The San Diego Padres earned a much-needed win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday but could be in on an outfielder from a different NL West rival.
The San Diego Padres finally snapped its eight-game losing streak after defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-2 to salvage the four-game series.
The Padres got a brilliant pitching performance from left-hander JP Sears, who was coming off a rough start against the Chicago Cubs, allowing just three baserunners with five strikeouts over five shutout innings.
San Diego’s bullpen struggled to pitch clean innings until “The Reaper” took the ball in the ninth. Closer Mason Miller kept his ERA under 1.00 by putting the Dodgers down 1-2-3 with a strikeout to earn his 22nd save.
Miller is headed to his second career All-Star Game and for good reason. To go along with his 22 saves (in 22 opportunities), Miller is the first pitcher to have a sub-1.00 ERA and over a 16.00 strikeouts per nine innings mark through his first 35 appearances of a season since 1913, according to OptaSTATS.
With how dominant Miller has been, it’s a shame that the Padres haven’t had the starting pitching or offense to go with it. San Diego is currently in third place of the National League West, tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks at 44-45, and sits four games back from the final NL wild card spot.
The Padres would be wise to go out and trade for an impact starter or two to help the starting rotation, and while the Padres are listed among other teams as best fits for all the top starting pitcher trade chips, it has also been listed as a best fit for several outfielders.
ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan ranked the top 100 trade candidates and listed the Padres as one of the best fits for rival outfielder Jung Hoo Lee of the San Francisco Giants, who was ranked seventh.
The Giants are having a rough season at 37-52 in manager Tony Vitello’s first year and are expected to try and move veteran players at the Aug. 3 trade deadline, but Lee isn’t one of the players that has been lumped into that category like third baseman Matt Chapman, shortstop Willy Adames and first baseman Rafael Devers.
Lee has arguably been San Francisco’s best offensive player and is under contract through at least 2028, so the Giants probably don’t want to move him, but should be listening if teams call and offer something it can’t refuse.
“The 27-year-old is top five in MLB in batting average and strikeout rate, and considering he's carrying a slugging percentage in excess of .450 and can also play all around the outfield, Lee is primed to get a big return if the Giants indeed move him,” McDaniel and Passan wrote Monday.
It would take some hefty compensation for general manager A.J. Preller to pry Lee away from his division rival, and after trading the farm for Miller a season ago, the Padres entered the season with the worst ranked prospect pool in baseball.
Getting anybody that will truly impact the team is going to cost a ton, especially if you’re trying to do business with a divisional foe. It would probably cost the Padres several top 30 prospects to get Lee.
