The San Diego Padres are a confusing baseball team. The minute you think you have them figured out one way or the other, they head back in the other direction.
After climbing to as many as six games over .500, the Padres went on a skid right before the All-Star break and currently sit one game out of the fiercely competitive National League Wild Card race.
Though they still have plenty of time to right the ship, the Padres have a major concern to address at the trade dealine. Their starting pitching, which was supposed to be an area of strength, has come unglued.
Dylan Cease and Michael King have been strikeout machines, but occasionally get roughed up. Meanwhile, Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove have been injured, leaving the Padres hamstrung at the top of the rotation.
Luckily for Padres fans, it seems general manager A.J. Preller is up to his old tricks. That's according to New York Post insider Jon Heyman, who says the Padres are pursuing Chicago White Sox ace Garrett Crochet via trade.
Heyman said that Crochet had been "linked to" the Padres in his report on starting pitcher trade candidates on Thursday. He also noted that the Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers, and New York Yankees, but added that the Yankees were "not that into" Crochet.
Crochet, still just 25 years old, will be a fascinating target to follow at the deadline. He debuted in 2020 and didn't make his first career start until Opening Day of this season. Since then, he's done nothing but dominate, leading MLB with 150 strikeouts and posting a 3.02 ERA/2.37 FIP.
On the other hand, Crochet has already thrown 107.1 innings this season, whereas his previous career-high was 54.1 in 2021. The White Sox will value him as a number-one starter because that's what he's been this year. But can he be expected to continue handling a starter's workload?
If so, the Padres would be one of many teams overjoyed to have Crochet. And even if he ends up needing to let off the gas a bit in the regular season, he could be a terminator in the playoffs. That is, of course, if San Diego can get him there.
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