Padres head home to face the Giants with trade deadline on the horizon

The Padres head home to face a Giants team that has dominated them both recently and over the last 10 years. The worst kept secret in baseball is that the Padres are buying.

For 2020 and beyond that is.

Recent reports suggest the team is looking for pieces to control long term, no real surprise to many of us. Names such as Trevor Bauer have been mentioned as possibilities. I wouldn’t rule out a major blockbuster... you just never know with Aj Preller. They’re clearly not satisfied with the rotation status quo. The team seems very eager to deal an outfielder or 2 as well.

The Giants come in at 9-3 since the all star break. Or, the exact opposite of the Padres’ 3-9 record. While the Padres suddenly sit 7 games back, the Bruce Bochy led Giants are 1 game over .500 and just 3.5 back in the wild card race. They resemble the 2010 Padres in many ways, so counting them out would be unwise.

After winning 3 of 4 against the Dodgers before the break, the Padres seemed to be headed for greener pastures. Unfortunately, they’ve now lost 4 consecutive series since the aforementioned break. Question marks loom, but the team is almost certainly not in traditional sell mode.

Make no mistake, this is a very important series for the team. If they can rebound and win at least 2 of 3, it will go a long way towards confirming their “potential” to contend for a wild card spot. If they continue their downward spiral, expect the very real possibility of moving closer Kirby Yates.

Pitching Matchups

Jeff Samardzija vs. Joey Lucchesi

Shaun Anderson vs. TBD (Quantrill/bullpen day?)

Madison Bumgarner vs. TBD