not lost – yet.
as Manny said last night, today’s game is a must win. Crazy to be at this place in July but it’s sort of true
who’s fault, PRELLER.
Padres should bring Profar back. He’s been mediocre for the Rockies so far this season, but produced pretty well in SD last year and would be an improvement over what they’ve been running out at DH.
I think there was a character in the recent movie Glass that Tatis Jr should have played.
The Padres have to play exactly .667 the remainder of the season to win 90. Maybe it takes one or two less wins, but that’s a tough row to hoe.
The Dodgers analytics dept is over-rating Syndergaard if they think he could provide replacement level value at the back end of the rotation. He is not horrible, but he is unreliable, meaning that his performance is notoriously difficult to predict. Even so, he’s not half the thrower he was earlier in his career, and he still hasnt learned to pitch.
I don’t get the “dump Kim” rhetoric. He is exactly the kind of guy they need to keep, IMO.
One of him or Crone has to go and Kim can’t hit a MLB fastball.
and Crone is 1 for Philadelphia
Haters – Kim’s defense alone makes him extremely valuable for 7 mil. 4.2 WAR at this point and 5.0 last year primarily at SS (yes it still is a fair way to measure against other 2b or SS (I agree not the best overall measuring tool of all positions).
The only explanation that makes sense is they are hating just to hate on HSK!
“Kim’s defense alone”…..The eye test says Ha Sing Kim is EXCELLENT….He’s one of the better defenders I’ve ever seen at any position. I knew he was pretty good and before the season I’d hoped the Mariners would target him in trade, since the Pads always seem to have 4 or 5 SS on their roster.
I thought Dipoto could acquire him cheap in the offseason to play 2b, because the Pads always seem to have a glut of middle infielders and a bloated payroll…..All that being said, I had no idea Kim was as good as he seems to be. I was just SURE he was much better than Kolten Wong or Adam Frazier . I don’t understand why people keep buying into Kolten Wong being a player, because he clearly never has been.
Tatis is made of glass.
Anyone else think the pitch clock may be causing some of these widespread pitching injuries? I know my Brewers are hurting in that department too. What else could be the cause?