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The San Diego Padres once again made a flurry of moves at the MLB trade deadline. The Padres' ultra-aggressive general manager, AJ Preller, left no stone unturned in hopes of another deep playoff run.
The Padres acquired JP Sears and superstar closer Mason Miller in a deal with the Athletics, and they acquired Ryan O'Hearn and Ramon Laureano to add some much-needed offensive help in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles.
Since the deadline, the Padres have a 6-3 record entering Monday and are quickly gaining ground in the National League West. The Padres enter Monday just two games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who themselves are coming off a frustrating loss against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday.
Still, the Dodgers have the best roster in baseball, even with all the moves the Padres made at the deadline, and the question remains: Can the Padres overtake the Dodgers in the NL West?
The Padres' schedule set up nicely for NL West chase
The best thing going for the Padres is not the trade deadline acquisitions playing well, but the schedule. Here is how the schedule sets up for the rest of August:
- at Giants (3 games)
- at Dodgers (3 games)
- vs. Giants (4 games)
- vs. Dodgers (3 games)
- at Mariners (3 games)
- at Twins (3 games)
Sure, August sounds somewhat difficult given that the Padres play six games against the Dodgers and three against the Mariners, who are in first place in the American League West.
On the other hand, the Dodgers are sliding down quickly in the NL West standings, and the Twins are also five games below .500.
However, the September schedule is the one to highlight for the Padres:
- vs. Orioles (3 games)
- at Rockies (3 games)
- vs. Reds (3 games)
- vs. Rockies (4 games)
- at Mets (3 games)
- at White Sox (3 games)
- vs. Brewers (3 games)
- vs. Diamondbacks (3 games)
That means the final month of the season the Padres will play 16 of 25 games against teams that are not in the playoff picture. Moreover, the New York Mets have lost seven in a row entering Monday, so they are another team facing problems right now.
The Padres also have the benefit of playing 16 of those games at home in the final month of the season, as well as avoiding the Dodgers and Giants in September altogether.
The Padres are on a roll lately, although they dropped in ClutchPoints' latest MLB power rankings, but only because of the red-hot play of the Mariners and Milwaukee Brewers.
“The Padres are moving down simply to make room for the blistering hot Brewers and Mariners. They are 6-3 since the deadline, with series wins over the Cardinals, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Red Sox. Combine that with a middling stretch for the Dodgers, and San Diego is just two games back in the NL West. Manny Machado is a massive reason why, with an .888 OPS since the All-Star Break. Dylan Cease stayed at the deadline and was a big reason for the series win over Boston with a solid Sunday start. The Padres hit the road for massive sets against the Giants and Dodgers this week,” Christopher Hennessey wrote after dropping the Padres down two spots to No. 10.
Although there is a lot of games left, and the September schedule is very favorable for San Diego, the road tests against the Giants and Dodgers can be a pivotal point in the season.
