Inside the Padres disastrous offseason
The San Diego Padres ended their 2024 MLB season on a run of 24 scoreless innings against their biggest rival and future World Series champions Los Angeles Dodgers.
Despite the ending to the season, it was an overall a good year for the Padres who had sat around .500 for most of the year before a second half of the year push that saw them finish with a record of 93-69.
The emergence of rookie Jackson Merrill, who arguably could have been rookie of the year, alongside trade acquisitions Dylan Cease and Luis Arraez led the San Diego ball club to a 2-1 game lead in the NLDS before the bats went silent.
The fans, while somewhat disappointed, could see that this team had a bright future and that with a good offseason they would be right back to contend next year.
We are now in March and the only meaningful contract the Padres have handed out was a four-year, $55 million contract to right-handed pitcher Nick Pivetta.
The only other notable additions have been left-hander Kyle Hart and outfielders Connor Joe and Jason Heyward on small deals.
With breakout star of last season and fan favourite Jurickson Profar leaving in free agency it’s left a huge hole in not only the lineup but in the outfield as well.
Whilst many of the fan base wanted the team to invest in the squad so that they could build on last season, the state of the ownership hasn’t allowed General Manager AJ Preller to do so.
Since the passing of former owner Peter Seidler in 2023 the Padres have been in cost cutting mode.
John Seidler, Peter’s brother, is in control of the franchise but Peter’s widow Sheel Seidler has filed a lawsuit claiming that Peter wanted her to run the franchise after his death.
With the state of ownership up in the air and expenses seemingly being cut down, general manager AJ Preller has admitted that they might need to get more creative and hit on their cheap free agent additions.
The last time San Diego had expectations this high was 2023 and it’s fair to say that did not go well.
They will be hoping to continue the form they found at the end of last season and maximise the talent they have got.
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