Padres GM Actively Looking to Upgrade One Major Position: Report

San Diego president of baseball operations A.J. Preller knew he needed more starting pitching before Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove landed on the injured list.

The Padres are also operating like a team playing closer to its road record of 19-14, instead of his underwhelming 13-19 record at home.

Somehow, they have put together one of the league's best bullpens anchored by closer Robert Suarez. They also have two highly underrated set up men in Jeremiah Estrada and Adrian Morejon.

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the hope for Preller is that his offense figures things out so that he can focus on adding starting pitching at the trade deadline. Both Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado have performed up to par. Xander Bogaerts will be on the IL for several more weeks, but his absence is a blip on the radar of a contract that runs through 2033.

Here is what Passan had to say about the Padres adding starting pitching:

"Even after getting Dylan Cease, the state of San Diego's starting pitching is grim, and the Padres are going to need to get creative to fill the void and still remain under the luxury tax threshold, with about $10 million of leeway."

The main target for Preller is reportedly Garret Crochet of the Chicago White Sox. As a first-year big-league starter, he is thriving with a 3.49 ERA and an American League-leading 93 strikeouts in 13 starts. He also happens to play on the worst team in baseball.

Chicago sold Cease earlier this season and will most likely continue selling through the deadline. It's up to Preller to decide who he is willing to part with in order to get the deal done.