The Padres could trade everyone before the trade deadline

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The Padres haven't made a trade deadline deal yet, but it's not because general manager A.J. Preller is ignoring the phones. Think back to the winter meetings, when the Padres went from doing nothing to all of a sudden doing everything: Preller and the Padres are lining up a number of deals, and if they can all be neatly placed in a row, August's Padres team is going to look a whole lot different than July's.

Preller is currently discussing a major trade with the Astros that could include Craig Kimbrel, while also talking Tyson Ross with the Cubs. The exact return for either is unknown, but names like Javier Baez have been bandied about, so the idea is to reload the Padres with youth that Preller brought in himself instead of inherited. The Yankees want Kimbrel, too, which can only help negotiations and San Diego's farm system. Justin Upton is on the block, and could maybe head to the Mets after they bungled the Carlos Gomez negotiations -- especially if they refuse to give the Reds what they want for Jay Bruce. Ian Kennedy, Andrew Cashner, Joaquin Benoit, Shawn Kelley, Will Venable, James Shields -- they could all be dealt before 4 p.m. on Friday if Preller can find the takers.

It's hard to imagine that any team could get all of this done in a day, but let's remember how Preller brought in Upton, Wil Myers, Matt Kemp, Derek Norris and more essentially all at once in December. If there is a GM who could pull this off, he's the one in San Diego, and that likely makes him the most popular GM in the game on July 31. And hey, there's always the waiver period in August, too, especially for Shields and his contract.

• How hilarious would it be if Justin Upton beat the Mets with a three-run homer in the ninth inning on Thursday and then was traded to them on Friday? It would be quite the capper on a horrible 24-hour period they've already endured thanks to trades and Upton.


• The Giants missed out on Cole Hamels and David Price, so they moved on to Mike Leake. He makes the Giants better, but he wasn't cheap.


• The David Price and Troy Tulowitzki trades are huge risks for the Blue Jays, but not for their GM, who was probably in trouble if Toronto missed the playoffs again anyway.


• The Cole Hamels trade works for the Phillies for a specific reason, and if it doesn't, well, they were going to screw it up anyway.


• The Red Sox missed out on Hamels, so maybe this offseason they should see if Billy Beane is willing to Donaldson the A's ace, Sonny Gray. Boston has all the prospects Beane could hope to acquire, so it's just a matter of his being willing to make the move.


• The Mets didn't get Carlos Gomez, leaving both Gomez and Mike Fiers available for the Astros, who are not fooling around with this contending thing.


• Oof, right in the beans.


• Speaking of nut shots, Jonathan Papelbon is bonding with his new Nationals' teammates in the shower.


• The Tigers got more for Price as a rental than they paid to get him from the Rays a year ago, thanks to a haul that included Daniel Norris.


• The Orioles are still thinking about buying, and Gerardo Parra is a name they've considered buying on.


• The Twins seem to be stuck between rebuilding and contending, as they've sat on their hands this entire trade deadline. Terry Ryan has one day left to change that.