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San Diego Padres Lost by not Moving more Players at Deadline

By Josh Sippie

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The San Diego Padres put together quite the collection of studs this past off-season. They brought Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, James Shields and Wil Myers together to form an all-star studded cast for what was sure to be a playoff contending team in a division all-too-commonly dominated by the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants.

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The results have been less then desirable.

The Padres now sit 10.5 games out of the playoff race and all signs point to a disappointing end to the season. Despite all the overpriced, overpaid stars that the padres bought, you cannot buy chemistry.

Statistically speaking, Kemp, Upton and Shields are all having down years, go figure. They are no longer on contending teams and no longer in the thick of playoff races. They are simply mercenaries playing for a paycheck.

Shields ERA is the highest it has been in the past four years and he has jumped to the National League, where ERA’s are supposed to be lower. On the other side of the ball, both Upton and Kemp have batting averages sitting right at or below .250. For Upton, this is the first time a .250 average has happened since 2007 and 2008. For Matt Kemp, it is only the second time in his illustrious career.

But those three guys still have tremendous value and the San Diego Padres should have dished them at the trade deadline in return for some young guys that they could build prolonged success around.

Sports Illustrated took a detailed look at A.J. Preller’s approach to the deadline and what it comes down to is that he wants these guys to be a part of the team for years to come. That is all well and good, but for starters, they are not performing as is, so what gives him the impression that they will perform in the long run? He could have used these very movable pieces to get an excellent haul of prospects, from MLB-ready youngsters to long-term projects.

That is, unless Preller thinks that the San Diego Padres can contend right now.

But if that is the case, then why has he placed Kemp and Shields on irrevocable waivers? Reports indicate that Preller has thrown the bait out there to see what he can get in return.

That right there almost completely negates his desire to keep these guys for the years to come when they may be contenders. Clearly he still intends to trade them and if that was the case from the start, why did he wait for the toil of waiver trades as opposed to straight up deals when the trade deadline was not done and closed?

It hints at a degree of indecision on Preller’s part, as if he could not decide what to do with his high-priced toys and is now just hanging them out there to see what kind of return he can get. Surely no return he can get now would have beaten any sort of offer he had to be getting in July.

Whatever the case, the Padres experiment has failed and Preller had a complete lapse by not trying to capitalize on a return for these valuable pieces. Sure, he can trade them in the winter, but why wait? The risk of waiting is high, as they could get hurt, they could drop in quality even more or who knows what else.

The San Diego Padres needed to be more proactive in moving their guys. It was an opportunity missed.

Next: Oh, Justin Upton

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