Mariners must pass Padres test to be taken seriously as World Series contenders

There are only five MLB franchises that have never tasted the glory of a World Series championship, and two of them are about to cozy up in Seattle over the next three days.

As Seattle fans well know, the Mariners are all-in on changing their Fall Classic history in 2025. They're finally acting like ending the franchise's drought of World Series appearances — 48 years and hopefully not counting — is a priority. This year's club had World Series aspirations from Day 1, and they're even stronger now after the pre-deadline additions of Eugenio Suárez, Josh Naylor, and Caleb Ferguson.

Still, even the Mariners might be feeling trade deadline envy at what the San Diego Padres did to change their own World Series history.

Padres' visit to Seattle will bring trade deadline winners and World Series hopefuls face-to-face

The Padres have at least been to a couple of World Series since their inception in 1969, making their first Fall Classic appearance in 1984 and another in 1998. It has been a struggle to get back ever since, yet the franchise's motivation to do so only seems to get stronger every year.

Even when compared to Jerry Dipoto's wheeling and dealing, what Padres GM A.J. Preller did at the trade deadline is nothing short of extraordinary. He completely revamped his roster with a series of trades, with the headliners consisting of Mason Miller, Ryan O'Hearn, Ramón Laureano, Freddy Fermin, and Will Wagner. In so doing, Preller traded away seemingly half of his farm system.

Still, whether it was worth it is already a no-brainer "Yes!" What was a mere warm streak has turned into a full-on hot streak, as the Padres have won 19 out of 27 dating back to July 26. They now sit tied atop the National League West with the Los Angeles Dodgers, a notion that would have been borderline blasphemous when the Dodgers were being predicted for 117 wins back in March.

In other words, the Padres actually are what the Mariners want to be right now.

Their post-deadline fortunes were good in the beginning, but there's still a sour taste lingering from the Mariners' 2-7 road trip between August 12 and 20. If nothing else, it was a reminder of how inhospitable the road has been to the Mariners — and, by extension, how difficult it could be for them to navigate October if they can't claim home-field advantage via a top seed.

Even worse, the last series on that trip served as a reminder that the Mariners tend to dry up and blow away when they come across another World Series hopeful. The Philadelphia Phillies completely embarrassed them, just as the New York Mets, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees, and Chicago Cubs had done previously.

"But what about the last time the Mariners faced the Padres?" is the question you might be asking. And yes, it is true that it was the Mariners who did the embarrassing in that series back in May, as they waltzed right into San Diego and permitted the Padres just three runs in a three-game sweep.

Those were different times, however.

The Padres didn't really know what they were yet, whereas they now have an identity as a pitching powerhouse with a deep offense. Their 3.20 ERA since July 26 is the second-best in MLB, and Mike Shildt has more than nine good options when he sits down to fill out his lineup every day.

That the Mariners have better odds to win the World Series reflects that they have the better roster on paper, but their current struggle is getting everything to work as intended. It'll take more than one good homestand against a last-place team to redeem a rotation that has been falling well short of expectations. And while Dan Wilson isn't short on talented hitters, how to properly line them up is an ongoing challenge.

And every day, the time the Mariners have left to figure things out just keeps wasting away. There are only 31 games left in their season, and they only stand to win 17 of those if they keep going at their current pace.

This is a team that should be doing better, and it needs to start doing better now.

Game Times and Probable Pitchers for Padres vs. Mariners, August 25-27

• Monday, August 25 at 6:40 p.m. PT: JP Sears vs. Bryce Miller
• Tuesday, August 26 at 6:40 p.m. PT: Dylan Cease vs. Luis Castillo
• Wednesday, August 27 at 1:10 p.m. PT: Yu Darvish vs. Bryan Woo