The NFL is being put to bed, which means it’s rise-and-shine with Padres baseball.
Usually that sports calendar flip comes with the locals doing cartwheels. There are few more passionate groups than the Friar faithful in a region where baseball, at all ages, is king.
But two weeks shy of the Cactus League opener, some of those followers look like they’ve grabbed a handful of needles. Especially after a 93-win season, the second-highest total for the Padres, in a campaign in which they nearly reached the National League Championship Series.
I get it, to a degree.
The Padres missed on sensational Japanese pitching prospect Roki Sasaki. They disconnected with fan-favorites shortstop Ha-Seong Kim and outfielder Jurickson Profar. Catcher Kyle Higashioka is gone.
Ace right-hander Joe Musgrove? The first Padre to toss a no-hitter is no-go this season after Tommy John surgery.
Reliever Tanner Scott, a gem, moved north to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
That’s between the lines, but it’s outside the turf dusted with chalk that also raised eyebrows. It deflated a feel-good vibe that accompanied the Padres last season like a hearty marine layer.
Upstairs where they count the dough and contemplate the organization’s direction, the offseason was a train wreck.
Unseemly chirping, and lawsuits, broke out between former owner Peter Seidler’s brothers and his widow, Sheel Seidler. Both parties had clear, and different, interpretations of how Seidler wanted his outfit run.
At stake is who’ll pull the levers on a business that sells out games regularly and has delivered a top product since 2022. Will the push for the first world championship parade that Seidler aspired to stall with financial restrictions?
Or full steam ahead in the Padres’ bid to shine?
It’s clear that A.J. Preller, the Padres’ general manager and an Encinitas resident, is handcuffed. He negotiates more than a car salesman trying to reach his quota. Preller is always seeking ways to improve a roster constantly in flux.
Not this offseason, where Preller was silent during the horse-dealing. Instead of biting on proposals, Preller bit his tongue.
Yet, Preller pulled rabbits from the hat last spring, securing right-hander Dylan Cease and infielders Luis Arraez and Donovan Solano in addition to Profar.
Preller’s lack of activity, while disheartening, isn’t fatal.
The Padres’ makeup is enviable to the majority of their foes. Don’t let what the Padres lack cloud what can be latched on to.
Third baseman Manny Machado is a year away from elbow surgery and is revved. Right-fielder Fernardo Tatis Jr.’s leg injury, he says, is history and he’s primed to regain his spot among the game’s best and most exciting players.
“Looking forward to being the best version of myself,” Tatis said at Padres FanFest.
Xander Bogaerts moves to shortstop with Kim’s exit and first baseman Jake Cronenworth to second base, his natural position.
Jackson Merrill’s transition from shortstop to center field last spring was unimaginable. Merrill, a future star, gathered the most votes for a position player in the NL rookie of the year balloting.
Cease leads a rotation that features righty Michael King, another emerging force. It won’t include flame-thrower Adrian Morejon, who’s landed in the bullpen.
The Padres have holes at left field, starting pitching, designated hitter/first base. But the view isn’t dreadful and good luck in ever predicting baseball.
“We have such a good team,” Cronenworth said. “The majority of them are coming back.”
The Padres are primed for another run, despite a pedestrian offseason. Don’t wave the white flag before the first pitch.
Contact Jay Paris at [email protected] and follow him at jparis_sports
