The San Diego Padres lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks, 5-1, on Monday, Aug. 3 to bring their record to 58-55 on the year.
This loss to a divisional rival that fell short of the postseason was significant since it came past this season's trade deadline.
However, with 48 games left to be played, the Padres went on a scorching-hot 32-16 run to end the season.
Two of the biggest trade deadline acquisitions appeared to be (at the time) season-altering players with a wild-card spot well within reach and an offense finally starting to get back on track.
In a year where starting pitching had never been more scarce for San Diego, bringing in two-time Cy Young award winner Robbie Ray and All-Star right-hander Casey Mize into the mix seemed like a guaranteed spot in the postseason and beyond.
The reality did get the Padres into the top wild-card spot come the postseason, but the run couldn't have been further from what was expected in August.
The Padres sent right-handed pitching prospect Miguel Mendez (No. 4 in the organization) and shortstop Joniel Hernandez (No. 9) to the San Francisco Giants for Ray.
The left-hander put together a 3.08 ERA across 22 appearances with San Francisco ahead of his trade. Upon his arrival in San Diego, he amassed a 5.02 ERA over nine starts.
In the postseason, Ray started off the NLDS for the Padres, but lasted just 2.2 innings and gave up a pair of earned runs. He made a relief appearance on the brink of elimination in Game 4, and allowed another earned run in one inning of work (and on three days' rest).
Before the baseball world could officially call for all pencils and other writing utensils down before the trade deadline, president of baseball operations AJ Preller made another deal mere moments before time was up.
Top left-handed pitching prospects Kash Mayfield (No. 2 in the organization) and Jackson Wolf (No. 27) were sent to the Detroit Tigers for Mize and third baseman Gage Workman.
Mize was following up last season's All-Star campaign with another effective year on the bump, sporting a 2.70 ERA across 16 starts. Upon his arrival to the Padres, he pitched to the tune of a 7.46 ERA in 10 outings with a bWAR of negative-1.3.
Though he was far from a guarantee for the postseason roster, the right-hander was placed on the injured list with a right ankle sprain towards the end of September and was unavailable for the postseason.
As for Workman, he hit .216 in 32 appearances at the Triple-A level for the Padres and made a pair of appearances at the major league level, collecting a hit and three RBIs in that span.
Both Mize and Ray were traded on expiring contracts and will head to free agency this offseason . Looking back, both deals made sense at the time, but the lack of production to the degree both hurlers showed was something that not many planned for.
The Padres starting pitching is in a state of flux this offseason, but when the dust settles at the start of the 2027 campaign (whenever that may be), don't expect Ray and Mize to be on the squad.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/padres/onsi as Padres Trade Deadline Saved Their Season, But Suddenly Looks Rough .
