Despite being in the midst of an extremely disappointing season, all hope isn't lost for the San Diego Padres. There are reasons for the Padres to avoid being sellers at the 2023 MLB trade deadline with an eye toward making a late playoff push.

The Padres have a 45-50 record. San Diego sits in fourth place in the NL West, trailing the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers by 10.5 games. The Padres are 7.5 games out of the third and final NL wild-card spot. But as former Cincinnati Reds General Manager Jim Bowden points out, San Diego's run differential suggests that a hot streak could be looming.

The Padres have outscored their opponents by 44 runs. It gives San Diego the third-best run differential in the entire National League, trailing only the Dodgers and Atlanta Braves. The Cincinnati Reds and Miami Marlins are directly in front of the Padres in the NL wild-card standings. Both the Reds and Marlins have negative run differentials, an indication that their winning records could soon head in the opposite direction.

On paper, San Diego has as much talent as anyone. Juan Soto, Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. make up arguably the best trio of any lineup. Machado has nine home runs and a 1.350 OPS in July. Tatis Jr. is hitting .340 and slugging .566 in the month. Soto has a .908 OPS for the season.

Blake Snell is the hottest pitcher in baseball. He's surrendered four runs in his last 58 innings.

There's been speculation that the Padres could entertain the idea of moving Soto at the MLB trade deadline. San Diego could regret it if the organization prematurely gives up on the 2023 season.