Padres' Mason Miller Expecting Wild Trade Deadline

The San Diego Padres have been involved in all sorts of rumors leading up to the Aug. 3 trade deadline this summer.

Given how the Padres' season has gone so far, the next three weeks could tell the entire story of the year for this organization. San Diego currently holds a 48-48 record, sitting 3.5 games behind the final wild-card spot in the National League.

If the Padres can show the front office that this group deserves to be invested in, president of baseball operations A.J. Preller will push the chips in. But if the team were to falter, the Padres could become sellers at the trade deadline.

Star closer Mason Miller, who has been in trade rumors himself this year, weighed in on the upcoming deadline. Miller believes that the league could be in for a wild ride, with multiple teams around baseball trying to go after a postseason spot.

“It's competitive; it's all about getting hot at the right time,” Miller said. “I think you'll see a lot of teams probably adding and going for it, because anything can happen any given year. You’ve just got to get in.”

Miller has become one of the bigger storylines around the Padres, with some thinking that San Diego could elect to trade him for future assets. If the Padres were to fall further behind in the playoff race, moving the star could help the team out long-term.

The NL playoff race is fairly crowded heading into the second half, giving more doubt to the Padres' chances to get into the mix. But San Diego does have a lot of talent on this roster, and the team is expected to get some reinforcements from the injured list in the coming weeks.

Both Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove are expected to rejoin the starting rotation over the next few weeks, which would give the pitching staff a needed boost. So if Preller were to add — even a little — the Padres could be in decent shape to compete for a playoff spot.

Baseball is also one of the weirder sports, where the best team doesn't always win the championship. It's often that hot teams make the postseason and go on magical runs to the World Series, or even win it all.

For the Padres, this idea is what helps drive the thought behind going after a postseason spot. However, the players themselves will need to prove something to the front office, starting with a crucial three-game series against the Kansas City Royals to kick off the second half of the season.

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