Once thought to be a legitimate National League powerhouse, the San Diego Padres have fallen back down to earth over the past month and a half.
After defeating the Chicago Cubs 10-4 on April 14, the Padres possessed an MLB-best 14-3 record, two-and-a-half games ahead of the defended champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Since that date, however, the Padres have gone a rather pedestrian 21-22, falling a game back of the Dodgers and into the second wild-card position.
The Padres are by no means in danger of losing their postseason standing, but another month of .500 baseball could force them to evaluate their trade deadline ideology, especially in a stacked National League. If the Padres do choose to sell, they have a collection of attractive pending free agents Dylan Cease, Robert Suarez, and Luis Arraez, but their most valuable asset may be starting pitcher Michael King, who has a mutual option for the 2026 season. Though King has been out since May 18 with a shoulder injury, he has followed up his breakout 2024 campaign with a 2.59 ERA through his first 10 starts, and The Athletic’s Chad Jennings believes he has the talent to shape the Major League Baseball trade deadline.
“The Padres don’t look like sellers at the moment, but if this month goes poorly, they have the assets to flood, they have the assets to flood the trade market with incredibly valuable rentals,” Jennings wrote.
Even if the Padres don’t become obvious sellers, they could use King’s steep value to address some of the other holes on their roster, specifically at catcher and first base. After all, general manager A.J. Preller has a tendency to think outside the box, as evidenced by the Juan Soto trade that acquired King in the first place.
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