A.J. Preller silenced skeptics by landing starters Robbie Ray and Casey Mize at the buzzer, fortifying a shaky rotation and earning elite marks for a bold postseason push.
The San Diego Padres came into the 2026 MLB trade deadline with plenty of questions.
It remained to be seen whether Padres GM A.J. Preller would buy or sell, and top relievers such as Adrian Morejon and Mason Miller were potential candidates if San Diego decided to sell.
On Monday, Preller answered those questions by acquiring veteran starting pitcher Robbie Ray in a deal with the San Francisco Giants for two prospects.
Then, San Diego was silent for the next few hours before Preller acquired starting pitcher Casey Mize from the Detroit Tigers for two players, most notably being pitcher prospect Kash Mayfield.
San Diego also added infielder Gage Workman in the Tigers deal, and although Mize had a career-worst outing in his Padres debut, adding two quality pitchers was exactly what this team needed.
After the deadline, former MLB GM Jim Bowden, who now works for The Athletic, had grades for every team, and San Diego had the second-best grade with an A. The only team ahead of them was the Los Angeles Dodgers, who acquired Tarik Skubal in a major move.
"The Padres’ deadline reminded me of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” when the swordsman pulls the sword out and starts whipping and twirling it around, challenging the hero for several minutes. Then Indiana Jones looks at him, sighs, pulls out a gun and just shoots him. That’s what it felt like Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller did. He made no moves all week and then at the buzzer went and grabbed arguably the second- and third-best starting pitchers traded at the deadline in Mize and Ray," Bowden wrote.
The starting pitching has been a major concern with players such as Matt Waldron, German Marquez, JP Sears and Griffin Canning making starts and not having much success.
Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta are injured and trying to work their way back, and Randy Vasquez started strong before hitting a road bump and being moved to a bullpen role before starting again recently.
And, Walker Buehler has been a pleasant surprise, but there was no question San Diego needed a starter, or two, in order to stay alive in the playoff race.
Yes, both Ray and Mize are rentals, and Mayfield was a tough prospect to give up, but by now, we all know how Preller feels about holding prospects.
At the end of the day, this is what the Padres needed, and a top three of Mize, Ray and Michael King should be more than enough to try and make a run for the Wild Card spot in the National League.
