“Still have a lot of at-bats to go and a lot of things to do,” Kemp said earlier in the week. “I’m not worried, I’m not panicking. Just have to go out there and have as many good at-bats as I can.”

The schedule is on the Padres’ side, of course. The season is not half over, and they are in better shape than the other teams that attempted drastic renovations last winter — the Boston Red Sox, the Chicago White Sox and the Miami Marlins. The Padres are hanging around the fringes of the pennant race, even without any truly standout performances.

But the causes for concern that were always lurking, even during the winter frenzy, have hurt the team. The Padres’ defense has been the worst in the National League, according to Fangraphs, and the strikeout-prone roster has a meager .297 on-base percentage.

Even worse, Padres castoffs have thrived around the majors. Preller traded five former first-round picks, including starter Joe Ross to Washington and second baseman Jace Peterson to Atlanta. Other useful players were dealt, too — catcher Yasmani Grandal went to the Dodgers, starter Jesse Hahn to Oakland and starter Matt Wisler to Atlanta.

“We were pretty realistic — you’re not going to get good players without trading good players,” Preller said. “We knew we were going to deal players who would be productive big leaguers. That’s part of the deal. We weren’t looking to rip people off. Teams knew we were willing to trade players who would help them. That’s the way deals work.”

In some ways, it had to be done. The Padres had been baseball’s most anonymous team, their performance as drab as their uniforms, and suddenly they had an influx of proven talent — most of it young, too. Kemp, Justin Upton, Wil Myers and Derek Norris would resuscitate the lineup, James Shields would stabilize the rotation and Craig Kimbrel would anchor the bullpen.