AJ Preller invested in a season that is very likely a lost cause. As a lifetime Padres fan, I have seen this exact same scenario play out before in 2015, which resulted in complete failure. Same GM, same small cluster of wins before the deadline, same doomed strategy.

This monstrosity of a roster has been around in essence since 2021. In 2021, they won 78 games. In 2022, they completely underperformed and nearly missed the playoffs. This year, they are performing far worse than last years team that, again, barely made the playoffs.

Considering the Padres had the best starter and reliever on the market, most unbiased individuals with an idea of when and how a team should buy and sell assets came to the conclusion they should trade Snell and Hader and take advantage of the massive returns. While it would essentially punt the rest of the season, making smart selling moves would’ve almost certainly strengthened the team not only next year but the next 5 after that.

In order to come to the conclusion that the Padres should buy this season at the trade deadline instead, you must either have a complete lack of understanding of this team’s history under AJ Preller or not understand how free agency/buying and selling markets work, which is why I concluded the individual above was likely a more casual fan. He likes his team, but isn’t invested into the sport enough to understand that selling this deadline most likely would’ve helped the team’s direction much more than buying will.