The San Diego Padres approached the MLB trade deadline by winning five of six games against the Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants. Altogether, they had won eight of nine and got themselves back into the fight for the final Wild Card playoff spot.
That allowed president of baseball ops, A.J. Preller, to do what he loves to do. Wheeling and dealing at the deadline, Preller kept all his major league talent and turned two top 10 prospects along with a top 15 prospect into two rental starters that made the “pitching chaos” approach over the past two weeks no longer necessary.
By adding right-hander Casey Mize and left-hander Robbie Ray, Preller solidified a starting rotation that was undeniably in tatters with injuries and poor performances. Both Mize and Ray boast sub-4.00 ERAs for the season and are also both performing at their peak for the year coming into the deadline.
After securing two of the better pitchers available for trade, the Padres asked Randy Vásquez to start their second game in the series against their main competition for the last playoff spot, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Vásquez followed rotation leader Michael King, who gave up three runs on five hits and four walks in the first game of the series. With the offense stymied by Dbacks starter Brandon Pfaadt, King saw his record go to 6-8 for the season with a respectable 3.45 ERA in his 130.1 innings pitched.
Vasquez came in for game two, the day after the deadline, and threw a six-inning gem. He allowed no runs on two hits, and the offense supported him with seven runs before he departed.
Right-hander Casey Mize had a disappointing Padres debut, and it was the worst start of his career. After skipping his previous scheduled start because Detroit didn’t want to risk injury before the deadline, Mize changed teams and traveled before pitching for the first time in eleven days. He refused to use that as an excuse.
The Padres rebounded behind the game four starter, Walker Buehler, and a stellar bullpen outing to capture the last game and split the series.
Overall, it was a 7-3 record over the ten games, and that kept the Friars to within one game of the Wild Card standings.
Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta make rehab starts
While the Padres are fighting for playoff relevance, their two injured starters, Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove, made rehab starts for Single-A Lake Elsinore. Musgrove had a 2.2-inning outing, allowing a run and was reportedly fine after the game and the next day. He is scheduled to make another rehab start on Sunday.
Pivetta, on the other hand, walked off the field before the end of the first inning of his outing. He reportedly experienced discomfort or tightness in his elbow and left of his own accord. Padres manager, Craig Stammen, updated fans and the media with the report that Pivetta threw an additional 20-30 pitches in the bullpen after his outing, stating his arm felt better. He will be reevalutated before another rehab outing is scheduled. This could put his contract status at jeopardy as he has a player option for next season only if he returns from the disabled list before Aug. 22. Otherwise, that option becomes a team option.
Should Musgrove and/or Pivetta come back to the team this season, the rotation would look significantly better for a playoff run than when the “pitching chaos” approach was begun. Injury and poor performance dictated the strategy with the Padres starters frequently exiting games well before completing five innings, in many instances.
Roster changes and injury reports
Right-hander Matt Waldron was designated for assignment when reliever Jeremiah Estrada returned from the injured list. Estrada had been dealing with right knee inflammation since being placed on the IL on June 5. Waldron was claimed off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays,
RHP David Morgan was sent on a rehab assignment to Triple-A El Paso. He is working his way back from a June 29 IL stint for left knee inflammation.
Trading RHP Miguel Mendez opened up a roster spot to add trade acquisition Casey Mize. LHP JP Sears was optioned to El Paso to add Mize.
Catcher Rudolfo Durán was optioned to El Paso to add utility player Gage Workman, acquired from Detroit along with Mize.
RHP Germán Márquez was designated for assignment when LHP Robbie Ray, acquired from the Giants at the trade deadline, was added to the roster. The seven day window to trade/claim Marquez opened on Aug. 5.
First baseman, outfielder and DH Gavin Sheets has been dealing with plantar fascitis and has seen minimal action for the last several days. It has been reported that he is wearing a boot when not in action and had his first start since July 26 on Thursday.
Worst to almost first
The Padres offense, which was ranked dead last in many offensive categories for two months, ended July with the second best batting average in baseball at . 269. They also had the second best OBP at .348. Their slugging percentage ended up at .429, eighth best. All that gave them the third best team OPS at .777.
Their 31 home runs were only good for 13th and their 125 RBI ranked fifth.
A remarkable turnaround that was necessary if the organization wanted to have a chance to reach the playoffs for the third consecutive season.
While that was going on, the team ERA ranked 25th at 4.77
If the two parts could come together in August with reasonable performances then the Friars figure to have a chance to overtake the Diamondbacks, at least.
Defense has been consistent
The defense is fourth in fielding percentage and eleventh in OAA (outs above average) in the MLB. First baseman Ty France leads all defenders on the Padres with six OAA.
Offensive inconsistency
The series against the Diambondbacks was just the latest example of the Padres offense having trouble adjusting to pitchers mid-game or taking advantage of an unfamiliar rookie.
Veteran Brandon Pfaddt had their number in the first game versus the D-backs. He has a 1.88 ERA in July.
The second game featured dominance by Randy Vásquez and the offense was efficient against Eduardo Rodriguez, who has a 3.45 ERA for July.
Then, in game three, the Padres went up against rookie Mitch Bratt. The 23-year-old came into the contest with an ERA of almost 6.00. He held the Padres to one hit in seven scoreless innings, his best performance as a professional. The Padres struck out nine times and didn’t score until the ninth inning. It ultimately wouldn’t have mattered due to the eight runs Mize allowed, but it is a recurring issue for this team.
On the last game of the series, the Padres faced a pitcher very similar to the rookie of the night before. Lefty Kohl Drake came into the game with a high ERA and little experience. He featured a similar pitch mix to Bratt. The difference seemed to be that the Friars looked passive and tentative against Bratt but were aggressive and more selective versus Drake.
As a result, they had 12 hits and five runs with only four strikeouts while securing the series split.
This is nothing new; the in game adjustments need to be more consistent if this offense wants to avoid more of these types of games.
Adrián Morejón is grateful
Padres’ lefty reliever Adrián Morejón made it clear he wasn’t interested in leaving the Padres, at the trade deadline or after the end of the season. It remains to be seen if the new ownership group will allow money to pay Morejón in the offseason. A.J. Preller agreed the organization needed to keep Morejón for the rest of the 2026 season.
The Padres would have had no chance to succeed this season without him. Kevin Acee, in his daily newsletter for Aug. 7, relayed the effort Morejón made to thank A.J. Preller for not trading him on Monday afternoon.
“And after that, now we continue winning,” Morejon was quoted as saying.
The four-pitcher effort to finish off the D-backs series is the perfect example of how Morejon and his fellow bullpen members have saved this team over the past two plus months.
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