Latest Padres trade rumor proves Dodgers broke San Diego with NLDS comeback

The Padres' offseason has been nothing short of tragic. By Game 3 of the NLDS, San Diego had LA on the ropes, up two games to one. It seemed like the Padres were actually going to prove all of the Dodgers' naysayers right, but then they went 24 scoreless innings to hand the last three games over to LA. Whomp whomp. It was all downhill from there.

Despite that embarrassment, there was no reason to believe that the Padres wouldn't try to have a productive offseason. They lost multiple key pieces, including Jurickson Profar, Tanner Scott, and Ha-Seong Kim, and AJ Preller and the Padres front office certainly doesn't have a track record of shying away from big signings, even if they'll age like milk.

However, with an ownership battle pushing free agents away (Profar cited the conflict as a major reason he didn't return) and nary a peep about San Diego's interest in much of anyone, they've remained completely inert. Roki Sasaki seemed to represent their only chance to do something significant before the start of the new season. Whomp whomp.

Since whiffing on Sasaki, they've trended toward a big sale. They've opened up Dylan Cease to trades, and now they're also listening on offers for Michael King.

Padres looking to sell Michael King as their offseason gets worse and worse

Ken Rosenthal confirmed that King was being shopped on Monday alongside Cease. Luis Arráez could also be on the chopping block. All three could command significant packages in return, and the Padres are going to need a lot back. If they deal both Cease and King, that will leave them with just three starters — Yu Darvish, Randy Vásquez, and Matt Waldron, and Darvish only made 16 starts last season between time on the IL and restricted list as he attended to personal matters. Joe Musgrove underwent Tommy John last year and will be missing throughout 2025.

While the Dodgers-Padres rivalry is frequently infuriating, it's also made for some really great games. But next season already seems like it'll be a different story. The Padres still have a number of their biggest Dodgers-grief-givers — Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Xander Bogaerts, Jackson Merrill — but that's about where San Diego's depth ends.

There's just no way that the Padres roster, as it currently looks, will be able to compete with the Dodgers next season, which might leave the Giants and Diamondbacks room to sneak in for second place in the NL West.