Analysis: Padres’ season could get even more compelling in second half

(Victor Decolongon/Getty Images) Manuel Margot, here being congratulated after a home run against the Dodgers on Sunday, has a .365 on-base percentage over his past 18 games.It could be a wild second half as the Padres run full speed along dual tracks.

Rumblings and rumors generally do not amount to much, but the Padres are positioned to make some interesting moves — in the standings, for once, and in the trade market.

In contention and with a surplus of young players other teams covet, this is the most compelling situation the organization has been in at the season’s midpoint since it felt the need to acquire Ryan Ludwick in July 2010.

With that history — which involved the Padres unloading…