Padres Could Buy and Sell at Trade Deadline in New Development

Typically, the MLB trade deadline is a time when teams decide whether to be buyers or sellers as they either prepare for the postseason or look to the future.

The San Diego Padres are looking to do both this summer, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune's Kevin Acee.

"As the trade deadline approaches, those familiar with some of the team’s talks say the Padres are inclined to rely on president of baseball operations A.J. Preller’s creativity versus throwing money at their offense problem," Acee writes.

"The Padres do not seem inclined to commit significantly more resources than they already have to a payroll that stands at $211 million with a CBT payroll that is slightly over the second threshold and would already require them to pay more than $4 million in penalties.

"So a sort of buy and sell approach, wherein they swap some salary commitments, has been increasingly seen as a way to get the impact bat they need."

The Padres biggest holes are at left field and catcher, two positions that have failed to produce offensively throughout the season. Padres catchers rank 27th in batting average and 28th in OPS among MLB catching groups.

Left field was originally occupied by Jason Heyward and Connor Joe, but both veterans are no longer on the roster.

The San Diego lineup has started to heat up as they have scored four or more runs in five of their past seven games.

However, it appears an impact bat remains a top priority for the Padres. Additionally, the Friars are reportedly looking for a reliever, per MLB insider Jon Heyman.