Several weeks from the trade deadline, the San Diego Padres find themselves in a precarious position.

Their offense, according to some statistics, has been the worst in the majors for more than a month. Their pitchers, especially their high-leverage relievers, have shouldered a likely unsustainable burden. Starters Michael King and Yu Darvish remain sidelined, and center fielder Jackson Merrill joined them over the weekend when he landed on the concussion injured list. The San Francisco Giants, meanwhile, acquired Rafael Devers. Undoubtedly, Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller wants to reinforce his roster, but the organization’s lack of depth is a byproduct of repeated win-now trades.

And yet, at 39-31, the Padres also find themselves only three games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and just a game behind the Giants in the National League West. In Sunday’s 8-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego followed perhaps its worst loss of the season with one of its most convincing wins. There is ample incentive for one of baseball’s older teams to continue winning as much as it can.

With fewer than 40 games left before the deadline, which Padres have been keeping the club afloat, and which players have been dragging it down?

Stock up

Fernando Tatis Jr.

Tatis was the biggest reason the Padres roared to a 27-15 start. He also might have been the biggest reason they lost 14 of their next 25 games. He didn’t stop playing a strong right field, but in the latter span, Tatis hit .174/.269/.272 with only two home runs amid the worst slump of his career.

Then, three games in the desert brought signs that Tatis is refinding his way. He went a combined 8-for-13 at Chase Field, lining the ball around the yard and legging out three doubles. With four hits Sunday, he marked a season high and matched a career high.

The Padres need Tatis to rediscover his power; the team ranks 29th in home runs since May 26, and 27th overall. In the interim, it could use more multihit performances from its leadoff man. Merrill was trying to climb out of his own career-worst slump before he took a swipe tag to the helmet. First baseman Luis Arraez has fallen well short of his typical standards. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts has been making solid contact but remains a shell of his former self. Third baseman Manny Machado can’t single-handedly carry the offense all summer.

So, the Padres would settle for multiple well-compensated stars again starring at the same time. Tatis might be heating back up at the right moment. The team will visit Dodger Stadium on Monday night. In 34 career games in the building, Tatis is a .313/.366/.626 hitter with 12 home runs.

Fernando is having some fun.

⭐️: https://t.co/ARilN7zMDX pic.twitter.com/VR2LdoM2Lh

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 15, 2025

Sean Reynolds

Would the Padres consider Reynolds as a starting-pitching option as soon as next year, after they potentially lose King and Dylan Cease to free agency? Reynolds is huge, he throws four pitches, and between the majors and the Pacific Coast League, he’s gone three or more innings in five games. Plus, last offseason, the Padres discussed stretching out Stephen Kolek and Bryan Hoeing before actually acting on the idea with Kolek. Would it be a, ahem, stretch to at least have a similar conversation with Reynolds?

“That’s not for me to decide right now,” the reliever said recently. “I’m here to just keep helping this team win in any capacity they need me to. … As far as down the road, maybe we can cross that bridge when we come to it. But for right now, no, I’m very happy with where I’m at and just doing whatever the team asks me to do.”

The Padres are happy, too. May 24, not long after returning from a stress reaction in his right foot, Reynolds started an emergency bullpen game and supplied 2 2/3 innings of three-run baseball. Since then, the 26-year-old has made seven consecutive scoreless appearances, totaling 10 1/3 innings while allowing three hits and two walks.

Some of the peripheral numbers haven’t been great, but there is time for them to improve. Reynolds’ earned-run average is down to 3.60, his walk rate is below 7 percent, his average fastball velocity has climbed back above 96 mph, and he struck out a pair of batters in a 12-pitch inning Sunday.

Stock down

Luis Arraez

To his credit, Arraez has been playing banged up. He left a June 5 game because of posterior knee soreness. He was back in the lineup the next day, and he has played every inning since. There have been a couple of multihit performances in the past week that suggest the three-time batting champion might be inching back toward form.

However, the overall numbers remain unflattering. Arraez’s .274/.308/.394 slash line is a trio of career lows. His average exit velocity, hard-hit rate, expected batting average and expected weighted on-base average are among other career worsts. He’s striking out less often than ever — just 1.8 percent of the time — but, given his quality of contact, he’s been making too much contact. Suboptimal offense, combined with subpar defense and base running, has Arraez near the bottom of the league with minus-0.3 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs.

Maybe the 5-foot-10 Arraez will continue to deal with nagging injuries that prevent him from reapproaching his unique ceiling. Maybe, if he regains full health, a sustained hot streak will follow and fuel the Padres offense.

For now, it’s been the kind of year that makes a contract extension seem unlikely. The chances of a qualifying offer also might be fading. Last season, the qualifying offer came with a $21.05 million price tag. The cost will increase this year. Given their holes and Arraez’s deficiencies, the Padres might not be able to afford the risk that he accepts such an offer.

Luis Campusano and the catching situation

This situation was already less than ideal. Then, on Saturday, Campusano received the nod at designated hitter. It was his first start in two weeks. He went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts to keep his batting average at .000 after 18 at-bats. He hasn’t caught one big-league inning this season.

Over the past few seasons, Campusano has failed to earn the trust of multiple pitching staffs and two managers. At times, perhaps those managers were stubborn to not give Campusano more of a chance as a big-league catcher. At times, perhaps the front office was stubborn in insisting that Campusano deserved more of a chance.

Now, he is nearing his 27th birthday with little trade value and no real path to meaningful playing time in San Diego. The Padres say they are content with Elias Díaz and Martín Maldonado — the two veterans have ushered the pitching staff to above-average results — but the team’s shallow offense is exacerbated by a .615 on-base plus slugging percentage from the catching position.

Campusano, of course, doesn’t appear to be the answer. As the trade deadline gets closer, that just means the Padres have another potential need to go along with left field, the starting rotation and the bullpen, where they could use another high-leverage reliever.

(Top photo of Fernando Tatis Jr.: Allan Henry / Imagn Images)