The major-league trade deadline is July 31, and the San Diego Padres are aggressively trying to acquire starting pitching for the stretch run.
It’s all quiet on the trade front as the major league trade deadline is on July 31 at 4pm ET. This is the last day for teams to make a deal as the powers that be eliminated the waiver trade deadline, so playoff-contending clubs can no longer make that last-minute addition to their roster.
Still, without much movement from the buyers or sellers thus far, you can expect players to be changing uniforms before the Wednesday deadline. It seems like every ballclub in the playoff chase is looking to upgrade their starting rotation for the stretch run. However, no team has been willing to meet the high price tag that comes with acquiring such a pitcher.
One of the clubs in pursuit of starting pitching is the San Diego Padres. Make no mistake, the Padres general manager A.J. Preller is quite pleased with the development of his young staff but leaning on them to keep the team in the wild-card race is a lot to ask from an inexperienced group. The addition of a veteran starter wouldn’t be the worst move for the Friars at the deadline.
The jury is still out on how many starting pitchers will be moved by the deadline, but the Padres have the right mix of major/minor league talent to pry an ace away from a struggling team. Let’s take a look at some of the Friars’ desired targets: