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The San Diego Padres are in position for a Wild Card spot, so no, they are not trade deadline sellers.
The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal shed some light on the team's position as Thursday approaches.
“They would only sell if it enabled them to get other pieces that would help them maybe even better compete this season,” Rosenthal said in an appearance on Foul Territory. “That’s the whole point. They’re not pure sellers and they shouldn’t be.”
Rosenthal added that the Padres' inflated payroll and depleted farm system means they may have to get “creative.”
“That is why you think about or talk about moving a Dylan Cease if it can bring you something else of great value to your team,” he said. “You know what they need. They need a left fielder. they’d like to improve their catching as well. And if you trade Cease you gotta backfill with another starting pitcher.”
“So to describe them as pure sellers would be a misconception,” he concluded. “That’s not right. What they are is a team that’s looking at all possibilities, trying to improve themselves for 26, but that’s what they’re doing.”
One potential wrinkle to a Cease deal came last night when he took a 99 mph come-backer off his head. He remained in the game, but teams will certainly be asking about his health in the coming days.
And to Rosenthal's point about the Padres needing a left fielder, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that San Diego is interested in Steven Kwan of the Cleveland Guardians and Ramon Laureano of the Baltimore Orioles.
Padres left fielders have struggled significantly at the plate this year, hitting for a .605 OPS with only six home runs. Center field hasn't been a much better position, either, with San Diego centerfielders building a .698 OPS with seven homers. The team is reportedly interested in Luis Robert Jr. of the Chicago White Sox, though he hasn't been a league average hitter since his All-Star 2023 season.
