Padres Rumors: MLB Insider Believes Friars' Biggest Impact at Trade Deadline Will Be As Sellers
There's one main story surrounding the San Diego Padres as MLB's annual trade deadline approaches.
With the Padres currently well out of a playoff spot, will San Diego be buyers or sellers ahead of the August 1st deadline?
The Padres have plenty of star power on their roster with names like Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Blake Snell and Josh Hader occupying spots.
But at this juncture, their loaded roster hasn't resulted in wins, leaving the Padres with that intriguing question.
So should they buy or should they sell?
According to MLB.com's AJ Cassavell, he sees the Friars better served as sellers at the deadline.
"If the Padres are going to make a major impact at the Deadline -- like they did a season ago -- it’s far likelier that they would do so as sellers. Were they to commit in that direction, they’d have Blake Snell, Josh Hader and Seth Lugo to offer." (via MLB.com)
In my opinion, that strategy makes the most sense for the Padres, even though that would essentially be waving the white flag on what was supposed to be one of the more successful seasons in years.
While San Diego is loaded with talent, the odds of them completely turning the season around is slim at best.
That mindset may change if they quickly flip a 180 at the end of this month, but I don't see that happening.
The team needs to replenish a farm system that was raided by the Nationals in the Juan Soto trade, and players like Snell, Hader, and Seth Lugo could go a long way toward making that happen. And that doesn't even include potentially dealing Soto, which I don't believe should happen but could become an option nonetheless.
While there's been rumors about the Padres approaching the deadline as buyers, I don't think that's the most prudent path for them based on where they sit.
Like I said, that could change over the next few days, but I think San Diego should look to replenish their organization with an eye toward the future.
This season would be a lost one, but they could get some much-needed help over the long term.
