Ranking Padres Trade Candidates If They Sell At MLB Trade Deadline

Things are beginning to spiral out of control for the San Diego Padres. They lost eight in a row over the past week, including score lines of the 15-3, 23-3, and 12-7 variety, the latter of which the team led 6-0. This is a team at an inflection point for 2026 and beyond.

The pitching is a patchwork staff, particularly in the rotation. Not only are they staving off another injury in the form of Randy Vásquez's ankle, but they're facing continued struggles from their volume approach to building out the staff. The offense has been among the league's worst up until recently. Even if the team's recent surge at the plate is sustained, the two phases haven't been on the same wavelength at any point this season. With the division long gone and each of the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs clamping down on wild card spots, the Padres are quickly finding themselves at the back end of the slog of teams vying for one final playoff spot. 

It's very possible that A.J. Preller doesn't have it in him to sell. Considering the team's current state at the top level and in the farm system, though, he may be left with no choice by the time we reach the trade deadline early this month. With a handful of one-year deals and some players facing option decisions — to say nothing of the team's perilous payroll standing and the absence of clarity over both the approach by new ownership and future of the league's salary structure — it's at least possible that this team could look quite a bit different roughly a month from now. 

But first, some caveats. It's unlikely we'd see names like Germán Márquez or Griffin Canning included in such discussion as their performance may not even guarantee them a spot on the Padres' depleted staff. The Friars are a team as starved for pitching as any, so their performance indicates they're more likely to get hit with a DFA and sign a minor-league deal elsewhere given their minimal value. 

On the other end of the spectrum, Jackson Merrill isn't a name we'd find in rumors. Even in the midst of a disappointing year, he's a building block on an entirely reasonable long-term deal. If the team tore it down entirely, he'd be the last to go. Manny Machado can also be ruled out given his contract and career-worst performance. We can throw Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta out, too. The former hasn't pitched since 2024, and the latter hasn't appeared since April 12. It's a variety of contexts, but a handful of names not even worth mentioning here. 

Let's discuss those who could otherwise be facing an uncertain future in San Diego should things continue at their current pace.

Padres Players That Will Definitely Be Traded

Adrian Morejon, RP

Team Control: Through 2026
2026 Stats: 40 G, 3.45 ERA, 2.50 FIP, 22.8 K-BB%, 1.4 fWAR

Of the players the team could legitimately seek to trade ahead of the deadline, Morejon has perhaps as much value as any. He's among the game's most elite high-leverage relievers, with a 99th percentile fastball velocity and chase & whiff rates that each rest in the 96th. On another team, you'd be talking about him as a closer. 

The hitch here is that he's a free agent at year's end, which could limit his value slightly as a two-month rental against what the team could have got had they pursued a trade last winter. Nevertheless, you'd be hard-pressed to find a contender that wouldn't give up at least one legitimate player in their system to acquire the lefty's services.

Wandy Peralta, RP

Team Control: Through 2027
2026 Stats: 38 G, 2.38 ERA, 3.97 FIP, 6.5 K-BB%, 0.2 fWAR

Peralta is an interesting case, especially against the more impactful Morejon. Rather than providing a team with a leverage arm, he'd be a sensible addition for the middle innings at a reasonable price. As clubs try to keep their top relievers fresh, there's something enticing about a player like Peralta, who has been a perfectly solid reliever without the bells & whistles of a Morejon or a Mason Miller. 

Additionally, he comes with a player option for 2027 at a reasonable $4.13 million price point. There's something to be said for stability, which he can offer across the middle innings beyond August & September of 2026. The return wouldn't be mind-blowing, but it's possible that the team could find an interesting prospect or two given Peralta's recent success.

Possibly Traded

Michael King, SP

Team Control: Through 2028
2026 Stats: 18 G, 3.52 ERA, 4.10 FIP, 11.2 K-BB%, 1.5 fWAR

The team control in the descriptor above isn't quite as simple as it appears, as King actually has player options for each of 2027 and 2028. However, given his $25 million salary, it's not hard to see him opting in. Whether that is enticing for a team in need of starting pitching, though, is another matter given his uneven performance thus far in 2026. 

At his best, King is a No. 2 or a No. 3 on a quality staff. Unfortunately for him, the Padres have needed production that matches that of an ace. Instead, he's fallen much more toward average with a strikeout rate that sits a far cry from where it was two years ago. Teams throughout the major-league landscape are certainly starved for stability in their rotation, but the question of the option could limit his market one way or the other.

Jake Cronenworth, IF

Team Control: Through 2030
2026 Stats: 132 PA, .256 wOBA, 62 wRC+, -0.2 fWAR

Cronenworth's contract running through 2030 isn't unique among the Padres' collection of long-term position players, but he comes at a much more reasonable annual value ($11.43 million). While not the hitter he was a few years ago, Cronenworth's approach is among the game's best, and he's a league-average baserunner. He can also hold down the right side of the infield competently — handling first and second base regularly over the past handful of seasons — with the ability to handle shortstop in a pinch. 

Of course, the caveat here is the fact that Cronenworth has played very little baseball this year after spending the bulk of 2026 on the concussion IL. Now that he's back, if he can get right quickly, there's sure to be interest; we've heard in the last year or two that contenders were reaching out. His contract isn't unreasonable, so there's a very real possibility a team comes calling for a supplemental bat capable of boosting a team's on-base skills and moving around the field some.

Walker Buehler, SP

Team Control: Through 2026
2026 Stats: 17 G, 4.61 ERA, 3.89 FIP, 13.1 K-BB%, 1.2 fWAR

Buehler gives the vibe of that player added to a deal or acquired at the last minute of the trade deadline. While nowhere close to the neighborhood of the pitcher he used to be — and a brutal start at Wrigley Field last week notwithstanding — Buehler has been an entirely adequate starting pitcher for the Padres in 2026. He wouldn't be a flashy addition, but as a steady option with tons of playoff experience, the Padres could find some takers here.

Xander Bogaerts, SS

Team Control: Through 2033
2026 Stats: 329 PA, .299 wOBA, 91 wRC+, 1.4 fWAR

Of the Padres position players on long-term deals, Bogaerts represents a fascinating case. He doesn't possess the offensive upside of Fernando Tatis Jr. or Manny Machado at their best, nor does he come at the reasonable salary of someone like Cronenworth. On paper, his contract is decidedly the worst of the bunch. What he does add, though, is a solid contact bat with a rising walk rate, quality baserunning skills, and defense that remains above average. 

With all that said, it's unrealistic to think that the Padres would find an upper-tier return here considering the financial element. We also don't know what teams would actually be willing to take on his contract (let alone if such teams even exist). Instead, the motive would be to get off the contrast itself. Even if it requires them to eat some of the money, they should jump at the opportunity to at least clear some of it off their fragile books. It's hard to imagine that a Padres team in sell-mode wouldn't at least make an attempt to offload Bogaerts.

Yuki Matsui, RP

Team Control: Through 2028
2026 Stats: 21 G, 2.08 ERA, 4.26 FIP, 14.5 K-BB%, 0.2 fWAR

Matsui is a bit different than his middle innings counterpart Wandy Peralta, in that he can opt out after 2026 and has a player option for 2028 while coming in at a slightly higher $5.60 million salary. Nevertheless, he offers the same type of skill set that Peralta does. He's a middle-inning reliever doing some of his best work courtesy this season of an improved strikeout rate and fewer home runs allowed. The question is whether the potential for two additional years of team control for a middle reliever at a higher salary is a benefit or a detriment to his case.

Unlikely To Be Traded

Fernando Tatis Jr., RF/2B

Team Control: Through 2034
2026 Stats: 377 PA, .318 wOBA, 103 wRC+, 1.5 fWAR

Fernando Tatis Jr. is coming off one of the worst power outages of his career, running up until the end of May without a home run on the books. He found some of it again in June, though, with another four homers and an increase in extra-base hits overall. Even if the impact hasn't been there, he's been quite good at the plate while providing upper-tier defense at two positions, with Cronenworth's concussion necessitating some time at second base for the team's superstar. 

We've heard whispers over the last year that the Padres and their financial situation could seek to move Tatis for the right return. Given some of his offensive shortcomings, even with his glaring upside, it's hard to imagine the Padres are going to find the right return at this moment. It also remains to be seen if the team would be motivated to move him at all considering his upside and status as the face of the organization. Nevertheless, if there's some envisioning of a full-scale rebuild of which we are unaware, this suddenly becomes more possible.

Mason Miller, RP

Team Control: Through 2029
2026 Stats: 33 G, 0.78 ERA, 0.43 FIP, 40.2 K-BB%, 2.2 fWAR

There isn't a player on the Padres that possesses more value in a trade than that of Mason Miller. He's been the game's best reliever in 2026, and it isn't particularly close. The team gave up their No. 1 prospect in Leo De Vries to bring him from the Athletics last year, no doubt due at least in part to the team control he also carries for the next three seasons after 2026. For all of those reasons, it's difficult to see the Padres parting with him. They're also all reasons to move him if Preller can coax a team into matching the package he had to surrender to acquire him in the first place. 

At the end of the day, it just feels unlikely. His arm will likely remain too valuable to the Padres to part with. If not for the 2026 season, then for each of the next couple.

Conclusion

The issue with projecting who could go is that it implies the Padres are an organization with any level of predictability. Whether they'd seriously entertain moving long-term players given their absence of depth in the farm system is a mystery. Factor in incoming ownership and the uncertain future of the league's labor structure, and it's yet another layer of gray on an exercise that needs at least some bit of black-and-white to truly gauge intent.