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Two years after their payroll peaked, the San Diego Padres' financial outlook remains a source of fascination to people within Major League Baseball leading up to the July 31 trade deadline.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/onsi/fantasy as MLB Mock Trade: Chicago Cubs Rent Dylan Cease, San Diego Padres Land Their Catcher of the Future. It's questionalbe when a team deals for a pitcher with a mid-season winning percentage of .230.

Buster Olney of ESPN reported that starting pitcher Dylan Cease could be available at the MLB trade deadline. San Diego is open to moving its All-Star pitcher, especially in a market thin on front-line starters. In return, the Padres want MLB talent who can help them win in October.

A year later, the Padres find themselves in slightly better standing. They are 55-49, one game ahead of their 54-50 record last July 24. They are also entering dangerous territory. The wins and losses tell a story of year-over-year improvement. The recent trend lines do not.

Ever since they joined MLB as an expansion team in 1969, the San Diego Padres have struggled when they have visited the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

The Padres have dropped three consecutive games, losing two straight and the series to the Marlins, then the opener to the Cardinals. St. Louis won 9-7 as Willson Contreras and Brendan Donovan hit three-run homers in a six-run second inning to pull ahead.

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