Breaking down every trade the Padres made on Deadline day

SAN DIEGO -- The Padres started Thursday by adding to their biggest strength -- landing right-hander Mason Miller to fortify what was already the best bullpen in baseball.

They ended the day by addressing all of their weaknesses, making five deals prior to the 3 p.m. CT Trade Deadline that saw 22 players on the move.

The cost was steep, with top prospect Leo De Vries headed to Oakland as one of eight of the team’s Top 30 prospects to be shipped elsewhere. In return? The Padres strengthened their lineup, reinforced their rotation, found an upgrade at catcher -- and, oh, they added one of the sport’s top relief weapons.

“If you’re going to win a championship,” said general manager A.J. Preller, “you can’t have any weak links.”

Here’s a quick rundown of all five Padres trades on Deadline day:

TRADE DETAILS
Padres get: RHP Mason Miller, LHP JP Sears
A’s get: SS Leo De Vries (Padres' No. 1 prospect, MLB Pipeline’s No. 3 overall), Braden Nett (Padres’ No. 3 prospect), RHP Henry Baez (No. 13), RHP Eduarniel Núñez (No. 17)

On a day filled with stunning trades, this one ranks near the top. Miller has been one of the best relievers in baseball for the past couple seasons, and he joins a bullpen that already features four dominant back-end arms.

It’s unclear where Miller fits -- whether he’ll close or whether that will still to belong to Robert Suarez. That’s not really the point. With Miller, Suarez, Jason Adam, Jeremiah Estrada and Adrian Morejon, the Padres can theoretically shorten games in a major way. Good luck to any opponent trailing after the fourth.

“We’ve got a group that’s all-in, and they want to win,” Preller said of his players. “I checked with [manager Mike Shildt and the coaching staff] about that. I’ll let those guys work it out. I won’t get super involved.”

De Vries, meanwhile, is one of the highest-ranked prospects to ever be moved at the Deadline and is viewed as a potential star.

"He was asked about in every deal," Preller said. "He's a really good player. He's a tremendous prospect. We weren't going to do it unless we got the right fit, the right pieces."

The other of those pieces is JP Sears, a strike-throwing left-hander who fits toward the back of the rotation. He’s under control through the 2028 season, while Miller will be around through ‘29.

TRADE DETAILS
Padres get: IF/OF Ryan O’Hearn, OF Ramón Laureano
Orioles get: LHP Boston Bateman (Padres’ No. 6 prospect), IF Cobb Hightower (No. 8), RHP Tyson Neighbors (No. 16), IF Brandon Butterworth, IF/OF Victor Figueroa, RHP Tanner Smith

The Miller deal was a stunner. This deal? Well, these two players are precisely what the Padres have been looking for all season. It was a near certainty that San Diego would look to address at least one of DH and left field.

Instead, Preller addressed both in one fell swoop. Ryan O'Hearn (a free agent after this season) and Ramón Laureano (team option for 2026) are both having fantastic seasons at the plate. The righty-hitting Laureano likely slots into the starting left-field role, while the lefty-hitting O’Hearn can play either first base or DH -- similar to what Gavin Sheets has done this season.

The trade essentially relegates Sheets to a bench role -- which is huge, because the Padres’ pinch-hitting production is seriously lacking. Through the first four months, they’ve also gotten some of the worst production in the Majors from the bottom third of their lineup. That will almost certainly not be the case any longer, in part because …

TRADE DETAILS
Padres get: C Freddy Fermin
Royals get: RHP Stephen Kolek, RHP Ryan Bergert

Freddy Fermin is a clear upgrade over the Padres’ current catching situation, having posted a .255/.309/.339 slash line this season, along with solid framing metrics and a good arm. He’s also under team control through the 2029 season.

“Two-way player, fits what we’re doing, and from a makeup standpoint, it’s A+ reports,” Preller said.

San Diego spent the first four months using a tandem of Elias Díaz and Martín Maldonado behind the plate. They ranked 27th in the Majors in offensive production with a 71 wRC+, and Maldonado was designated for assignment after Thursday’s moves.

The price was steep, relatively speaking. (Everyone wants to add a catcher at the Deadline until they see the price tag.) But the Padres saw an area of weakness and addressed it, then ultimately fortified their rotation elsewhere.

TRADE DETAILS
Padres get: LHP Nestor Cortes, SS Jorge Quintana (Brewers prospect)
Brewers get: OF Brandon Lockridge

Nestor Cortes, an impending free agent, has spent nearly the entire season on the IL with a flexor strain in his left elbow, but he was due to return any day for Milwaukee. In 31 outings for the Yankees last season, he posted a 3.77 ERA.

The front of the Padres’ rotation currently consists of Nick Pivetta, Dylan Cease and Yu Darvish. Michael King is due back from a nerve issue in early August. That leaves Sears, Cortes and Randy Vásquez theoretically vying for one spot. But considering the injury concerns, the extra depth won’t hurt. Plus, a temporary six-man rotation isn’t out of the question.

Meanwhile, the Padres are high on Jorge Quintana, a switch-hitting shortstop prospect out of Venezuela, who signed for $1.7 million in last year’s international class.

TRADE DETAILS
Padres get: IF Will Wagner
Blue Jays get: C Brandon Valenzuela (prospect)

The son of newly inducted Hall of Famer Billy Wagner, Will Wagner gives the Padres some additional lefty-hitting infield depth. He was batting .237 with a .634 OPS this season. Shortly after the trade, the Padres optioned Wagner to Triple-A El Paso.

The addition of Wagner brought the total on the day to eight new arrivals and 14 departures. The Padres' clubhouse will look markedly different when they open a three-game series against the Cardinals on Friday night.

“The feeling is excitement,” Preller said. “It’s looking forward. We feel like we made our club better. We’re looking forward to seeing how we do here in these last two months.”