It is that time of the year again in the MLB when teams have to decide whether they are sellers or buyers to improve their roster and be able to gun for a playoff spot.
The San Diego Padres are fourth in the NL West standings with a 45-50 win-loss record as of this writing. That is 10.5 games behind the first place and 7.5 games behind a wild card spot.
They are not surrendering their 2023 season yet, but they must do something to escape their current situation.
As for who needs to go, main pitcher Joe Musgrove sees some teammates as expandable as he believes they will not dent the core of the team.
"There's certain guys that they aren't going to sell. And even if we do sell off - the guys that are available, Blake [Snell] (and) [Josh] Hader, that are going to be (free agents) at the end of the year - we have a good team in here without those guys," he told The San Diego Union-Tribune.
The one-time All-Star recognized that things would be different without the two.
"Obviously, we're not the same team without them, but we do have a good team. So I feel like that's not as much of a concern, and we're not really thinking about that. We're thinking about winning games one at a time and just putting as many as we can together in a row."
Josh Hader's name in trade machines
Hader's name has been thrown in many trade conversations this season.
Getting traded to a team that will make the playoffs might be something he will like. He made it known before that he wants to be there in the late stages of the season.
"It's more thinking about the longevity of it. It's 162 games that we have to play," Hader said.
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