The postseason will move on without the Padres involved tonight when the Mets travel to Dodger Stadium for Game 1 of the NLCS, and the Padres now figure to turn their attention to building for the 2025 season. Among the top needs to address on the club’s offseason to-do list figures to be addressing the needs created by the possible departure of pending free agents. Infielder Ha-Seong Kim is perhaps the club’s most high-profile free agent, though between his recent surgery leaving questions regarding his market and San Diego’s considerable depth in the middle infield, left fielder Jurickson Profar and catcher Kyle Higashioka are likely higher priorities for the club to either return or replace.
In the case of Profar, the 31-year-old has made clear that he prefers to stay with the Padres. Profar told reporters (including MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell) yesterday that he hopes to return to San Diego next year before acknowledging that the decision isn’t “totally in [his] hands,” adding that the Padres “have got to want [him], too.”
After signing a one-year deal with the Padres over the offseason that guaranteed him just $1MM last year, Profar enjoyed a breakout season that is sure to earn him a significant pay raise headed into 2025. In 158 games with San Diego this year, Profar slashed an excellent .280/.380/.459 (139 wRC+) with 24 home runs, 10 steals, a strong 11.1% walk rate and an excellent 15.1% strikeout rate. That strong all-around play came together to create by far the most valuable season of Profar’s career as he posted 4.3 fWAR, leaving him sandwiched between Mookie Betts and Kyle Tucker as the seventh most valuable outfielder in baseball this year.
That strong season should make Profar among the most interesting free agents of the winter. Valuable as his offense was this year, he provides virtually no defensive value as a below-average glove limited to left field and his track record on offense is spotty at best. Profar’s career wRC+ is actually below league average (99) even after this year’s phenomenal campaign, and even his 107 wRC+ since first joining San Diego in 2020 is closer to solid than spectacular for a player of Profar’s limited defensive value. If those possible red flags leave teams cautious about giving Profar a hefty guarantee, it’s certainly feasible to imagine the sides working something out to keep the veteran in San Diego going forward.
Of course, a Profar reunion would only serve to further elevate what already figures to be a complicated payroll picture for the Padres next year. The club is currently set to be on the hook for just over $207MM according to RosterResource next year, with a payroll of more than $243MM for luxury tax purposes. It’s possible that offseason trades or perhaps even a creative extension for an arbitration-level player like Luis Arraez could lower those numbers, but the Padres nonetheless appear likely to be nearing their payroll capacity even before reuniting with Profar or addressing the multiple holes in the club’s rotation.
That could leave the Padres needing to scrimp on other parts of the roster, particularly if they hope to retain Profar. One position where the club could look to save money is behind the plate, where Kyle Higashioka impressed in his final year before free agency with 17 homers in 263 trips to the plate for the Padres this year. Much like Profar, Higashioka indicated an interest in returning to the Padres as he heads into free agency, telling reporters (including Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune) that he loved playing in southern California and that his time with the Padres has been the most fun he’s had with a team.
With Higashioka potentially in line for a hefty raise this winter, however, Acee suggests that San Diego brass could instead look to part ways with both him and Kim this winter as they wait for the impending arrival of the club’s top prospects. Catcher Ethan Salas entered the 2024 season as a consensus top-10 prospect in baseball after reaching the Double-A level as a 17 year old, but Acee notes that shortstop prospect Leodalis De Vries, who turned 18 just two days ago, is even more highly regarded by Padres brass.
What’s more, Acee notes that there have been discussions within the organization about the possibility of both teenage phenoms making their big league debuts as soon as 2025. If the Padres truly believe both players could be ready for the majors sometime next year, that could incentivize them to focus on other areas of the roster this winter and stick to relatively short-term options behind the plate and at shortstop who could be pushed aside in the event that Salas or De Vries cracks the big league roster.
Of course, both players would need to rocket through the minor leagues at a breakneck pace to reach the majors next year. Salas spent the entire 2024 season at the High-A level and slashed a lackluster .206/.288/.311 in 111 games with the club, while De Vries slashed an excellent .238/.361/.442 across 75 games in his first taste of professional action this year but has not yet played above the Single-A level. While breakout rookie Jackson Merrill stands as an example of San Diego’s willingness to push top prospects aggressively, even he had nearly 50 games of success in the upper minors before cracking the big league roster.
I think only Acee believes that the Padres believe DeVries and Salas will break camp for Pads in 2025. But Salas and DeVries are as inevitable as it gets, so it doesn’t make sense to sign Higgy or Kim to a longer term deals.
In California, 17 year-olds can only work four hours on school days. Would you like De Fries with that?
One of the best comments I’ve ever seen on here
MLB- Remember a time when on school nights couldn’t work past believe it was 10pm. Store managers had an easy fix for that.. You and everyone still in school simply clocked out and worked, for free until it was time to go home and I’m NOT kidding. Jobs for HS kids used to be tough to find, took what could get, along with free labor.
In many ways I understand why those today are so averse to working much, if any.
Maybe because it’s illegal to employ someone without paying them, Long John Silver.
What if they have two or more jobs or their own business?
Brew, I’m hoping due to his age and desire to stay, maybe a 2 year deal with Higgy in 6/year?
I think Kim is gone but that surgery thing could allow a 2 year deal (affordable year 1 with player opt out) essentially giving him 2025 (part year) to prove his shoulder is good. Otherwise, a defensive first SS with shoulder surgery is going to have a limited ceiling in FA.
Pro – just depends on his market. 1 year out of 10 doesn’t make me think teams are lining up with long term deals. Maybe another 4 year multi-opt out contract at 7 / year like the first one?
Neither may play out but these are valid scenarios as of early October.
Salas was so highly thought of mostly because of his incredibly young age. Which remains the case. But he wasn’t a good player last year on either offense or defense, and is a year or so from being about the same age as other phenoms. He’s not inevitable in any way shape or form and the actual chances of him being the #1 catcher on a competitive MLB team in 2025 are about zero.
Salas is already elite on defense. His offense will come
How to say you have neither read anything nor watched a player play without saying it.
If the only thing being brought into consideration was defense and game calling, Salas could have played at the major league level in 2024. How do I know that? Beyond having watched him play in a dozen or more games live the last 2 seasons, Preller said so.
“I think only Acee believes that the Padres believe DeVries and Salas will break camp for Pads in 2025?”
Just read the article. He didn’t write anything like that.
Read the article, also listened to the Acee interview
He hedged. Wrote that the FO could go any number of ways, including bringing in stop-gap players for a few years. Ended saying there was a good chance that Bogaerts stays at SS.
There is no scenario where the teens break camp with team, so hard to imagine what was being implied. Non story.
Acee commented on Jon and Jim podcast a couple days ago about potentially losing Higgy and what SD might do, and he specifically mentioned that Salas was not considered by FO to be a solution in 2025, but that he (Acee) wouldn’t discount it as a possibility.
Brew88;
Please. You went from “I think only Acee believes that the Padres believe DeVries and Salas will break camp for Pads in 2025.” to “was being implied”.
He’s a writer doing a preliminary article on possible moves the Padres may make going into opening day. He wrote that
2 teenagers are held in high regard by the FO (last year he wrote the same about Jackson Merrill*. So.
What irks me here at MLBTR is that a teams FO holds a brainstorming meeting. The object is to get things on the table – usually written on a board – no matter how unrealistic they seem to be at face value. Then some low
level staffer talks to a reporter hoping to create a bond with him/her, and says the team is considering [fill in blank]. Reporter tweets it out of context, MLBTR picks the tweet up, embellishes the possibilities, and posters argue over nothing.
Acee did a similar thing. A day after the Padres were eliminated he wrote possibilities for the Padres in 2025
AT THIS TIME. Of course that’s going to change. The FO hasn’t had end of year meetings to go over departments
and how people in them and players performed. They
haven’t talked to players agents about 2025. Acee just
threw stuff up on the board that will be skinned down
within the next few weeks.
From past posts I thought yo had some perspective.
So how is that:
““I think only Acee believes that the Padres believe DeVries and Salas will break camp for Pads in 2025”?
All I can do is provide my perspective, of course I don’t know. What I meant by being implied is that interpretation by this article is involved, Acee is never quoting a source, and in the podcast I listened to he waged a personal opinion that was contrary to FO that this article perpetuates. Finally, I don’t see how this is a story, but it doesn’t take much deep thought to realize the odds of Salas or DeVries breaking camp on Pads next season is improbable at best. But people will run with it I guess.
For perspective, I think both teens have a chance to be MLers at the age Merrill did (20.8 yrs old). But that’s 2026 and 2027. DeVries will be 18 next season, he turned 18 two days ago.
If they don’t let them develop as a hitters they never will. Even if Salas is elite as a defender and a game caller, he’s still 2-3 years away, best case, as a hitter. If he makes the roster for 2025, he’ll be a backup, and if they leave him on the bench as a backup, he’ll end up as a career backup.
This is going to be a long post.
Neither Devries nor Salas will break camp with the Padres. Acee is such an idiot that even a mild mannered Shildt has smacked him down multiple times this season for his questions and time after time the Padres have come out and said in pressers that what Acee claimed in an article was not reality for the team. .
DeVries is a huge talent, but he ended the season on the IL and has yet to play in the AFL. He JUST turned 18 on Friday. No player has ever jumped from low A to the majors in the Padres system. If he continues to play in the AFL and next season in Ft Wayne or San Antonio like he did for the Storm this season, DeVries might be up in 2026 for his age 19 season, but that is the soonest.
If all they were judging him on was what he does in working with pitchers and behind the plate, Salas would have been in the majors this season. But you have to hit too. To me it seems like Salas has been so focused on being the field general that he has not put in the time in the cage that other position players would have. Down the stretch he started to hit in Ft Wayne and he is hitting .235 with an .807 OPS in the AFL. About league average in hitting so far. I can see him getting a cup of coffee in 2025, but most likely 2026 out of camp.
Profar wants to stay a Padre, the fans and other players love him, his manager likes him, and he put up good offensive numbers for the first time ever. Deeds tries to compare Profar to Betts (111 games) and Tucker (78 games) who both missed significant parts of the season while Profar played 158 games. Learn how WAR works Nick.
Profar’s age (32 in 2025), his defensive deficiencies(-8 DRS and worse OAA in LF), and lack of a history of hitting (92 OPS+ going into 2024), will keep him from getting a huge deal. I would love to see the Padres lock him up for 2-3 years in the $6-7 million AAV range.
Regardless of what Deeds says, Higgy is not getting a huge raise. Well, maybe in percentage. Nearly everyone is projecting a salary for him in the $3 million range which is a 50% jump in salary, but its not like he will be getting paid $10+ million AAV and 3-5 years. I can see the Padres offering him 2 years and $6 million, but he is going into his age 35 season. He is NOT getting paid big money.
Also, Higgy’s career OPS+ is about the same as Campusano’s. Campy has an upside and he will be back on the Padres roster in 2025. We saw the best that can ever be expected from Higgy in 2024, a career year that was basically league average at 101 OPS+. Anyone expecting him to repeat that at age 35 is going to be disappointed.
Kim is gone. Padres won’t extend a QO. They know that he can’t reasonably expect to return to a major league roster any sooner than June and even then a grade 3 labrum tear in his shoulder is going to effect his hitting, which was already only meh, and his throwing for at a minimum the rest of 2025, so there is no way the Padres will risk paying him $21 million for what is essentially a lost season. Kim just had the same surgery that Bellinger had and that is a a huge red flag for teams. We saw what happened.
At 29 he might get paid long term this offseason, something like 7/115-120 with the team that signs him expecting 2025 to be a throw away as he recovers. That team is just not the Padres. My hope is that he opts in for 2025 to recover from the surgery so he can go into 2026 having shown he is healthy. He could get a huge contract then, but he won’t now. too many question marks.
Personally I would love to see Solano brought back. He can be lined up at 1B or 3B, in the OF in a pinch, and at DH and he is a professional hitter. In my mind he is a great guy to have on the bench and he won’t cost more than $2-2.5 million.
All good points spot on
Thanks.
I think most of this is probably correct. I do think Kim will opt out since he gets a 2m buyout.
Higgy I think will be back and a short term low aav deal. Though if it’s more than that the padres could just use campy again at the primary guy.
Profar im starting to think will be gone. His words about the padres will also have to want him. Makes me think he will want to get paid and he should at least try to. If he can’t find the money he wants perhaps he ends up with the padres again.
The biggest questions for the padres is the starting rotation. If they are going to spend any real money I believe it will be for starting pitching.
Agree about the SP need. they might address that through trade, though not sure who will be the chips.
They probably could package a number of dudes starting with last year’s draft picks.
Preller is one of the most creative guys at finding a way.
Could see him making a deal with the Marlins. Who will likely be in the dumping players market again. There aren’t a ton of offseason sellers I can think of atm.
As a baseball fan first and a Dodger fan second living in San Diego since 1988, agree with all your points.
Heads will roll this offseason with the way their season ended. Kutsenda will right the ship. Coaching, managing, and talent evaluation all need to be scrutinized and major changes are needed
Shildt’s the best manager in baseball and their pitching coach isn’t going anywhere so not sure what yer goin on about. Preller is more than safe. He will probably be running the ship 10 years from now as well.
Preller did a bunch of maneuvering this offseason that really paid off. No one in that organization is going anywhere, that team is going to be competitive next year too.
Tell me you know nothing about the padres without telling me you know nothing about the padres.
No heads will be rolling.
Y’all got trolled from the top rope turnbuckle, she’s just a giddy Dodger fan with nothing better to do I guess…
As I noted under the other articles on MLBTR-Padres Day…..
The way to balance the generous, far-too-many long-term contracts
is to sprinkle in some cheap youngsters.
Also look for them to being in some more underdoped and inexpensive pitchers for Ruben Niebla to work with. He’s been a coaching star.
I think Profar will show major regression.
There’s nothing in his numbers, no matter how deep you go, that suggests 2024 was a fluke.
He may be a late bloomer but i would be wary of anything over 3 years and even that seems high.
Track record.
Track record. He was great in SD late last year, and very good in 2022. Don’t expect him to be an AS again though.
Seam – the previous 10 years of numbers suggest otherwise. Also, can’t overlook the last 8-9 weeks of 2024 where his stats declined steadily (some may say “regressed”).
I’ve been a Profar fan since his first year in SD but there is no way to expect him to replicate 2024.
@seamaholic
I felt as you do a month ago.
Unfortunately, Profar spent that month and the playoffs hitting like pre-24 Profar.
I think he is important to this organization. But they just can’t overpay.
I’d probably shoot for contract length over annual dollar amount. 4/32, maybe even with inventives. Beats the 7 million he used to get, and guarantees him 4 more years of salary. Just depends on if something like that would be good enough, or if he wants All Star money. Also, depends if someone else is willing to pay him All Star money.
He is irrelevant in free agency
Unpopular opinion.
I’d deal one or both of King and Cease for some young controllable pitching in an effort to retool not rebuild. Sell high.
Save an estimated 20 mill in arb money
Most likely won’t happen but getting back some young controllable pitching cheap would help the books the next couple years.
I would try to trade Cease but definitely not King
dmp13;;
Cease is interesting to me.
When he’s on, he’s ON. Other times he scuffles through.
In his late 20’s. He could well wind up being another Verlander / Scherzer that became consistent and accelerated into HOF’ers in their 30s. Or he could be what is is now, oscillates from game to game, year to year.
Some FO is going to pay a lot of money in a few years for a front row view.
Scherzer and Verlander were already elite in their 20s and only improved from there. Cease isn’t remotely the same animal and is nowhere near the same trajectory.
King still comes cheap in arbitration owing to being a converted reliever.
Agreed on Cease. Pads should listen on offers.
Cheap is all the more reason to listen to offers on King. Think he’s estimated at 7 to 8 mill.
I think Orioles are a great destination for King who i think resign Burnes and add King to go along with Burnes and Rodriguez
Id ask for
Kjerstad to replace Profar. Orioles have a lot of position players esp OFs coming up. So at least an OF coming back who’s at or close to mlb ready.
Patrick Reilly about a year away
Brandon Young who steps into the rotation for 2025
Think there is a near zero chance king is traded. The Padres need pitching and king is affordable. They may move cease if they want to save money.
Simm, I’d even go further and say a better chance that King gets extended than traded.
Cease trade probably only if not holding a WC spot at deadline or if maybe they acquire another TOR via FA AND Vásquez / Waldron solidify spots AND King and Yu are injury free.
A playoff contending team needs Cease’s 33 starts even though 4-6 of them might be bad.
Yeah it’s tough to really see them moving either guy because of their pitching needs.
Cease isn’t getting back some young controllable pitcher that is any good unless that someone’s pen arm that they think can be a starter similar to king and lugo. In which case they still probably would rather trade a prospect for that type of guy since they need another starter even as is.
I could see the padres bringing back Perez on a short term low aav deal. He pitched pretty well for them and might be an affordable 4/5 type guy.
The other thing to keep in mind. I could see the padres stretching out hoeing and giving him a chance in the rotation.
Would love Pérez on a low guarantee or a milb with opt out.
Peralta could get a very similar contract.
Could see the Bravos going in on Cease, whether or not they retain Fried. Morton is done and unsure when Strider is potentially due back.
Salas hit 204 in high A. How is he major league ready?
Salas is 18 and had a .599 OPS in A+ this past season. Chill out Padres.
Cease won’t bring back the same return as they gave up for him with only one season left before free agency. At the trade deadline is a different story.
This is still a contending team and you dont just dump 364 innings and hope to stay that way
It looks so bad that Salas was foolishly promoted to AA last season but couldn’t make it past A+ this year.
The Padres AA team was in the playoffs and the Padres wanted him to have a taste of what playoff baseball is like.
If what a catcher does behind the plate was the entire equation, Salas would have been a Padres at the end of this season instead of Diaz. He is that good. Now the hitting just has to come around.
The Padres are simply not built to last. I was rooting for them against the Dodgers but they needed it more than the Dodgers did. The Padres do a good job drafting and with international prospects but you gotta keep some of those guys. Their system took a big hit with all the trades they made.
They look even stronger next year? Simply
I don’t see why the Padres would be better next year.
I can see it. Bullpen will be better from the start. They had a lot of injuries this year to key players. Darvish and Tatis likely to play more, hopefully Machado and Bogey are healthier. Merrill only better. Reset on CBT so maybe more spending flexibility. There aren’t a lot of losses, but there will be adds.
Kim gone, Profar comes back to earth, Musgrove out entire year. There’s some regression due without adding some pieces.
The question is, will they be better than 2024? Kim and Musgrove weren’t much of a factor in 2024.
They kept the guy who will, at worst, be Rookie of the Year Runner Up.
Preller’s undisputed strength is getting more draft talent. You assume way too much about the Padres being ready to fall flat.
They traded away prospect after prospect. Yes the Padres have drafted well but you can’t trade away all that talent and expect the winning to keep going for years. It wont.
Why not? If you’re willing to pay players rather than develop prospects you can definitely stay competitive. Esp if you can find cheap platoon options on small deals.
The issue isn’t strategy it’s that owners get tired of spending with little to show for it.
Long as padres are willing to carry pay roll close to tax line or near the top of the mlb they’ll have chances to be competitive year after year
If ownership decides to pull an As pirates white Sox and get cheap well yeah they’re gonna scuffle a couple years getting to expected payroll.
Phillies haven’t had a farm for years yet they’ve spent money on guys rather than rely on their farm. Been really competitive last 5 something years I’d say.
Machado at 3B
Bogaerts at ss
Cronenworth at 2B
Arraez at 1B
Peralta/Solano platoon in LF
Merrill in CF
Tatis Jr in RF
Bring back Higgy at C
I’d bring in a power bat at DH.
They could possibly win 90 something games again if everyone stays healthy.
Darvish Cease King Vasquez bring back Perez as #5
If ownership was willing to spend they wouldn’t have traded Soto.
They traded Soto to reset on CBT. LAD did the same thing in 2023.
The Padres are not the Dodgers. The Padres only went over the line because the owner was dying. There is no evidence whatsoever they plan on spending more in 2025.
“ If ownership was willing to spend they wouldn’t have traded Soto.”
Do you enjoy paying taxes? Guess what. Neither do businesses owners etc.
Keeping Soto would have pushed the padres into CBT territory for a third year in a row and the padres would have been hit with serious tax penalties.
There’s a difference between willing to spend and unwilling to pay unnecessary taxes. I suggest you learn the difference.
Do you enjoy paying taxes? Guess what neither do businesses owners etc.
Padres went over the line cause Seider was willing to foot the tax bill that came with it. Seider lived by “you can’t take it with you”.
Not everyone is willing to pay taxes especially when the padres 2024 tax bill would have been significantly higher as third time offenders.
“I enjoy wasting money on taxes” – said no one ever.
Dude you don’t have a clue what you are talking about. The Padres scaled payroll back because the owner died. There is no evidence at all they plan on raising it back to prior levels. You sound like a spoiled child who had the best Christmas ever and now thinks that’s the norm.
You can be excitable Joel, and I really don’t get the insults if directed at me, but it’s not as simple as PS dying. They might not ever increase payroll as aggressively as Seidler did, but it was Seidler’s long-term plan, a plan that is in place long after he passed away, that the Padres be a top tier payroll team. As the 15th highest payroll in MLB this year, they finished 2nd (or 3rd) in total attendance and pulled in additional playoff revenue. The reset of the CBT was intentional due to severe penalties, and it affects all teams, even the Dodgers. For the Padres the CBT reset was intentional even if Seidler was still alive. Regardless, no one knows what they’re payroll will be next year, nor the year after, especially you.
I am not the one pretending I know what payroll is going to be. That would be the others commenting.
Like I said it’s tacky to talk about payroll in this way.
They scaled payroll back cause they didn’t want to pay taxes as a third time CBT breaker lmao.
Seider was fine paying tax bills. Not everyone wants to pay money for unnecessary taxes. Hence why they scaled payroll back. To avoid paying unnecessary high taxes.
CBT threshold is around 240-250 mill this year. I don’t see padres going over that number. But they could run a 200-210-220 payroll no problem without tax penalties.
Your response did absolutely nothing but support everything I said. Thanks.
They scaled it up because the owner was dying. Once he died they lowered it. That’s what happened.
Like I said all last year Padres fans insisted there was plenty of money to spend and then boom Soto was dealt. And here the same fans are acting as if that didn’t happen.
They scaled it up because Seider was willing to pay the tax penalty. Seider paid the penalty taxes. The penalty wasn’t waived. He paid out of pocket for the tax bill.
When he died the new ownership group decided they aren’t interested in paying 60% 70% 80% 90% whatever percentage it was as a third year in a row cbt breaker in taxes.
You can have a high payroll and be uninterested in paying unnecessary high percentages on taxes. Totally possible. They did it last year. Cause most people including you don’t enjoy paying taxes.
There was money to spend. They spent money on cease matsui peralta king annd other guys they brought in during winter and trade deadline. They spent money last year. Do you think they spent 0 dollars in additions last year? Lmao.
What there wasn’t was money to pay a tax bill as a third time tax payer. And there’s probably 0 money this year to pay a tax penalty was a first time offender now that it’s rest. Which I don’t blame them. Taxes are dumb.
The new ownership group could simply not want to pay the tax ever again. Why you keep assuming they are going to in the future I don’t know. It’s weird and lame.
All the players they acquired last year were arb eligible players therefore by definition underpaid. They chose to trade away prospects instead of spend money.
Again its tacky for you to keep saying what you are saying. You sound like a spoiled entitled fool.
I never assumed new ownership is going to break the cbt threshold again.
I’ve states repeatedly they probably won’t. Cause they don’t want to pay taxes.
I previously stated I see their projected payroll to be in the 200-210-220 range which would leave them about 30 mill shy of the threshold and would leave room to make in season additions.
Long as Preller doesn’t push past the cbt threshold I think ownership is fine.
But since it’s reset I’d understand if they said ok push past it to the first tier. But I don’t see them oking that.
Contradictory writng aside, I think this article miraculously brings up a valid point. Who stays and who goes? I have a feeling that Cease will be talked about more than King but, depending on what players may be offered, think he is back for 2025. Salas and DeVries are still 2 or maybe 3 seasons away from possibly becoming regulars. And as for the payroll, didn’t alot of y’all whine about this to start 2024 and saw that it was a non-issue?
Payroll was definitely an issue for the 2024 Padres that’s the entire reason why they traded Soto.
They maneuvered just fine. There is plenty of money in the bank account. They just don’t want to go over that tax threshold again.
The only payroll issue was resetting the CBT. The Soto deal made sense in more ways than one.
Gwynning…I’d do that trade everytime. It worked out well for both sides.
The Soto deal worked out because of the signing of Profar. But resetting the CBT? That’s a bit of an optimistic take on things. The owner died. Maybe they have a big payroll in 2025 but I wouldn’t bet on it.
I was rooting for the Padres. They have a window and it’s already starting to close.
Gwynning, absolutely.
Considering, how many innings were pitched by Cease, King and Vásquez and caught by Higgy. Add in the Pro signing for 1 mil + incentives (because a LFer was needed), and the combined productivity was well more than Soto could have provided as a LFer batting in 2 or 3 spot in order for 33 mil.
Ironically, all of those players salaries were even less than Soto.
Yankees aren’t complaining either though! Trade made both teams better in 2024 and Padres have a really good chance of getting a lot out of Cease, King, Vásquez and Brito in 2025 as well.
And I would retort that the window is stuck wide open, to each their own!
You can’t trade all the young talent away the Padres have these last few years and expect it all to work out long term. I understand why they did it and again I was rooting for them.
Of course you can expect it to work out, odd blueprint aside. Good for you Joel, they’re a fun team to watch and root for.
Don’t worry…the money is there.
It’s a bit tacky to talk about how much money the team you root for has to spend.
Good luck.
Like Gwynning said. “To each their own.”
You started it the money talk with the payroll quip, Joel. Now we’re tacky for replying? Ok pal.
Lol
Zing!!! Hahaha
The dude said payroll wasn’t an issue. I was definitely around last offseason involved in those discussions. Padres fans swore the team had tons of money then boom Soto got dealt. Money was definitely an issue otherwise they would have kept Soto. And if they didn’t get lucky with the Profar signing it would have hurt the team a lot more than it did.
Discussions here = rumor aka opnion
All the talk was about how the Padres had plenty of money and they weren’t gonna trade Soto. Then boom Soto was dealt. That’s what happened. I was here.
As was I and laughed. So I pose this question to you, does the 2024 team get as far as they did with Soto and not the players they traded for?
They were fortunate to sign Profar for a million bucks and get a really good season out of him. Profar was the teams best hitter.
So that’s the answer to the question I asked? Right on…have a great rest of your Sunday.
Do you think the Padres are gonna find their best hitter in 2025 for a million bucks? I bet they don’t.
It’s a bit tacky to talk about what players earn, Joel. Why even care about what any player makes? It’s not like any of us are the billionaire on the hook…
Cease and King stay. The team will be a contender in 2025 even without Musgrove.
Hopefully Profar, Higgy, and Solano stay on short term contracts. 3,2, and 1 year deals respectively. No one on the FA market that can replace even their career average performance at a similar cost.
I think that Salas will see a cup of coffee in 2025 if he can hit even in the .230s with a .700 OPS. Everything else that he does is so exceptional. DeVries is probably in 2026 in his age 19 season. He is not quite as good as Tatis was with the bat at that age, but he is miles ahead with the glove.
So sad as a Padre fan that these Padre related articles are “already” on the site. Was hoping these articles were going to be coming out in early November. I truly thought this was “their year”.
I got caught up in the emotion of the hearts and the PS reminder everywhere… would have been quite the story to “win it for Pete!”
Here’s to next year, beersy. Cheers
#keepthefaith
Yeah beersy, I’m still on pause, just starting to think about 2025. This 2024 team sure had it going. I don’t think even the Dodgers saw it coming that their bullpen would suddenly be so dominant, it’s a crazy game.
Playoff baseball is brutal. You can kick assets for the entire season or after the All-Star Game but have a few letdowns/bad games and you’re out. For six months, your team is at the top of runs scored and/or fewest runs allowed and then, said team can’t buy a run and usually sure-handed, Gold-Glovers make multiple errors and/or your unimpeachable closer gets tagged for a 3-run dong. Not much different than the NCAA March Madness spectacle. Best your team can do is to get into the dance hall and go from there. May be a mix of waltzing, fox trotting, tango, river/line/slam/break dancing and doing the Dougie/Macarena. There is no perfect, tried and true way through anymore.
“De Vries slashed an excellent .238/.361/.442 across 75 games” – since when is .238 considered excellent? My how the standards have devolved.
I’d say a .361 OBP and .803 OPS is pretty dang good for a 17 year old defensive shortstop in A ball. I’d trade Oneil Cruz for him right now, straight up!
which is why you’re not a GM
An .800 OPS over 300+ PA at age 17 in A ball is almost unheard of. The last player in any organization that did that was Tatis Jr. You can count on the fingers of one hand the number that have done it this century.
We know how well Tatis Jr turned out. Basket case. No brain. Drug user.
You’re right Foothills, we DO know how Tatis turned out. Platinum Glover, All Star, MVP potential, Top 5 player in the League. Good point.
Profar: I predict some regression due to his age and his track record. He will probably resign with SD at a raise, maybe $5mm. He isn’t exactly “limited to LF” as he did start a few games at 1b this year, and last year he logged a few innings at RF and 2b for SD.
Higashioka: I am very happy that he was able to make some adjustments and turn around his 2024 season. He looked horrible in the early season, as Campusano often pinch hit for him late in the game. I think that Salas is still so far away from the majors that SD could sign Higashioka to a two year deal. Salas turns 20 in June 2026.
Dunno what kind of contract Santander from the Orioles is looking for but the Pads would be better off keeping Cease and trying to sign Santander vs reuniting with Mr. Half Season Blake Snell. Pads need a solid outfielder. Higgy on a 2 year contract sharing time with Campusano (until Salas comes due) sounds about right. Profar might be allowed to walk, then resigned for depth at (again) a bargain or traded for (again) at the 2025 deadline. Don’t see JP breaking the bank with any team even tho he and Waldron were two of the main reasons the team wasn’t totally underwater in the first half of 2024. Preller will find/pick up a Wacha, Waldron, Manaea, Lugo, Dick Mountain-styled reclamation project and squeeze 120+ innings, 10+ wins, < 4.00 era out of him to go along with Cease, Darvish and King, Thinking that bully gets dismantled somewhat as well.
Would you rather have Cease for 2-3 years or re-sign Snell for 2-3 years? Assuming the dollars are semi-close…don’t think it’s even a contest. Cease.
I’d rather have Snell in August through October, Cease during most of regular season. So I guess I’m saying I want both on my team, make it happen AJ
Trading away both of them along with Xanders and Cronenworth’s contracts to the Wankees.