Plenty of signs this summer seem to be nudging the San Diego Padres to sell ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

Under rookie manager Craig Stammen, the Padres are 17-28 since May 19. They rank 30th in runs scored, 27th in starters’ ERA and starters’ innings, and 30th in most farm system rankings. FanGraphs puts their playoff odds at 13 percent.

And yet, there are other factors pushing San Diego in the other direction.

The Padres don’t have many players on their big-league roster who would bring back a significant return, and several of them have no-trade clauses. Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts and Jake Cronenworth are well into their 30s. Amid a recent dip in fan enthusiasm, the revenue machine at Petco Park continues to depend on maintaining robust attendance and drawing spectators through the appeal of household names. And after all of that, the Padres are still within 4 1/2 games of the National League’s final wild-card spot — and keeping a close eye on other teams’ big-league trade candidates.

Difficult decisions lie ahead as the deadline approaches. Let’s get to your questions.

(Note: Questions have been lightly edited for clarity.)

What kind of return could the Padres get if they trade Mason Miller? — David B.

It wouldn’t be the level of return the Athletics got last summer for trading Miller and JP Sears to San Diego: The A’s prize in that deal, shortstop Leo De Vries, is widely considered one of the five best prospects in baseball. But any potential deal involving Miller, who’s under club control through 2029, could bring back a haul of young talent. The Padres, who desperately need controllable starting pitching, should at least listen to offers for a dominant closer who hasn’t pitched much in recent weeks.

Still, it wouldn’t be easy getting fair value for Miller. More and more teams have become reluctant to surrender top prospects, including in trades for an elite reliever. (Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller has proven to be an exception.) Though there hasn’t been a perfect analogue over the past decade, here are a few deadline deals involving top relievers:

In 2025, the Minnesota Twins traded Jhoan Duran — who then came with 2 1/2 years of control — to the Philadelphia Phillies for Mick Abel and Eduardo Tait.
In 2022, the Milwaukee Brewers traded Josh Hader (1 1/2 years) to the Padres for Robert Gasser, Dinelson Lamet, Taylor Rogers and Esteury Ruiz.
In 2018, the Padres traded Brad Hand (3 1/2 years) and Adam Cimber to the Cleveland Indians for Francisco Mejía.
In 2016, the New York Yankees traded Andrew Miller (2 1/2 years) to the Indians for Clint Frazier, Justus Sheffield and two other prospects.

In the coming weeks, every other potentially available reliever will represent a cheaper alternative to Miller. The Padres can at least use this month to gauge his value and, barring a proposal too good to decline, reassess things in the offseason.

Where are the new owners? — Dan M.

Technically, José E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones aren’t the new owners yet. Their agreement to buy the team at a record valuation was announced in early May, but what is said to be a complex deal remains contingent on approval by at least 22 of MLB’s other 29 owners. A vote that some thought might happen in June didn’t, and the current hope among Padres officials is late July, though these timelines have a way of moving.

That could complicate things related to San Diego’s deadline planning. For now, John Seidler remains the club chairman, and if the sale doesn’t close before Aug. 3, some people around the team believe there won’t be much room to take on additional payroll.

Technically, is there a third option that is neither buy nor sell? Hold? — Lucila D.

Holding might be the least advisable path. Yes, an underachieving offense has improved — since June 17, San Diego is 12th in the majors in OPS — but the starting rotation is razor-thin, and the Padres know they can’t bank on Nick Pivetta or Joe Musgrove as they build toward potential late-summer returns. This team should either commit to trying to make the postseason or turning much of its attention to 2027, as painful as that would be.

Here’s a fourth option: Since they don’t have many prospects who are both highly regarded and performing, I could see the Padres trying to make the postseason through a combination of buying and selling. Which leads us to the following question…

What players are the Padres most likely to dump if they decide to sell? — Colin E.

Miller could become one of the biggest chips of this deadline if the Padres so choose. Every contender would love to have Adrian Morejon, a pending free agent, in its bullpen. Michael King can opt out of his contract this winter, but until then, he could be at least a mid-rotation starter for other clubs.

Beyond that, there aren’t many players who would fetch a lot in trades. Jeremiah Estrada and David Morgan are promising relievers on the injured list. Wandy Peralta and Yuki Matsui are having fine seasons. Gavin Sheets and Ty France have proved they can at least be useful role players. With Morejon and Jason Adam nearing free agency, the Padres might prefer to hang on to Bradgley Rodriguez.

Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill could also be big trade chips. But Tatis’ full no-trade clause would limit his market, and the Padres would be selling low on either star, especially Merrill.

If the Padres end up buying, I could see them simultaneously considering trades of one or two of their relievers. That might be one way to fortify weaker positions or acquire prospects who can be flipped for major-league help.

Adrian Morejon could draw significant trade interest this month. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

When is A.J. Preller finally going to get fired? Even after the luxury of a multi-year rebuild and then consistent $200-million-plus payrolls, he demonstrated he can’t build anything close to a championship team. And his strategy of constantly trading away prospects has resulted in a team of mercenaries with inflated contracts and no overarching team identity. — Jed W.

To be fair to Preller, he hasn’t been allowed to take on much payroll since Peter Seidler’s death after the 2023 season, and the late owner was a driving force behind the extension of Machado and the signing of Bogaerts, two deals that have hindered efforts to build a more complete roster. This has prompted Preller to rely even more on his tendency to continually exchange future value for immediate help.

It’s also fair to point out that Preller has had far more resources and managers than any former Padres general manager. He’s traded away multiple All-Stars while failing to fully develop more than a few homegrown regulars. And in what was supposed to be a golden era, San Diego is staring at the prospect of only three postseason berths in six years.

Preller’s aggressive style has helped produce arguably the most exciting period in franchise history, but with their backloaded nine-figure contracts and shallow system, the Padres are facing a grimmer outlook than most organizations. The Padres extended Preller by at least two years in February, but his future likely will be decided by the next ownership group.

Are there any discussions among the front office regarding what it would take to offload Bogaerts and/or Machado in terms of prospects, cash and major-league players? — David B.

Over the last year, there has been at least some exploration of what it might take to move Bogaerts’ contract, but I’m not aware of any significant traction or much talk involving Machado. It would be a surprise if both infielders play out the rest of their deals in San Diego; by that time, they would both be 41. It would also be a surprise if either player is moved this year; the Padres would have to eat a ton of money.

What organizational prospects outside of Ethan Salas have any true trade value? — John H.

In terms of prospects who could be swapped for impactful big-league talent, it doesn’t appear to be a long list. A lot of rival scouts like Tucker Musgrove. Kash Mayfield could become a back-end starter, with the potential for more. Kruz Schoolcraft has had a bumpy start to his professional career. Ty Harvey is intriguing, but a hand fracture has sidelined him since late May. Ryan Wideman has produced, but the underlying numbers are less flattering.

Of course, the Padres could again attempt to trade quantity for quality. That’s what they did last summer when they sent six of their 2024 draft picks to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Ramón Laureano and Ryan O’Hearn.