Things haven't exactly gone according to plan for the San Diego Padres. They've now fallen to 39-47 and are 8.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL West lead. As a result, general manager A.J. Preller might look to get value for some of the team's players before the trade deadline.
It's hard to believe the Padres are in this position after they made the most moves in the offseason to acquire big names such as Justin Upton, Wil Myers, Matt Kemp, James Shields, Craig Kimbrel, Derek Norris and others, but the offense, defense and pitching staff have been among the bottom half of the MLB. The firing of Bud Black also didn't help anything.
Rumors indicate Preller could be aggressive at the deadline - in the role of a seller.
"Some in the industry believe Preller will be reluctant to trade stars like Justin Upton and Craig Kimbrel, for fear of embarrassment after raising expectations with a flurry of offseason moves," writes FOX Sports' Jon Morosi. "But Preller's aggressive nature, which drove the team's frenetic winter, hasn't disappeared in a matter of months.
"If Preller is presented with the right deal between now and the July 31 non-waiver deadline, he's going to make it -- whatever the public perception may be. And that is why the Padres could be as integral to baseball's midsummer swap meet as they were in December and January."
Trading Upton has been the subject of rumors for quite some time. The 27-year-old will be a free agent after this season and it's unlikely he returns to a team whose future is murky. Additionally, he may be out of the Padres' budget given all the salaries they inherited this offseason to reach a team-record $108 million payroll. And let's not forget about the depletion of the their farm system with those myriad trades.
"The Padres will have to trade Justin Upton if he's not re-upped soon, and they should get plenty in return," ESPN MLB Insider Jim Bowden suggests. "They could always try to re-sign him again this offseason."
But it's doubtful the Padres would be willing to risk keeping Upton in hopes of retaining him in free agency when there are countless contenders and big market teams looking for a young power-hitting outfielder. Upton could help begin the restoration of San Diego's young talent if traded, which is something that's tough to overlook for a GM.
There also remain a number of other trade candidates, including Kimbrel, Ian Kennedy, Will Venable, Shawn Kelley and Jaoquin Benoit. All are free agents after 2015 except for Kimbrel, but what use will the Pads have for a closer that's owed nearly $30 million through 2017?
"The numbers, however, say the Padres are 39-47 overall, which is exactly where they were through 86 games last year," adds Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. "They'd entered the night a season-high seven games under .500, desperately needing something to go their way."
At this point it appears the only thing that could go their way is if there are buyers at the deadline who want some of their players. Otherwise San Diego will be fighting an insurmountable uphill battle for the rest of the year and could watch a number of their players walk in the offseason without having received any compensation for them.
