The San Diego Padres fell short of expectations in 2023 after being picked as World Series favorite. This offseason, the Padres have taken a different approach to competing in 2024. They will mostly rely on their core and youngsters to get them back into contention.

Where were they in 2023?

Entering the 2023 off-season, the Padres looked like a juggernaut. They were fresh off of an NLCS trip. They were looking to make some key additions to their team which they did. They had acquired Juan Soto at the trade deadline. They added Robert Suarez, Michael Wacha, Nick Martinez and Xander Bogaerts. One could say that their roster was stacked.

Things started going downhill quickly though. They weren’t getting the production that they hoped for as the offense had become a bit of a disappointment. From time to time, it seemed like egos got in the way of the ultimate goal. A roster that should have competed for a World Series Championship, missed the playoffs entirely.

Key Losses:

Blake Snell – After he won the NL Cy Young Award, the Padres moved off of Snell. Their pitching could still be a strength however after the addition of Cease (see below) and if Darvish can bounce back.

Soto – Trading away one of the best bats in baseball, could hurt the lineup. Not to mention, the Padres didn’t really do anything to replace his talent in the lineup. They have named Jackson Merrill as the opening-day center fielder, which could be good or it could be really bad.

Peter Seidler – The start of the 2024 offseason was not good for the Padres either. After a long battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, they lost their beloved owner at the age of 63.

Key Additions:

Dylan Cease – The Padres were not likely to bring back Snell as he wanted way too much money. After acquiring some young pitching prospects from the Yankees for Soto, they were destined to give many of them a try. Only one has turned some eyes this spring, which led to the Padres needing to look elsewhere. Right before their trip to Korea, the Padres traded for Cease.

Michael King – The only pitching prospect who has turned some eyes in the Padres camp. The right-hander was excellent with the Yankees last season, posting a 2.75 ERA and 158 ERA+ in 104.2 innings. Most of his workload came out of the bullpen as well, so I’m intrigued to see what he can do in the Padres rotation.

Yuki Matsui and Woo-Suk Go – The Padres acquired two foreign pitchers during the 2024 offseason. If this bullpen holds up to the expectations, the additions might be a steal. Nobody expected the Padres to sign both. They had been linked to one or the other.

Depth Chart:

Rotation: Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Cease, King, Matt Waldron

Bullpen: Suarez (CL), Matsui (SU), Wandy Peralta (SU), Go, Tom Cosgrove, Enyel De Los Santos, Randy Vasquez, Jhony Brito

The Padres have had a battle for the fifth starter spot all spring. If Brito or Vasquez don’t win the spot, they could be thrown into the bullpen and see action there. They also could be deployed as an emergency/bullpen day starter to give the rotation an extra day of rest every once in a while. As of now (3/18), all bets are on either Brito or Waldron to be named the fifth starter.

Lineup: 2B Bogaerts, RF Fernando Tatis Jr., 1B Cronenworth, DH Machado, SS Kim, 3B Eguy Rosario, C Luis Campusano, LF Jurickson Profar, CF Merrill

Bench: OF Jose Azocar, C Kyle Higashioka, 3B Graham Pauley, INF Tyler Wade

Where are they hoping to go?

The Padres still have enough talent in 2024, that they could be contenders. In fact, ownership may only give AJ Preller one last go in order to deliver. As mentioned above, Preller has surrounded the core with some promising young players. It’ll be up to them to help get the Padres back to the playoffs.

Win Projection: 90-91 Wins

World Series Odds: +4800 (Via FanDuel)

The best-case scenario is that the Padres straighten out their fortunes in 2024. If they can put up close to the same run differential that they had last season and win 10+ more games, then they could get in as a wildcard. If they underperform in the first half again, I would not be surprised if Preller looks to move Kim, Cease or Cronenworth at the deadline.

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