The San Diego Padres didn't do much to improve the roster and honestly got worse, which played a role in ESPN's final offseason grade.
The San Diego Padres were bound to have an interesting offseason following their Wild Card Series loss to the Chicago Cubs.
Coming off back-to-back 90-win seasons and playoff berths, the Padres normally would have gone for it all and either signed the top free agent or traded for the best available trade piece using their top prospects. The typical A.J. Preller blueprint to building a contender.
But those things didn’t happen. In fact, the Padres barely made any moves at all. Their key additions include right-handed starter Michael King (re-signed), infielder Sung-Mun Song, utilityman/designated hitter Miguel Andujar and outfielder/DH Nick Castellanos.
San Diego also made a flurry of signings late to address their starting pitching depth, bringing in left-hander Marco Gonzales and right-handers Griffin Canning and Germán Márquez.
San Diego lost more talent than they brought in, though. The Friars’ key departures include right-handed starter Dylan Cease (seven-year, $210 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays), right-handed closer Robert Suárez (three-year, $45 million contract with the Atlanta Braves), first baseman Luis Arráez (one-year, $12 million deal with the San Francisco Giants) and corner infielder/DH Ryan O’Hearn (two-year, $29 million contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates).
The Padres have spent tons of money over the last decade, and it seems like it could be finally catching up to them. The impending sale of the franchise played a role in how the team spent, regardless of whether Preller admits it or not. In a division that is dominated by the back-to-back World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego needed to make a huge splash and they didn’t.
Because of that, ESPN’s David Schoenfield gave the Padres a C- for their final offseason grade.
“This is when all those mega-contracts are starting to limit what the Padres can do as the payroll is still up $8 million despite just the one major offseason signing in bringing back King,” Schoenfield wrote Wednesday.
“Losing Cease, Suarez, Arraez and deadline pickup O'Hearn is a blow to the Padres' overall depth. Yes, they'll have Mason Miller for the full season, so they can manage the loss of Suarez in the bullpen, but given the lack of power, they're going to have to ride that bullpen again.”
Having Miller in the back end of the bullpen helps, but there are concerns about the starting rotation’s health and how it will hold up over 162 games. Re-signing King was a must for Preller, but I don’t believe he did enough to ensure San Diego makes the playoffs for the third consecutive season.