The Padres have started sounding out the trade market in a bigger way as the deadline nears, with Joel Sherman reporting that they have checked in on Kodai Senga and that A.J. Preller has at least considered Rafael Devers. The timing matters because San Diego moved to 58-54 with a 5-4 win over the Giants on August 2, 2026, and has won eight of its last nine games to pull within a game of the final NL wild card berth.
That is why MLB trades today is turning toward San Diego. The Padres are no longer just watching the market; they are being described as potential buyers, and the names being tied to them are unusually ambitious for this point on the calendar. Senga, who is in the fourth year of a five-year, $75MM contract, would still be owed the remainder of a $14MM salary for 2026 and another $14MM in 2027. Devers is on a far larger deal, with roughly $220MM due through 2033, including $52.5MM deferred.
Senga is the more understandable fit. He impressed in 2023, then spent almost all of 2024 sidelined by injuries and was limited to 113 1/3 innings in 2025 and just 44 2/3 innings this year. He opened this season with an 8.66 ERA and was dropped from New York’s rotation before returning to start Friday’s game. Sherman said San Diego is still in the investigating and inquiring mode rather than heavily focused on a deal, which leaves the conversation sounding more like due diligence than a trade that is close.
That caution matters because the most aggressive idea in the mix is also the least clear. Sherman heard from multiple sources that Preller has at least considered trying to obtain Devers from the Giants, but it is unclear whether that means internal discussion only or actual talks with the San Francisco front office. The Giants were linked in June to possible payroll-cutting moves involving Devers, Matt Chapman and Willy Adames, yet there has been little traction because of the size of those contracts. Devers, for his part, has been hitting like himself again after a brutal April, with a 119 wRC+ and a.250/.324/.481 line along with 23 homers.
The shape of this deadline is now visible. The Padres are buying ground in the NL, the Mets are in seller mode, and the most realistic path may be a smaller swing on Senga rather than a massive bid for Devers. What remains unresolved is whether San Diego is simply testing prices or whether Preller is preparing to make a real offer before the deadline window closes.
