The San Diego Padres are struggling mightily this season. At 48-52, their playoff hopes seem incredibly bleak. Usually, when a team is struggling by this point in the season, said team will be selling some of their pieces at the trade deadline. However.., that doesn't seem to be the case for this San Diego team.

The Padres have a couple of star pitchers that could be dealt for some young talents and prospects at the trade deadline. Lefty Blake Snell and closer Josh Hader are prime trade candidates this season. However, San Diego isn't giving up on this season yet, at least per Jeff Passan's sources.

“On the other coast, San Diego is acting as if it's still pursuing a playoff spot, despite its 48-52 record. Executives who have asked about left-hander Blake Snell — the best pitcher in baseball for two months running, with a 0.71 ERA in his past 11 starts — and left-handed closer Josh Hader have been rebuffed, despite both players heading to free agency this winter. ”

Snell is having an excellent resurgence in 2023 after a rough start to the season. After posting an ERA as high as 4.50, the Padres ace has slowly gotten that number down to 2.67 for the season. Should San Diego choose to sell, Snell would bring an excellent haul. Meanwhile, Josh Hader is still one of the league's premier closers, having the seventh-most saves this season with 24.

The Padres' reluctance to trade Snell and Hader is understandable, at the very least. San Diego came into this season with high expectations after a run to the NLCS in 2022. The addition of Xander Bogaerts and most of their players staying made them postseason favorites. However, they've struggled to find their groove, particularly on offense. If San Diego loses a couple more games, it's interesting to wonder if their strong stance on trading their aces will change.