The San Diego Padres have a 9-17 record since June 16.
They have also lost three in a row and seven of their last 10.
In the process, they have seen the Los Angeles Dodgers run away with the division and build a 9.5-game lead in the NL West.
The 50-41 Padres may still make the playoffs, but they are, very clearly, a flawed team.
Their rotation is excellent: Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, Joe Musgrove, Mike Clevinger, and Sean Manaea will surely take them places, and if anyone goes down, MacKenzie Gore has shown he is ready for primetime.
However, their offense is not particularly good outside of Manny Machado and Jake Cronenworth, and they have several problematic situations in the lineup.
Eric Hosmer has cooled off considerably after a blistering start, and Trent Grisham and Wil Myers have shown they are not viable starting outfielders at this point.
In other words, their outfield can’t hit even if their life depends on it.
The Padres Can Pull A 2021 Braves Move
MLB.com’s writer AJ Cassavell, who covers the Padres for the site, compared the Padres’ situation with that of the 2021 Atlanta Braves.
Notable, I think: pic.twitter.com/OtD72Cdmzw
— AJ Cassavell (@AJCassavell) July 15, 2022
He acknowledged that the Padres don’t have a championship-caliber team at the moment, but the Braves didn’t have one either at this point last year.
They went out and bought four starting-caliber outfielders for their roster, plus some relief help, and that’s all their core needed to make a serious postseason and World Series run.
As you might remember, they won it all last year.
Why can’t the Padres do something similar this year?
They have lots of prospects to trade and need to field a competitive roster before it’s too late.
Expect them to be active prior to the trade deadline.
NEXT: Padres Insider Discusses What The Struggling Team Must Do