The Padres are in the hot corner, and this has nothing to do with third baseman Manny Machado. The trading deadline is closing fast, and it equals the rate of speed of the Padres’ free fall.
No matter which way the flailing and failing Padres turn, they are backed into a corner.
When this season’s curtain was raised, the beginning of August was to be a signal to ramp up for the final two months. A time to fill out the roster, bring in some reinforcements and the opportunity to mold a dynamite regular-season squad into one that could cause damage come October and bring the Padres their first World Series title.
Unfortunately, the buzz generated from the unprecedented turnout at FanFest has morphed into a bona fide train wreck for the Padres and their backers. A season that was to be so special is the most disappointing in franchise history, and when peeling through the Padres’ pathetic lore, that’s saying something.
But nothing comes close, and those close to the team know it. This Petri dish experiment of asking four hitters to carry an offense, a thin rotation that doesn’t go deep into games to preserve an overworked bullpen and a pencil-thin bench was a fantasy.
So now what?
Sports, all sports, is about making adjustments, and for the Padres to stand pat while imagining things will somehow be different is the stuff of unicorns, rose-colored glasses and a portly guy shimmering down a chimney.
One can’t keep their faith and their sanity at the same time with this collection of players. The Padres don’t pass the test, and that includes the one by eyes, won-loss record and includes the daunting task of passing the numerous teams ahead of them.
Should the Padres sell-off and start fresh? No way, because there isn’t a path for them to do it, and despite their pratfalls, they remain in a win-now mode.
Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Xander Bogaerts and Juan Soto aren’t going anywhere; Soto, at least, until after 2024. Owner Peter Seidler didn’t allow Encinitas’ AJ Preller, the director of baseball operations, to demolish the farm system just to kick Soto to the curb prematurely.
Pitchers Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove are secured by long-term deals, so they stay put too.
But lefty Blake Snell and closer Josh Hader are attractive, although contemplating a stellar haul is likely a pipe dream. But something is better than nothing.
Would a contender pay a steep price for those two proven commodities? Yes, to a degree. But with them being two-month rentals before reaching free agency, the return will be muted.
Swing man Seth Lugo should skedaddle too, but again the pieces coming to San Diego won’t shake the Padres from their funk.
First baseman Jake Cronenworth?
No takers with his bloated contract and bogged-down statistics.
Second baseman Ha-Seong Kim? He’s among the few Padres playing with any fire, and the customers have noticed.
Think that’s a stretch? Listen to the player introductions before Petco Park games, and Kim regularly gets the biggest cheer.
The 2023 Padres certainly don’t deserve a toast. But they can’t let a dismal ’23 derail what could be a potential run in 2024 by not facing the fact that this year is kaput.
Smart baseball men don’t clutch hope when there is none. Then again, smart baseball executives don’t ignore glaring holes in the offseason (center field, catching, pitching, bench depth) to acquire a shortstop (Bogaerts) when the team already had three (Kim, Tatis and Cronenworth).
The Padres haven’t shown they are even an average team over four months, and now some anticipate it to play 20 games over .500 in the final two months, which is what is required to sniff the playoff race? A team that has zero winning streaks over three games and has yet to prevail in an extra-inning game?
The Padres need to set their pride and exaggerated expectations aside and get real. Bruised egos eventually heal, and for the Padres to get healthy, they must aim for ’24. Even if that means waving a white flag on ’23.
Anything else is a form of malpractice to a fan base that has been phenomenal. They continue to fill Petco despite the Padres’ numerous and clear shortcomings.
Everyone linked to and with the Padres despises the Dodgers, and we get it. But the haters should embrace a slogan “Dem Bums” made famous decades ago, when Seidler’s grandfather, Walter O’Malley, owned the club.
That rallying cry in Flatbush should be repeated in East Village: “Wait till next year!”
This year can’t end soon enough, and prolonging its legacy isn’t the answer. That’s why the Padres should be shedding parts instead of collecting them, or sitting on their hands, leading to the trade deadline.
Someday, maybe, the Padres will have that championship parade. First, they must build a championship roster.
It needs to be one that does more than win the offseason headlines and peddle fool’s gold before the competition starts.
The Padres haven’t cornered the market on mediocre baseball. Instead, they need to decipher how to wiggle from the one they’re in, backed in with little recourse thanks to long-term deals and personnel producing dreadful short-term results.
Contact Jay Paris at [email protected] and follow him @jparis_sports
