© David Richard | 2020 Aug 26
The San Diego Padres are going all in.
San Francisco’s division rivals have been the most active team at the deadline — which concludes Monday at 1 p.m. PT — making five trades over the past three days, culminating in Monday’s blockbuster to acquire Indians ace Mike Clevinger.
The Padres shipped six players to land the left-hander, including right-hander Cal Quantrill, outfielder Josh Naylor and catcher Austin Hedges, along with three minor-league prospects — shortstop Gabriel Arias, left-hander Joey Cantillo and shortstop Owen Miller. That’s one fewer than the seven players San Diego has acquired in their five trades over the past 48 hours or so, somehow only giving up one top 20 prospect — outfielder Taylor Trammell.
In addition to Clevinger — whose 2.90 ERA since 2017 is the second behind Justin Verlander amongst all AL starters — the Padres also landed catchers Jason Castro and Aaron Nola, relievers Austin Adams, Dan Altavilla and Trevor Rosenthal, and new designated hitter Mitch Moreland.
Nola is perhaps the most interesting of that bunch, hitting .306 this season for Seattle, with five home runs and 19 RBIs in 29 games as the team’s primary catcher.
With 24 games remaining, the Padres have won seven of their last 10, and are looking to make a push to clinch a postseason berth for the first time in 14 years. The Padres currently have the third best record in the National League (21-15). The Giants sit four games behind them at 17-19.