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The San Diego Padres limped into the All-Star break, but they did gain some momentum winning the last two games of the series against the Toronto Blue Jays to finish the ceremonial first half of the season at .500. There has been a lot of debate about what the Padres should do at the trade
deadline in recent weeks. This debate reached a fever pitch after San Diego went on an eight-game losing streak to end June and start July. The worst part of the streak was that five losses were to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are running away with the NL West, and the other three losses were to the Chicago Cubs, who will likely be fighting for playoff position at the end of the season.
The Padres had a successful start to the season and were 11 games over .500 at one point. They have slowly regressed and slid back in the standings thanks in large part to the inept offense and more recently due to abhorrent pitching. These two things combined do not show much promise for a second half turnaround and they speak more to the fact that there is not much to look forward to. San Diego has needs in the lineup and in the rotation and the minor league system lacks prospect capital to address all the needs.
The hope is that Joe Musgrove or Nick Pivetta, and preferably both, could return to the rotation not long after the break, which would allow Padres general manager and president of baseball operations A.J. Preller to focus on addressing the needs on offense if he chooses to buy at the deadline. If Musgrove and Pivetta can return and be somewhat effective, they could join Michael King and some duo of Randy Vasquez, when he returns from the IL, Walker Buehler, German Marquez, Griffin Canning, Lucas Giolito, when he returns from the IL, JP Sears and/or Matt Waldron to make up a five-man rotation for the second half. Musgrove and Pivetta have both been throwing bullpens but have not started rehab assignments and there is no timeline for their returns.
The Padres offense has been slowly improving with Manny Machado now hitting above .200 and Jake Cronenworth just below. Fernando Tatis Jr. is still lacking in home runs but has a good average and is always a threat at the plate. Jackson Merrill has been streaky both ways but will hopefully figure it out. Xander Bogaerts started well but has faded lately and perhaps a break during the All-Star week will allow him to rest and recover for the second half. Gavin Sheets has seen his average slowly declining, but he continues to get on base and with Luis Campusano back off the IL the offensive production at the catcher position should improve. Miguel Andujar and Ty France have each had ups and downs this season while Samad Taylor provided some youthful energy to an aging lineup before he too landed on the IL.
Perhaps these are the factors the Friar Faithful considered when casting their vote on the Padres Reacts Survey poll this week on Gaslamp Ball. The fans seem willing to admit defeat and accept that this season is a lost season in San Diego. Whether or not Preller, the coaching staff and the players feel the same way remains to be seen but based on the poll results it would appear the fans are willing to focus on the future.
It easy to say the Padres should look to move pieces at the deadline rather than add, but it is harder to admit it is the right move and even harder to make it happen. San Diego will play 16-games before the deadline after the All-Star break and in that time, the Padres could make the decisions in the first week of August fairly easy. Either way, most if not all of us will be watching.
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