2022 was a big success for the Padres, as they made the playoffs in a full season for the first time since 2006. They then knocked off the 101-win Mets as well as the 111-win Dodgers, slaying “the dragon up the freeway.” The Phillies put a stop to the magic in the NLCS but it was still the best campaign in recent Padres history. They have a strong core together to keep the good times going in 2023, but will also have to address some gaps created when some key pieces hit free agency.
Guaranteed Contracts
- Fernando Tatis Jr., IF/OF: $332.57MM through 2034.
- Manny Machado, 3B: $192MM through 2028. Machado can opt out after 2023.
- Joe Musgrove, SP: $100MM through 2027.
- Yu Darvish, SP: $19MM through 2023.
- Ha-Seong Kim, IF: $17MM through 2024, including $2MM buyout on mutual option for 2025.
- Blake Snell, SP: $16.6MM through 2023.
- Drew Pomeranz, RP: $10MM through 2023.
- Luis Garcia, RP: $3.5MM through 2023.
Padres also owe Eric Hosmer, since traded to the Red Sox, the majority of the three years and $39MM left on his contract. The Red Sox will pay him the league minimum with the Padres paying the rest. Hosmer can opt out after 2022 but is unlikely to do so.
Total 2023 commitments: $128.11MM
Total future commitments: $727.45MM
Options Decisions
- Wil Myers, OF: $20MM club option with $1MM buyout.
- Jurickson Profar, OF: $7.5MM player option with $1MM buyout. Contract also has mutual option for 2024.
- Nick Martinez, RP: $6.5MM player option with $1MM buyout. Same structure exists for 2024 and 2025.
- Robert Suarez, RP: $5MM player option with $1MM buyout.
Arbitration-Eligible Players (projected 2023 salaries via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)
- Josh Hader (5.115): $13.6MM
- Jorge Alfaro (5.083): $3.6MM
- Juan Soto (4.134): $21.5MM
- Tim Hill (4.112): $1.7MM
- Austin Adams (4.015): $1MM
- José Castillo (3.125): $900K
- Austin Nola (3.106): $2.2MM
- Trent Grisham (3.060): $2.6MM
- Adrian Morejon (3.013): $800K
- Jake Cronenworth (3.000): $4.4MM
- Non-tender candidates: Alfaro, Adams, Castillo
Free Agents
The Padres stole the show at the 2022 trade deadline, acquiring Juan Soto in one of the most unique trades in baseball history. He still has a couple years of arbitration eligibility to go, meaning the Friars will be able to enjoy a full season of Soto’s work in 2023. In terms of the other deadline pickups, Brandon Drury and Josh Bell are heading to free agency but Josh Hader has one arb year left, allowing the Padres to hang onto him.
Soto will be locked into right field, with Trent Grisham likely next to him in center. Grisham didn’t have a great year at the plate in 2022, but he’s still valuable due to his speed and defense. Left field could be wide open, as Jurickson Profar is lined up to opt out of the final season of his three-year deal. He’s set to make $7.5MM but could take the $1MM buyout and look to find more than $6.5MM on the open market to come out ahead. Wil Myers also saw some time in the outfield in 2022, though the Padres are sure to give him the $1MM buyout instead of picking up his $20MM option.
Of course, one complicating factor that needs to be considered is the return of Fernando Tatis Jr. An injury incurred via motorcycle accident during the lockout kept him out of action for the first half of 2022 and then a PED suspension prevented him appearing in the second half. The Padres will have to make a decision on where Tatis fits after that disappointing sequence of events. He still has 20 games remaining on his suspension but will be eligible to return to the team after that. While he was out of action, Ha-Seong Kim took over the shortstop job and had an excellent season.
Tatis has played some outfield in the past while dealing with injuries that kept him off short. He could theoretically be moved onto the grass going forward, but it seems the club is leaning towards a plan where Tatis returns to short, Kim moves over to second and Jake Cronenworth gets bumped to first. With Myers, Drury and Bell all departing, that would open up first for Cronenworth. Manny Machado is coming off an excellent season and will be a mainstay at third. If that is indeed the plan they wish to follow, adding a corner outfielder should be the main priority on the position player side of things.
The Friars have some internal options who could step up, such as José Azocar or Brandon Dixon, but they should be looking for an upgrade here. The top of the outfield market this winter will be Aaron Judge, who is set up for a massive payday. The Padres have shown they are not afraid to make a huge strike, meaning they can’t be ruled out on getting Judge and perhaps moving Soto over to left. However, with many large contracts already in place, they might opt for more modest options like Andrew Benintendi, Michael Brantley or Mitch Haniger. They could also be a fit for Trey Mancini, who can play first base and the outfield corners. Bringing back Drury and his positional versatility is also a logical move.
Behind the plate, the Padres have three MLB-caliber catchers in place, though they will have to make a decision about whether or not to keep all of them around next year. Jorge Alfaro didn’t get much time behind the plate towards the end of the year, only starting at catcher four times after rosters expanded at the start of September. The rest of the starts went to Austin Nola and Luis Campusano. With Alfaro striking out in 35.8% of his plate appearances and not getting great marks for his defensive work, the club likely moves on and lets Campusano finally have some real playing time. He debuted in 2020 but still only has 28 MLB games on his résumé. With Alfaro projected for an arbitration salary of $3.6MM, he’s likely to be non-tendered.
In the rotation, the Padres will still have a strong front three, as Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish and Blake Snell are all under contract for next year. They will have to make decisions about the backend, though, as Mike Clevinger and Sean Manaea are both headed into free agency. The Padres also weakened their depth by including MacKenzie Gore in the Soto trade.
There is one in-house option in Adrian Morejon, with the club evidently not giving up on him as a starter. Morejon underwent Tommy John surgery in April of 2021 and returned to make 26 appearances in 2022, though all of those were out of the bullpen. But prior to that, he was considered one of the best pitching prospects in the league. It’s fairly logical that the Padres would want to give him another chance to see what he can do, but it’s also unlikely they will simply hand him a guaranteed spot in the rotation after a long layoff and then a handful of bullpen outings.
There are a couple of other depth options in the system, but the Padres will likely be looking to add two starters. There will be no shortage of options, with Justin Verlander, Jacob deGrom and Carlos Rodón all expected to trigger opt-outs and form the top of the pitching market. For teams that miss out on those guys, there are still lots of interesting hurlers on the next tier, including Kodai Senga, Nathan Eovaldi, Chris Bassitt, Tyler Anderson and many more. They could also look to the trade market, perhaps trying to get Pablo López or Jesús Luzardo from the Marlins. But after unloading so many prospects at the deadline, they might not want to further subtract from their system.
The bullpen also might need some upgrades, especially if Robert Suarez and Nick Martinez both decide to opt out and return to free agency. If they did, they would join Craig Stammen and Pierce Johnson, potentially subtracting four arms from the relief corps. They would still have Josh Hader, which is a fine starting point and means they probably won’t go for Edwin Diaz. But they could look for quality setup options, such as bringing back Suarez or going after Michael Fulmer, Chris Martin, Adam Ottavino or Brad Hand. Martinez would reportedly prefer to be a starter, so perhaps they could convince him to stick around, if they think he can handle a rotation spot. Suarez, however, is a virtual lock to test free agency and land a multi-year deal.
Of course, how aggressive they go after filling these vacancies will depend upon the payroll situation. Historically, the Padres were not huge spenders but they have shifted that reputation in recent years, even nudging into luxury tax territory in each of the past two seasons. Roster Resource estimates their actual 2023 payroll to currently be around $187MM though the CBT number is much higher at $213MM. The disparity comes from the fact that CBT calculations are based on the average annual values of contracts, not just the salary earned by the players in 2023, and also factor in player benefits.
It’s unknown at this point how much the club is willing to spend, but it’s possible they could take the same approach as they did in 2022, hovering near the tax line but willing to go over it at the deadline if the right opportunity comes along. The lowest CBT threshold is jumping from $230MM up to $233MM for 2023, but that wouldn’t leave the Padres a lot of room to work with. A few non-tenders would create some more breathing room, but probably only about $5MM or so.
The club has plenty of talent but could use a left fielder, two starting pitchers, some relievers and maybe a first baseman as well. If they only have about $20MM to play with, it will be difficult to accomplish all of that. But the Padres have shown in recent years that they might have more money in the bank than you’d expect. Perhaps this offseason will prove that yet again.
In conjunction with this post, Darragh McDonald held a Padres-centric chat on 11-2-22. Click here to read the transcript.
Padres; Always a bridesmaid never a bride.
Until they are.
Haters gonna hate !
Padres built the best farm ever over past decade and did a phenomenal job of unloading that talent at its peak value bringing in loads of all-star talent in the process. That’s how ALL MLB franchises should operate yet the other 29 teams rarely or never do.
Hats off to ya Pads ! Thx for keeping things interesting !
WTF are you talking about?? Being able to get those prospects over the hump into the majors, to close on your prospects, is the single most important step in the development process. Shoot, I submit that it’s more important than all of the other steps COMBINED. What’s the point of having a good farm system if you can’t close on your prospects?
People need to relax. The Pods have been removed from a rebuild and competitive for what? Like 3 or so years. Give it some time. Yeesh.
The best farm ever and the most they saw of it was a handful of games from Gore and Abrams
Yet there they were in the NLCS. Its almost like its more important to find a way to win then to hoard prospects. Imagine that.
All the Padres need are a couple of bottom of the rotation starters. Let’s not forget that they made the playoff and knocked off the Mets and Dodgers without getting an inning from their best player Tatis. They also only got a couple of months of Soto having a bad year. If he comes back strong…
Phenomenal work as always.
Padres are a great team that lost a couple of crazy games in a short series. It happens.
But looking past 2023 is scary. Tons of free agents coupled with trading away so many prospects could be a bad combination.
Padres probably just need a decent #4 starter, bring back Martinez and Suarez, and a power hitting 1st baseman.
Under no circumstances should Ha Seong Kim ever be anywhere near 2B… Either play him at SS or trade him.
And then Crone’s value takes a huge hit if you put him at 1B.
Maybe not, with the shift being banned, more athletic first basemen would help to cover more ground, imo
With the shift a thing of the past, putting Tatis at SS and Kim at 2B with Cronenworth at 1B (could platoon with Drury if resigned) would give us one hell of an athletic infield with great range. You basically need two SS up the middle now. With Machado at 3B, you can cheat Tatis more towards 2B.
Tatis at 2B and Kim at SS would give us an even more athletic infield either even better range! If Kim is in the starting lineup it needs to be at SS and at SS ONLY!
Tatis at 2nd is the best bet. He let the team, city and MLB down with his actions and should play wherever they tell him to. Moving Cronenworth to 1st and that is one heck of a defensive infield.
Tatis has better range and a better arm than Kim. Kim has a more accurate arm and a better glove. You probably start Kim at 2B once Bebo is back unless he’s moved to CF.
What Tatis did has no bearing on where he’s playing.
@dvmin98 Kim has the better arm. You don’t move an elite defensive SS off the position in favor of a guy who MIGHT be an average defensive SS if he can dial back the errors.
Oh and why not? I’ve heard people say we should move Kim to 2B because he can’t hit. As if moving him to 2B somehow solves the problem of him not being able to hit.
I mean, it does have bearing because it kills whatever superstar leverage he may have had to demand a certain position.
Kim definitely does not have the better arm. Tatis was clocked in the mid 90s from there. Kim not close.
It doesn’t matter how hard Tatis throws when his throws end up in the stands behind 1st base.
It should. Can’t let him come back and “call the shots” after what he did, both the injury and the juicing.
beersy – Who’s talking about letting him “call the shots” other than you, just so you can tediously draw attention to his transgressions in a discussion of a totally different topic? My guess is you’ll be doing this for years.
Tatis wants to play SS. Besides making tons of throwing errors and grading much worse than Kim, he also injures himself repeatedly there, especially when he dives. A team player would happily play wherever it works best for the TEAM, not where is best for HIMSELF and his ego. If Tatis moves to the OF, 1B or DH and works hard there without complaint fans will have nothing to complain about. Unfortunately that does not seem to be the case.
@dvmin, I disagree. Tatis has a lot of maturing to do….as a non-Pads guy, I think, as a person, he’s a bit of a punk. Huge ego, doesn’t follow the rules (riding motorcycles against contract stipulations) is willing to cheat (PEDs), and is making $25MM/year for 14 years……he should do anything and everything the Friars’ brass asks of him with a smile on his face and a massive work ethic put forward. The Padres org. owes him ZERO beyond their financial obligations now, but he owes them, and the Padres fans, a TON. If they want him to become the clubhouse guy shining shoes, he should gladly oblige!! 2nd, LF, SS, wherever they ask him to go should be A-okay with FTJr.
The shift is not a thing of the past, it will just b slightly less dramatic. Teams will still b shifting right up to the bag and pressing the rule right to the limit.
Success is playing in the playoffs. POSTSEASON Baseball!!! Period! The title is the eternal glory….Gotta make the playoffs…No shame in getting to the playoffs and getting KO’d…..50-50 every game….
Yes. Once you’re in it’s a crapshoot. Reality
Remember people, 29 teams are not failures every season….There can always only be 1 top dog…The WS champion is the almighty, although they must DEFEND that title a year later! Otherwise, the crown is passed on…
There is no need to think that this roster won’t be an improvement over this year’s team, at least on paper. A lot of teams face the same challenges the Padres face on shaping their rosters. It’ll work out…I got a strong feeling.
Huge improvement, if Tatis is healthy and passes his drug tests, in 130 games (and he is suspended for 20), he will hit 40 home runs.
Machado will be opting out.
He could because he has played well. My thought is he likes it here a lot.
He won’t..Arenado exhibit A.. and even if he does Siedler won’t let him walk..his family loves SD and Manny is the Captain of the ship..
Arenado is the extreme exception to the rule. Most players with opt-outs do what the $ says they should.
I don’t think he can until after 2023.
You know when his opt-out is PF
If he has another similar stellar year, he can easily top 6/$160M at 30 y.o.
Yes, but not until after 2023 ends.
Absolutely FALSE! This is Machado’s team!
So what if he opts out? Seidler would likely up the ante to keep him around. He and Manny are tight and Manny loves the city. He’s the captain. I could see him negotiating prior to triggering the opt out and redo his contract worst case scenario.
“Grisham didn’t have a great year at the plate in 2022…” That’s a bit of an understatement, isn’t it, for a guy who’s OPS was about .625?
I thought it was lower, lol, but at least he showed up in October
Before the post-season I thought that the Padres might move on from Grisham and his great glove weak bat with two true outcomes profile. But I think the solid post-season combined with an already high payroll keeps him in the fodder for one more year.
Eric Hosmer has to see all the articles and comments about him. How he isn’t good, the padres would regret the signing immediately, he never deserved those GGs because he’s always been mediocre at best on defense, his contract sucks but at least Boston doesn’t pay more than the minimum, and everything of that sort.
And to that I say…Yes! Haha YES!!!
And before some people unclasp their hands from his sack in order to state his leadership abilities or my jealousy related to his earnings…just stop. You’re better than that.
He almost assuredly doesn’t read the comments, and if he does, he’d laugh.
If you were an MLB player would you read this site?
I know I would. I’d probably be more into baseball front offices, analytics, emerging trends in the game, potential transactions, etc.
We had player talks in the off-season and a common thread is the fact this site is often visited/mentioned by players. Maybe he should read the comments. They might give him the motivation to improve as a player.
Guys that hit .184 don’t start on teams that have Tatis available to play CF.
Teams who want to compete for the World Series don’t put their best player in CF when he is made of glass.
Well they certainly don’t put him at SS when they already have an elite defensive SS who just put up a 4+ WAR season
Agreed.
Problem is all of Tatis’ value comes from him being a power hitting SS. And knock Grisham if you like but he just won a Gold Glove and stepped up offensively in the playoffs
No, Tatis is a good enough hitter that he has high value even as a DH or OF.
@Rsox Tatis’ bat will play at any position. Kim’s won’t.
2 x Gold Glover .184 hitter sir
Love the idea of Yoshida OF/DH and Senga SP to San Diego in the offseason.. then if we in it at Deadline and Othani Still an Angel ..go get 2 months of Shonei .. (Merrill ouch but all in).. Yu/Othani/Snell/Musgrove/Senga could be a post season SP unit for the ages ..not to mention a 1/2 a Billion +$$$ windfall from Japan in various revenue sources as the greatest ensemble of Japanese players in the history of MLB .. a deep run or World Series would spelled pandemonium in Japan… get it done AJP
Any chance that Campusano can be the DH so he can get regular at bats?
Campusano can DH but he will have to earn it with his bat.
I don’t think his bat will play there unless he really starts raking. He theoretically hits enough at catcher (if they ever play him enough for us to find out…) but the offensive output required for a DH is much more.
Plus you don’t want your backup catcher starting at DH because if you have an injury at C then you lose the DH slot that game and have pitchers hitting
If AJ is as smart as everyone says, he is, he should be all over keeping Jurickson Profar in the fold. There are, by my estimation, at least 8 teams that would give Profar 3 years guaranteed or at least 2 plus an option with an AAV of $6-8 mm per (or possibly even higher in years/AAV) Toronto first comes to mind. Ross Atkins would be laser focused in his efforts to court Profar to balance out the Jays heavily right leaning lineup. San Fran, St. Louis and Milwaukee all would be in on a productive switch hitting bat for a number spots in the order, as well as 5 or 6 other teams. Remember AJ, when you look very closely, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
Proffar is an ex Ranger whose offensive performance was mediocre.
There are other options out there. But, Preller probably tries to resign Proffar.
While Fernando Tatis, Jr. deserves the verbal abuse that he gets for his motorcycle accident and steroid usage, I still believe he will be on ethe best hitters in MLB. Having missed a year (plus 20 more games), and being brittle, I think the smart move for the Padres is to play Tatis, Jr. at DH for the first half of the season. I think the Padres should offer Myers one year at $5-6 million. I think the Padres should offer Robert Suarez three years at $24 million. C Nola, 2B Cronenworth, SS Kim, 3B Machado, Corner outfield Soto, CF Grisham, C Nola, corner outfield Azocar, 1B Myers. Starters Darvish, Musgrove, Snell are 1-2-3. Obviously, they need at least one solid free agent starting pitcher, someone who can get them 5 innings every five games, and have a sub 4.50 era.
it’s funny that they caught Tatis for PED and they never caught bonds, an obvious user
I consider Aaron the all-time Home run leader with Ruth second and Pujols, third. if they took the single season home run record away from Mcguire
Either funny or a script
I doubt that the Padres would make Tatis a full time DH. Defensively the Padres would be best served by putting him in RF. I don’t see the Padres moving Kim and Crone, who are both excellent defenders at their current positions, out of position to accommodate Tatis, who is a bad defensive SS.
I am suggesting that they make Tatis, Jr. the full-time DH for the first half of the season and play Azocar in the outfield. Tatis needs to gradually get back to game speed and learn the OF. Tatis can move from DH to a corner outfield spot at mid-season and Azocar would move to the bench.
For 2025, Ha-Seong Kim has a $1 Mutual Option, $2M Buyout. Isn’t this too obvious a luxury tax manipulation?
Padres: 3B Machado, SS Kim, 2B Croneworth, 1B Drury on short term deal or another FA
LF trade or FA, CF/RF Tatis Jr, RF Soto. AAA Eugy Rosario looks like he is ready for INF/OF duty with great hitting stats.
Rotation: Musgrove, Snell, Darvish, Morejon, FA, promotion from system or trade.
Josh Bell had a down 2nd half so maybe he takes a one or two year “pillow contract”
to rebuild his value as 1B/DH.
Padres will be competitive in 2023 with creative roster moves.
They have already began crucial “backfilling” of their lower minors part of the farm system.
The Padres could leave Grisham in center, move Soto to left and tatis to right. Leave machado, Kim, cronenworth at 3rd, ss, 2b. Then pick up one of many potential 1b.
They could also bring back profar or another outfielder and play tatis as short. Use Kim to play 3rd, ss and 2b. He will still get tons a playing time and create depth. This allows lots of flexibility to the dh role as well. Drury would be a good resign for 1b. He can also move around as he can pla 3b, 2b, 1b and left field.
I look for the Padres to get 1 outfielder, 1b, 2 starting pitchers and a couple of relievers. They are virtually a lock to go over the tax line again this year. Specially if they extend Soto long term which they have said they will try and do.
They are also looking to extend darvish. The preller seider (owner) have been and sound like will be aggressive again this year. Nothing is really off the table, so don’t get too stuck on how much they have to spend to stay under the tax. Winning the world series is the goal and as the owner has recently said…” he kind of likes spending money, cant take it with you”.
The Padres got a taste of some success in the playoffs and I don’t think they will play it safe this off season.
Chris Martin is not a free agent…
Preller should go after Anderson and Senga as SP, resign Drury, try and trade Alfaro (though we love him), resign Martinez and Suarez and then look for new LF. Pick up a bullpen option or two. Other than that, there isn’t much to do.
1-Tatis to RF and keep Grisham in CF. They don’t have the money to replace Grisham.
2-Cron, Kim & Machado at 2nd, SS & 3rd. Sign a mediocre 1B.
3-Sign two mediocre SPs. With Darvish, Musgrove & Snell, there is no reason to overbuild the rotation.
4-Re-sign Martinez, Profar and Suarez for maybe $10M, $10M, and $7M AAV?
$284M altogether? Should be a lock for the playoffs.
Tatis at 1B. There is an opening there and might fill it without changing the remainder of the team.
After all that he has done to hurt the team in 2022, its time for Tatis to step up and show he is a team player. When he returns he should volunteer to play CF so the strongest possible team can be on the field.
Kim is most valuable at SS and his defense is better than Tatis. Cronenworth is most valuable at 2B. Don’t move either one to accommodate Tatis at short. The Padres need a slugger at 1B.
Grisham hit .184 last year and only exceptional defense kept him from being a total loss. He is the prototypical 4th OF/defensive replacement/pinch hitter. Put Tatis in CF, Profar or a FA in LF, and Soto in RF. That is the best possible outfield.
If Tatis can come close to repeating 2021, a season he played hurt the entire time, he will provide as much or more value in terms of WAR as Grisham 2.4, Drury 0.4, Bell -0.4, and Profar 3.1, did combined for the Padres in 2022.
The Padres are going to be ok as long as he is healthy and can start play by mid to late April.
They still need someone to fill those spots on the field, but performance won’t dip substantially regardless of who plays LF and 1B, assuming Tatis is in CF or LF.
Soto and Bell were huge disappointments in the 2nd half after the Trade deadline. Their performances dropped off the cliff offensively.
Soto better put up All Star and/or MVP numbers going forward
OR many will count the Soto trade as a huge bust for the Padres considering the huge haul of young talent they sent to the Nats in the deal.
We can be sure Soto will be well motivated to return to his usual monster performance. Not only is he now on a team that will be in contention for the World Series, but his contract will run out in 2 years. If he puts up another year or two of this year’s numbers he will cost himself over $100 million on his next contract.
Padres “Boom and Bust” business plan of AJ Preller may come back to bite the team on its backside. If they can win a World Series in the next few years, then fans and ownership may give Preller a pass shipping off most of their farm system talent to other MLB teams and helping build long term contenders in many other cities.
Maybe not!
AJ Preller and his team are fantastic at identifying future, impact major league talent and drafting it.
High quality players from the Padres farm system are excelling with other teams all over MLB. Read article revisiting the Mike Clevinger trade that stated the Guardians hosed the Padres with key pieces of the Guardians AL Central Championship team from the Padres farm system.
“Mike Clevinger trade was a franchise building block for Cleveland
It’s becoming clear why San Diego is the Guardians’ favorite trade partner “. .partnerhttps://www.coveringthecorner.com/2022/5/3/23053166/mike-clevinger-trade-was-a-franchise-building-block-for-cleveland
Seattle’s starting first baseman Ty France was a 34th round pick out of the Padres farm system. The list is very long of young promising Padres players and farm hands traded away who became key contributing major leaguers elsewhere. too long to mention here, But a few examples will suffice
“.Led by France and Trammell, Mariners’ 2020 trade with Padres may be speeding up end of rebuild”https://sports.mynorthwest.com/1345757/2020-mariners-padres-trade-speed-up-rebuild/
Trey Turner and a bunch of throw ins to the Nationals and Rays for Will Myers?!
This troubling, San Diego Padres long term way of operating started way before the Preller Era.
The Indians/Guardians are grateful for landing Carlos Baerga, Sandy Alomar Jr and others for Joe Carter. Padres players became major contributors to multiple Indians/Guardians playoffs and World Series runs.
The Blue Jays are thankful to the Padres for multiple World Series Titles as a result of trades that sent Robbie Alomar to the Jays and Joe Carter to the Jays.
The Braves are thankful that the Padres gifted them Fred McGriff for a bag full of used batts and balls. McGriff lead an earlier Braves dynasty to its World Series Title.
The Marlins thank the Padres for Gary Sheffield and others who help them win a World Series Title. In the grab bag of lottery tickets in those deals was a hidden, unknown gem (Trevor Hoffman).
The Cardinals are forever grateful for the Padres gifting them Ozzie Smith in a trade.
Presently the Padres Front Office (AJ Preller) have serious problems keeping and developing foundational talent in their system and on their major league contending team.
The Padres’ farm system has become a farm system for other major league teams.
Many of the players received by the Padres are veterans on expiring contracts or young players closer to free agency and big contracts.
It is a “welcome to the New Boss (Preller) same as the old bosses San Diego Padres.
It would be a very welcome change if the Padres could develop, held onto and play some of their best young talent at the major league level!?
Some GMs just like to trade everything not nailed down from their team and farm.
The Padres team could crater back to earth and the 2nd Division if they don’s start
keeping more of their young, great players instead of shipping them out of town in very questionable deals.
In 2023 the Padres will have a 235M+ payroll with many holes in the team because of free agency and non production?!
Not a good sign!
I fail to see how that is unique to the Padres. Every team makes ba and good trades. Your last line is only correct if every player choses to not opt out and the Padres choose to pick up Myers $20 million option. If they do that, then the Padres don’t have any holes. If they all choose to opt out and the Padres decline Myers option then they are under $200 million. With an owner that is willing to spend, and Tatis and Pomeranz returning, that is a pretty good place to be. One back of the rotation starter and a 1B and they are set. Wish the Angels were in such a good situation.
What if those prospects don’t pan out on their new teams, does Preller get kudos for trading them? Other than Turner and Clase, not much else has bit him in the butt.
I think the Pads put Tatis in right and let all FA,s walk except Martinez who is a must resign with the promise he gets a full shot as an SP. Myers is done, Bell didn’t produce and both Drury & Profar are coming off career years they aren’t likely to repeat. In addition Drury plays multiple positions mediocre to poor at best and Profar is down to only LF position wise the easiest on the field. Suarez came on strong at the end but is replaceable with a healthy Pomeranz (fingers crossed) let’s give Rosario a shot at 2nd, Cronenworth is fine at 1st. Machado, Kim, on the left side are gold, Soto s/b better in LF, live with Grisham in CF, find another starter and a DH, sb formidable again