The Friars are ready to put up a white flag and rightfully so.
According to Jayson Stark and Jon Heyman the Padres are looking to be sellers. The Padres OF seems to be the sport that is being pushed aggressively and that makes a lot of sense.
Here is ESPN's Stark talking about how the Padres are looking to sell:
The one potential seller, besides the Cubs, that has picked up the pace, other teams say, is the Padres. "Not many teams are in sell mode, but San Diego is already in that mode," said one AL exec. At the top of their "BUY ME" list are all their outfielders except Cameron Maybin, with Seth Smith, Chris Denorfia and Will Venable all potentially available. And will someone take a chance on Chase Headley? "They've been wanting to move him for two years," the exec said.
And here is CBS' Heyman adding Carlos Quentin's name to the mix:
Assuming he starts swinging the bat like usual -- his current .637 OPS is exactly 200 points below his stellar .837 career mark -- Quentin looks like he could become a prime trade candidate next month.
Of interest then is the complete no-trade clause in Quentin's contract, a major part of the equation when he signed for what was literally a "hometown" discount. The pertinent question thus becomes: Would he be willing to approve a trade out of his hometown for the chance to enhance his career and perhaps play in a playoff race?
Padres people believe a healthy Quentin gives the offensively challenged team their best chance to win, and that's probably true, but they are also realistic to know that eventually it may be better for all involved if he went to the American League, where being a DH could give his chronic knee pain a chance to subside.
The team is going nowhere and the Padres' OF is a mess. Chris Denorfia and Seth Smith are about to become free agents, Carlos Quentin is injury prone and relatively expensive and Will Venable is playing at a level that could should be replaced for less cost. The club probably will not find takers to all, but it is a good start to try and get as much as they can for as many as they can. The Padres can worry about who will man those positions in 2015 later after they have freed up the spots and resources.