Padres’ sale will impact MLB trade deadline plans

The San Diego Padres are set to be sold for a record-breaking $3.9 billion. There are sure to be plenty of changes of coming with new ownership taking over.

But one thing that won’t is San Diego’s trade deadline strategy. Ultimately, Padres chairman John Seidler confirmed the franchise is solely focused on becoming the best version of themselves at the deadline, via Dennis Lin of the Athletic.

“It will be business as usual at the trade deadline,” Seidler said. “Regardless of when the transaction closes, all decisions will be made in the best interests of the Padres.”

Entering the All-Star break, San Diego’s 48-48 record puts them 12.5 games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. However, they’re only 3.5 games out of the Wild Card race. General manager AJ Preller has proven to be aggressive in the past. He will need to put things in perspective, but the Padres may be in need of some extra firepower to get over the hump.

San Diego has made the playoffs in four of the last six seasons. But in their latest two appearances, they’ve failed to advance past the NLDS. If the Padres enter the deadline as sellers, they’ll be looking to prove they can compete with the Los Angeles Dodgers and all of MLB’s best.

When San Diego’s new ownership takes over, they will then lead the franchise’s charge forward. But it doesn’t appear as if the future sale will play any role in how the Padres do business at the 2026 trade deadline.