The San Diego Padres are rolling! After a topsy-turvy 2024, they have found their groove this season, flashing a much-improved offense and leading the league with the fewest strikeouts. Plus, they are also staying competitive in the extremely brutal NL West. But if there is one giant hole that is still glaring them in the face, it is none other than the left field.

Jason Heyward has been struggling at the plate, batting just .176. Gavin Sheets did try stepping up, but he ended up crashing into a wall. No, he dented the wall and injured multiple parts of his body while in the process. So here they are heading into the thick of summer, and their left-field situation is a royal mess. They are dead last in baseball in both batting average and on-base percentage at that position.

But here is where Luis Robert Jr., from the Chicago White Sox, who is having the worst season of his career, comes in.

The Padres are interested in trading for him. Now, on the surface, this deal does not make much sense. He is hitting just .177 and hasn’t looked like the all-star he once was. But ESPN insider Jeff Passan sees a different logic in this. Passan says, “Left field for the Padres has been a disaster all season……Turning to Robert, who’s hitting .178/.267/.288—would essentially be replicating that production. So why trade for him? Because surely somewhere inside his 6-foot-2, 225-pound body lurks the player who two years ago hit 38 home runs… take him out of center, and his defense is suddenly a plus in left.” 

So that means the bat may be cold, but the upside is hot off this trade. The San Diego Padres’ front office, led by A.J. Preller, has never been afraid to go big. Plus, given that both Dylan Cease and Michael King are approaching free agency, this might be the season to go all in after all. And as far as the White Sox go, they might be ready for a painful goodbye. Robert’s numbers have tanked, and the team doesn’t want to pick up his $20 million club option for 2026 and 2027. For San Diego, this could be a classic play. If they can manage to break open the Luis Robert Jr. of 2023, they might just add a booster pack to their postseason push for sure.

San Diego Padres want power, but Phillies might go for speed

If the San Diego Padres are thinking bold with Luis Robert Jr., the Philadelphia Phillies might just be cooking up something even hotter. Coming off a rather commanding 8-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays the night before, they have just reminded everyone what their offense is like when it syncs. Trea Turner launched two homers and went 3-for-4 while Alec Bohm chipped in with four hits of his own. The win was a much-needed breather after a tough stretch.

Now they are sitting at 37-23 and are in a position to be buyers as the trade deadline creeps closer. Even her name, like Luis Robert Jr., has come up along with Luis Arraez. But Bleacher’s reports Zachary D. Rhymer gave another name—Jarren Duran. The Red Sox center fielder is having a solid season, slashing. 273/.318/.424 with 17 doubles, six triples, and four homers. And the real kicker is that Duran is lightning on the basepaths and is also sitting pretty at the 92nd percentile in sprint speed according to Baseball Savant.

So he is not just fast; he is a threat. The Boston Red Sox are slipping quite fast, and they have dropped eight of their last ten. The kind of slide puts Duran’s name more in the mix. In fact, according to Rhymer’s mock deal, Philly would send two prized prospects to Boston, like Andrew Painter and Eduardo Tait.

Well, would Duran be worth the price? That’s the real gamble. But if the Phillies want speed and depth for a postseason run, they might just go with the flow.