San Diego Padres left fielder Gavin Sheets (30) celebrates with the dugout after hitting a two-run home run during the third inning against the New York Mets on Wednesday at Petco Park. David Frerker-Imagn Images

Padres Outfielder Has 3-Word Response to Trade Deadline Rumors

Originally posted on San Diego Padres on SI
By J.P. Hoornstra | Last updated Jul 30, 2025 9:36 PM ET

Never ask a baseball player on a contending team how they feel before the trade deadline. Ask them afterward.

The San Diego Padres are trying to boost their roster on the final day to make trades of the 2025 regular season. The deadline is 3 p.m. PT Thursday.

According to Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic, the Padres’ extreme interest in Jarren Duran, combined with general manager A.J. Preller’s “aggressiveness,” is stirring optimism the Padres can get a deal done. According to Katie Woo of The Athletic, the Padres have expressed interest in Cardinals left-hander JoJo Romero.

Meanwhile, the Padres had a game to play Wednesday. They dispatched the New York Mets, 5-0, at Petco Park. While the Mets were busy acquiring reliever Taylor Rogers from the San Francisco Giants, and Ryan Helsley from the St. Louis Cardinals, the Padres were busy winning their fifth straight game to complete a series sweep.

Gavin Sheets hit a two-run home run in the third inning. Afterward, Sammy Levitt of 97.3-FM asked the Padres' left fielder whether he would be "locked in" to the Padres' trade deadline activity. Sheets offered a succinct three-word response.

"Whatever happens, happens," he said. "Most important thing are these five wins. We're going to keep it rolling with whatever team we've got."

Gavin Sheets spoke with @SammyLev about how well the Padres' offense is hitting right now and what Yu Darvish's dominant outing can do for the Padres down the stretch: pic.twitter.com/HTbtvq7rjU
— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) July 30, 2025

It wasn't "one game at a time," but it might as well have been. The Padres don't have a game scheduled for Thursday, so there's no telling who will be in the home clubhouse when the St. Louis Cardinals come to town Friday.

If they acquire Duran, a talented left fielder, it would presumably push Sheets back to the DH position at which he excelled to begin his first season in San Diego. But doing so might require the Padres part with Dylan Cease, a trade that Robert Murray of FanSided.com deemed "a longshot" on Monday's episode of The Baseball Insiders.

"I've also had it refuted — I don't believe it was accurate at all — that he was offered with Ethan Salas for Jarren Duran to Boston, but I got a couple different denials on that," Murray said. "I don't expect a Cease trade. It's possible for sure but at this point I'd call it a longshot."

A smaller trade might be in order, but might not move the needle much for a Padres team currently in the third Wild Card position in the National League. Regardles, trades are out of the players' control, a sentiment Sheets described in few words.

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This article first appeared on San Diego Padres on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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