What does the San Diego Padres lineup look like after the latest trades have been made?

Eleven and a half games out of first in the NL West is not the best position to be in, for any team. But in 2022, that is close enough to see the San Diego Padres in second place behind the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are simply running away with the division. Their next closest rivals are the San Francisco Giants, a full seven games behind the Padres in a very distant third place. And if the Dodgers were feeling smug about their opposition, they should feel less so now.

The Padres have gone all-in on the chase, and they will almost certainly chew their way through some of the deficit between themselves and their SoCal rivals.

San Diego already had an impressive batting order before the trade deadline, but with all of the deals now done, they have a leading four that is as good as any ever assembled anywhere. Leaning into the back half of the season has been tried before, and Dodger fans will never let the Padres forget it, but somehow, this feels like it is a different level. The power and average that this Padres lineup has is a rival for anything the Dodgers can put together.

This is one possible iteration of what they have on offer:

With Nomar Mazara, Ha-Seong Kim and Wil Myers also filling out this dugout, this is truly one of the most impressive lineups going into August that MLB has to offer.

Their chances of catching the Dodgers are vanishingly slim, but going into the new 12-team playoff format, they have one of the strongest chances to make a deep push into the post season. The Dodgers are still their most tricky opponent, but with the addition of Josh Hader to their bullpen, there is a great opportunity here for the Padres to threaten their west coast rivals like they haven’t done in years.