Padres plan to be buyers and sellers

The Padres are not very good at baseball and their Chairman Ron Fowler is embarrassed by the their play.  After ownership making significant financial investments in the off-season their President Mike Dee thinks their GM A.J. Preller is doing an outstanding job.  This is after just about every trade he made backfired. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense does it?

Padres, A.J. Preller could both sell and buy at trade deadline | SanDiegoUnionTribune.com

"This was a franchise that was stuck in neutral for the last 10 years, so I give A.J. a lot of credit for rolling to the dice to see if we could add to this year's team to compete, to compete with this group, and I think we still may. If we don't, then we'll reassess and reshuffle the deck and see if we can find a different chemistry, a different combination, that can improve the roster."

If this franchise has been stuck in neutral for the the last decade, then this year's team has the pedal pinned and the wheels are just spinning in place.  Sure Preller tried and the team tried, but this is no time to be patting anybody on the back for their bad decisions.

If you're wondering, like I am, if the Padres are buyers or sellers than Dennis Lin's article might have the answer or at least the blueprint for future transactions.

Sources indicate the Padres are prepared to sell and buy simultaneously. Free-agents-to-be Justin Upton, Ian Kennedy, Joaquin Benoit and Will Venable are obvious trade candidates. Club-controllable pitchers Andrew Cashner and Tyson Ross intrigue many teams, while closer Craig Kimbrel has pitched just twice in July. Meantime, the Padres continue to be on the prowl for such commodities as an everyday shortstop, more balance for a right-handed-heavy offense and young, major league-ready talent in general.

Even after the snafu this season has become the Padres still believe in Preller and plan to give him more money in the offseason in hopes of turning things around.

sources say they are prepared to be active in free agency. That would suggest that, after San Diego opened this season with a club-record $109 payroll, another substantial hike is possible.

What could go wrong?