The San Diego Padres are over halfway through their offseason, and there are still plenty of questions going forward. They’ve only made one addition, Korean infielder Sung Mun Song, and he’s already out for a month with an oblique injury, so it’s more than fair to wonder what, if anything, the Padres are going to do going forward.
MLB.com writer AJ Cassavell did an intriguing Q&A in which he tackled more than the usual issues, so let’s take a look at some of what he said and offer up some commentary.
If the Padres can only make one more big move, which is the higher priority, starting pitching or offense?
Starting pitching, according to Cassavell, and it’s hard to disagree. As he pointed out, Gavin Sheets isn’t ideal as the starting first baseman, but Song and [catcher Luis] Campusano are decent bench bats. The Padres rotation as currently constituted is alarmingly thin, though, so that should be the priority.
If you had to put a percentage guess on the Padres making the playoffs with what they currently have, what’s the number?
Cassavell’s number was 15 percent, which feels low but not out of line. His relevant point is that the offenses is probably playoff-caliber, but a playoff team needs way more starting pitching than the Padres have right now. Add two starters and a bat, though, that number goes up to 60-70 percent, which feels right provided new manager Craig Stammen can handle the job.
If you and general manager A.J. Preller swapped jobs, who would you acquire on the free agent market?
Cassavell named Cal Quantrill, Rhys Hoskins and Reese McGuire without knowing the spending numbers, but the reaction here is that there have to be better options than that. We’ll give him a mulligan on this one, however, due to the spending question.
Where does Preller stand in the front office, and do you think he gets extended? Do you think Preller will make another splash trade this offseason? Or are we going to be heading into the season as we currently stand?
Cassavell thinks Preller will still get extended. We disagree. Unless there’s some movement with the sale, he’s going to go into the season as a lame duck. He has the track record to do this, and Preller got stuck without a chair when the music stopped playing in the GM musical chairs game. That left only the Colorado Rockies job available, which speaks for itself, and he’d be a hot commodity next year, even if the Padres fail.
One other intriguing point Cassavell made was the possibility of a trade for either first baseman Triston Casas or corner infielder Mark Vientos. Either would make sense as a low-cost trade option.