San Diego Padres GM A.J. Preller was committed to improving his team and made two big trades ahead of the deadline, including a buzzer beater.
The San Diego Padres needed to shore up the starting rotation if it was going to make a playoff push during the remainder of the season and they did just that with two trade deadline moves.
The Padres acquired left-hander Robbie Ray from the San Francisco Giants before trading for Detroit Tigers right-hander Casey Mize at the buzzer, cementing a classic A.J. Preller deadline.
Ray, 34, is a former Cy Young winner and two-time All-Star who is having a great season. The southpaw has posted a 10-6 record with a 3.08 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 107 strikeouts to 57 walks through 22 appearances (21 starts, 122.2 innings) with the Giants and is set to make his Padres debut Friday night against the Houston Astros.
Mize, 29, the 2018 first-overall pick and former All-Star is having the best season of his career despite spending some time on the injured list. He is 4-7 with a 3.40 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 86 strikeouts to 22 walks through 17 starts (90 innings).
Mize made his debut earlier this week against the Arizona Diamondbacks and allowed eight runs on nine hits and three walks while striking out one batter across 3.1 innings, a start that inflated his ERA (2.70 with Detroit) and WHIP (0.99).
The best part about the deals is that Preller was able to complete them despite having a weakened farm system, parting with San Diego’s No. 2, No. 4 and No. 9 prospects. It seems like a lot, but Preller is committed to winning and prospect-hugging doesn’t help that commitment in the moment.
ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle ranked all 30 teams after the trade deadline and based them on several factors, including how complete a roster is going into the postseason.
Teams were put into the following tiers: top-tier contenders, second-tier contenders, just hanging on and looking ahead to 2027 and beyond.
San Diego ranked 12th with a 63 percent roster completion percentage.
“By adding Casey Mize and Robbie Ray, there's little question that he improved a rotation that I now rate as 69% complete, ranking ninth,” Doolittle wrote Friday. “The bullpen is third while the overall pitching depth is middling. Their season really comes down to whether San Diego's aging offense can produce down the stretch.”
The offense has severely underperformed, especially when you look at the team’s biggest stars. For much of the season, the lineup ranked dead-last, even behind teams way worse in the standings.
Right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. finally got some of his pop back, but he and center fielder Jackson Merrill have been disappointing as a whole. Third baseman Manny Machado’s power is there, but he isn’t hitting for average or getting on base and shortstop Xander Bogaerts is declining with age.
The only way for San Diego to make some noise is for the offense to figure it out down the stretch and get hot at the right time. The Padres are contenders, though, sitting just one game back from the final National League wild card spot.
