The Biggest Need the Padres Must Address Before the Trade Deadline is Obvious

The San Diego Padres saved their season this past weekend in Florida.

The Padres entered their series with the Miami Marlins at 50-53 and on the verge of becoming sellers at this year's trade deadline.

However, San Diego won all three games — including a come-from-behind series finale — to put themselves right back into the thick of the playoff race at 53-53.

The Padres are just two games back of the final wild-card spot in the National League. Moreover, their next six games — and final six before the trade deadline — are against two of the worst teams in baseball in the Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants.

The Padres could theoretically head into the Aug. 3 trade deadline multiple games over .500, which would be all president of baseball operations AJ Preller needs to pull the trigger and buy.

Assuming the Padres buy, there's truly only one thing they really need: starting pitching.

Padres Only Need to Address Starting Pitching at Trade Deadline

The Padres offense that was the worst in MLB for so long is suddenly one of the league's best. Since June 10, the Padres have a combined wRC+ of 114 that ranks fifth in all of MLB. Since July 1, their team wRC+ ranks fourth at 118.

In the bullpen, the Padres are anchored by arguably the league's best 1-2 punch in Mason Miller and Adrian Morejon. Behind them is a bevy of strong relievers, and a few reinforcements still on the way in right-handers Jeremiah Estrada, David Morgan and Jason Adam.

As for the starting pitching, the Padres have exhausted all options in finding a way to make their rotation work. They've finally decided to abandon the traditional approach, and currently have two starting pitchers — Michael King and Walker Buehler — and what is essentially an 11-man bullpen consisting of a handful of pitchers who can go multiple innings.

In the immediate, the strategy has worked, as seen by their sweep over the Marlins. However, they know they can't rely on that for a full season.

The Padres do have reinforcements coming in the form of right-handed pitchers Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove. However, when they ultimately come back, and what they'll look like when they do, are the big question marks.

The Padres know they can't rely on Pivetta and Musgrove. They also know they can't rely on this pitching strategy to carry them through October.

Thus, the Padres must address the starting rotation over the next week, adding at least one but maybe two starting pitchers who they feel confident can give them at least five innings every fifth day.

Who Could the Padres Target to Fix the Starting Rotation?

There are going to be plenty of starting pitching options that become available over the next week. Which ones are ultimately fits for the Padres remain to be seen.

The Padres have arguably the worst farm system in baseball. With the new owners not yet in place, it's currently unclear how much payroll the team will be able to take on.

That's one of the reasons that many believe the Padres could trade from their major league bullpen to add a starting pitcher. It's why Mason Miller has continued to find himself in trade rumors even as the Padres keep winning.

With that being said, the Padres would likely be a better fit for pitchers on expiring contracts who may not be having the best seasons. While it sounds counterintuitive to add more struggling pitchers, the Padres don't have the resources to get a Tarik Skubal or a Joe Ryan.

The players that make the most sense would be New York Mets right-handers Freddy Peralta or Toronto Blue Jays righty Kevin Gausman.

Other options could be Tigers right-hander Casey Mize, Baltimore Orioles southpaw Trevor Rogers or San Francisco Giants lefty Robbie Ray, although they're having better seasons and would cost more.

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