Padre’s big deal may have netted a bag of lemons

Josh Hader and Josh Bell’s additions didn’t fare well for the San Diego Padres.

That San Diego Padres‘big swings at the MLB Trading closes have resulted in major failures as Josh Hader and Josh Bell have provided next to no return on investment for the playoff-struggling NL West franchise.

San Diego traded closer for the former Milwaukee Brewers to bolster its bullpen. Bell arrived in sunny Southern California as part of the blockbuster deal that ripped superstar Juan Soto from the Washington Nationals. Meanwhile, Hader and Bell have not lived up to their high expectations since coming on board in late July. You’ve got a few weeks to turn this ship around, but still…

Josh Hader’s ERA in a Padres uniform was a terrifying 12.34 as he entered Friday night’s home game against Washington. Now it’s an absolute 16.20 disaster after allowing three earned runs against the Nationals. The four-time NL All-Star and three-time Hoffman winner now has his ERA at 5.30 in the season split between both NL franchises. What an absolute train wreck we have ahead of us.

Similarly, Bell has scraped a truly pathetic .135/.274/.173 since joining the Padres and playing the Nationals in Friday’s home game. As expected, those numbers have actually deteriorated as Bell now hits .121/.250/.151 over the course of 16 games in a Padres uniform. This guy was a borderline All-Star contender in Washington and hit an impressive .301 on the plate for Nationals.

Meanwhile, the Padres find themselves a paltry 18 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers…

Josh Hader, Josh Bell were nothing short of lemons for the San Diego Padres

Although San Diego will be one of three wildcard teams in the National League this season, there’s no guarantee they’ll be there. Milwaukee is just a game behind the Padres for the No. 6 in the senior circuit. While San Diego is just a game behind the Philadelphia Phillies’ pace for the No. 5, the Atlanta Braves are 8.5 games better than them as the NL No. 4.

The good news for the Padres is that only seven teams are really in the mix to make the postseason in the NL, eight if you count the rival San Francisco Giants, who are hovering around .500 exactly in the second half of August. Unfortunately, the Padres are unlikely to do better than the No. 5 this year, with Atlanta and the New York Mets buzzing in NL East.

Ultimately, this doesn’t seem to be the year for the Padres. Should they hold off the Brewers for what is likely to be last postseason spot, there is no guarantee they will get out of the NL Wild Card round. The worst thing is that they won’t play at home. San Diego made these big moves to try to keep up with the Dodgers, and both have completely backfired.

The Padres have time to put the ship back in order, but these past few weeks have been very worrying.