The San Diego Padres made another major move ahead of the trade deadline to strengthen their playoff chances. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
On Monday, the Padres acquired left-hander Robbie Ray from the San Francisco Giants and right-hander Casey Mize from the Detroit Tigers, giving up three of their highest-rated prospects. General manager A.J. Preller explained the move as an effort to "win championships."
"We're trying to win," Preller said. "We don't apologize for it. We're trying to win championships. We're trying to get to the postseason, and do it year after year."
San Diego sent right-hander Miguel Mendez and 17-year-old shortstop Joniel Hernandez to San Francisco, which will pay part of Ray's $25 million salary.
The Padres also got infielder Gage Workman from Detroit while giving up left-handers Kash Mayfield and Jackson Wolf.
Ray and Mize can become free agents this winter, so they could be late-season rentals. But the Padres (58-54) have won eight of nine to move one game back of the final NL wild-card spot despite a rotation with a 4.66 ERA.
"We're definitely excited to have them," infielder Xander Bogaerts said in the clubhouse in Arizona. "We've been playing some good ball as of late. I think we showed them enough. We've got to continue doing that, obviously, with the nice additions that we have."
The Padres hope these additions will boost their playoff push.