The San Diego Padres were a team that many were wondering about ahead of the trade deadline. Some were not certain whether the team would be buyers or sellers at the deadline.
However, they quickly put the sellers thought to put after bolstering their rotation. They acquired Robbie Ray in a trade with the San Francisco Giants and then Casey Mize and Gage Workman in a trade with the Detroit Tigers.
Now, they find themselves in a good spot for the rest of the regular season as they have been rolling over the last few weeks. If they can avoid injuries, this is going to be a team that the rest of the league will be forced to pay attention to.
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Padres continue to climb up power rankings after a dominant week
The Padres had quite the challenging schedule last week. They took on the Milwaukee Brewers, who are Bleacher Report's top team in the power rankings, before taking on a Cleveland Guardians team you cannot sleep on.
They handled business against the Brew Crew, completing the impressive three-game sweep before taking two of three games in the series against the Guardians.
With a 5-1 record last week, Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter bumps this team up a few spots from No. 10 to No. 7.
"The Padres have not lost a series since dropping three of four to the Atlanta Braves from July 20-23, and last week's three-game sweep of the Brewers was a clear indication that this team is the real deal. If they had not won eight of nine heading into deadline day, they might have been sellers, and now they're arguably the hottest team in baseball."
Fans should be fired up the way the team has been performing lately. They are in the driver's seat to finish out the season strong and continue that momentum into the postseason.

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