No Major League Baseball team has done more to improve itself recently than the Padres, who aren’t content to rest on their laurels after earning their first playoff berth since 2006. Going back to Sunday, the Padres have acquired 2018 AL Cy Young winner Blake Snell from the Rays, reached a deal with Korean infielder Ha-Seong Kim and agreed to land right-hander Yu Darvish and catcher Victor Caratini from the Cubs. In an extensive breakdown of the Padres’ sudden flurry of moves, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN declares that they’re one of the two best teams in baseball, joining the division-rival Dodgers. And even after the Snell and Darvish trades, the Padres still boast a well-above-average farm system. In McDaniel’s estimation, San Diego could be a serious contender “without any real sign of a terrible contract” for at least the next three years.
Here’s more on the Padres:
- The Padres are open to trying both Kim and Jake Cronenworth in the outfield next season, tweets Dennis Lin of The Athletic. There have been conflicting reports on San Diego’s plans for Cronenworth, the soon-to-be 27-year-old Rookie of the Year runner-up. Joel Sherman of the New York Post said yesterday the plan was to move him to the outfield with Kim taking regular reps at second base, but Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote last night that one source in the organization said there are no plans to put Cronenworth in the outfield. The team will evaluate its options in Spring Training, it seems. It’s perhaps even worth pointing out that the club has previously considered the possibility of Fernando Tatis Jr. in the outfield, so the Friars will certainly be open-minded in sorting out their infield mix.
- Thanks in part to the addition of Kim, it “appears unlikely” the Padres will re-sign free-agent infielder/outfielder Jurickson Profar, Lin reports. The switch-hitting Profar enjoyed a productive year in 2020, which could go down as his lone season as a Padre, with a .277/.343/.428 line, seven home runs and seven stolen bases in 202 plate appearances. But it doesn’t look as if there’s room in San Diego anymore for Profar, as team officials suggested Monday that the Pads’ bench is at capacity, per Lin.
- A Profar reunion may not be in the cards, but with the Padres still needing to bolster their bullpen, it’s a “possibility” they’ll re-sign free-agent reliever Kirby Yates, Lin writes. Yates unexpectedly turned into an elite reliever after San Diego claimed him via waivers from the Angels in 2017, and he went on to pitch to a 2.31 ERA/2.42 FIP with 13.95 K/9, 2.46 BB/9 and 54 saves in 179 1/3 innings through 2019. However, Yates barely factored in during his contract year last season because of elbow problems. The 33-year-old righty tallied just four innings before undergoing surgery in the middle of August. For the Padres or other teams hoping for a revival, though, Yates could make for an interesting pickup on what’s sure to be a reasonable contract.
Now Profar to KC
It’s really interesting to me that the Friars went for Kim over Profar who I believe could have been resigned for less than Kim. They must really see something in Kim because Profar looked quite good in 2020 after a slow start.
Profar has been a huge let down overall, very inconsistent. Kim has way more upside.
Profar s stats in 2020 are similar to Kim’s career numbers in a hugely inferior league.
Profar was really good for about 70 AB’s. That’s all. I can see why they might prefer Kim.
No it was 202 plate appearances
Profar started off very slow and he dug himself into a big hole. I didn’t think his final stats would be as good as they were, so he finished very well.
He never played in the outfield either, and he did well there too, but he should find a team that he can start at 2nd base.
His stats were a function of the 60 game “seasonn.” As far as playing second base, it’s good to remember that Profar was literally the worst second baseman in MLB in 2019.
I love what San Diego is doing, man.
They are absolutely trying to close the gap with the Dodger’s. Darvish & Snell are big adds. Kim is really interesting.
Fun time to be a Padres fan, uh.
Like all contenders, they should sign a couple of the multitude of quality relievers available this winter. Yates would be a good step in that direction.
Besides the pen it looks like the Padres may be done. Besides adding depth – which is really never ending.
Hey Ducky! I posted on the Kim thread the other day, I just haven’t seen you in a while.
Ducky, you make some good points. Kim is interesting as it seems that most KBO hitters have not had any sustained success(maybe Choo is on the one man list) in MLB. Maybe Kim will break the trend.
As far as projecting for the next few years, it seems like two big challenges for Preller will be how he can trade away Myers and then maybe Hosmer in the next few seasons. If both of those guys continue their rebound from the abbreviated 2020 season, it will likely go much smoother as far as fortifying the bullpen for ‘21,’22, and ‘23 with them as trade pieces.
As a Dodger fan, the Friar’s aggressive offseason moves will bring about a very competitive regular season, which is an understated positive for fans at home watching or even in the ballpark if that happens.
Kang was successful on the field, too. Obviously, kind of a disaster off of it.
But, yeah, not a real long record of success.
I think due to his speed, the fact he’s a capable SS, & that he shows some power with a high contact rate gives Kim a pretty high “floor” or whatever. Lotta ways a player like that can contribute.
At this point I think the Padres will probably just more or less run out Myers’ and Hosmer’s contracts. I think Preller is using his farm system the right way. But he is going to eventually run out of prospects. Besides a bad contract swap *or* attaching some prospect capital I don’t really see a way to move them.
& honestly, these aren’t Ellsbury or Chris Davis type contracts. They’re not good? But they’re not really all that horrible.
I just think with this particular free agent class all contenders should try to grab a couple of the available relievers. Again, San Diego may not be in as good of a position for inseason trades due to their moves this weekend. Best get ahead of it.
Yeah, man.
Definitely good for all of baseball.
Btw, I replied on the other thread.
Yates should be a priority. Rosenthal is looking for big $$ . 2020 60 game season is no indication of value for anyone.. Castillo can’t stay healthy and the only reliever who didn’t struggle at all was Pomeranz. There will be plenty of interest in Yates and because of his surgery he will be sought after by everyone looking for a value which ironically will drive his value up.. Surgery was a clean up, not a repair.. SD needs him.
“ In McDaniel’s estimation, San Diego could be a serious contender “without any real sign of a terrible contract” for at least the next three years.”
As long as none of Machado, Myers, Hosmer or Darvish regress back to……… 2019…..
Then no problem at all! 100% safe bet there
Yeah there’s a lot of what if’s with there lineup. Hard to see cronenworth, myers repeat last years small sample size. Dodgers more or less are what you see is what you get where the padres are more projection at this point. Snell could be 2018 snell or 2019 snell, darvish could be 2018 or 2020. Also last season was machados best season when he has never come close to a 130 ops+ outside of the season when he was traded to dodgers and stunk afterwards. Padres are big time boom or bust
Tatis looked lost the last month and into playoffs, padres fans like to site the 60 game season as to why dodgers ring shouldn’t count yet use those same numbers in said season to inflate their players production. Funny and sad at the same time, guess that is what happens with 13 winning seasons.
ok, I wouldn’t say what you see is what you get with the Dodgers. Seager and Bellinger all had extended hitless streaks, so…it could happen to anybody. Turner was ineffective for a few games as well. Kershaw is not unhittable anymore. I could go on and on but it could happen to anybody.
Yeah, there’s a lot to like about padres but there’s also a lot to ponder about their overall pedigree. They have arguably one of the highest ceilings and the lowest floors of any team in majors. In 2019 for example it was a very similar start as 2020 and if it were 60 games padres probably would have made playoffs but then padres became the padres we all know and love. It’s nice to hold a candle for what could be but it still remains to be seen if they can hold up over 162.
I think that saying goodbye to Andy Green went a long way towards resolving some of their internal 2019 issues. Just a guess.
Came here just to say no team that employs Eric Hosmer is free of a bad contract.
Especially because of the opt-out
If universal DH is implemented in 2021 it makes it easier for the Padres to find playing time in the OF for Cronenworth and Kim.
Between Castillo and Wingenter coming back, a healthy Austin Adams, and returning Pomeranz, Strahm, and Johnson Padres don’t need to spend big on the bullpen. They could use some depth but its not a dire need that needs a lot put towards it. Plus when Weathers or Gore are called up someone will shift to the pen.
They need a decent 4th OF though. Mateo won’t cut it.
Old friends Anthony Bass and Ryan Buchter would be intriguing to bring back. Taking a chance on Hunter Wood, Zach Littel, Ryan Stanek would also be intriguing buy low options available.
Ooof, angel fan here. Ryan Butcher should have stuck to the family business…
His peripherals aren’t encouraging but he’s had success in the past i
playing in Petco and has shown the ability to out perform his perphials. So there’s hope in my mind it could be a decent depth piece from the left side.
Don’t forget Stammen and Pagan! Tim hill. Bullpen is alright!
Pagan needs to improve upon 2020. If he can the bullpen will be in better shape. But they still could use a couple depth pieces. Plenty of arms out there. I wouldn’t overpay to bring in big names available, but that’s me.
You know, there’s probably a reason that Pagan has been traded every single offseason he’s been in the majors.. He’s a perpetual “change of scenery” candidate.
Castillo coming back and pitching like he did in 2018 would definitely move this bullpen in the right direction. That unfortunately can’t be counted on. however. Bringing back Rosenthal may be key for this bullpen. He really seemed to like San Diego and hopefully will give the Padres a bit of a discount to help him fit into the Padres largest payroll in team history.
Also, I think Preller and Co. have big plans for Austin Adams. Of the 3 relief pitchers they acquired from the Mariners last deadline, he seemed to be talked about the most and he was the one who hadn’t thrown a pitch as of yet. When he made the post season rosters in both the Wild Card round and NLDS over Williams and Altavilla, I think that spoke volumes.
Of course, if Pagan can revert to his 2019/August 2020 form, maybe he will be the guy to shut the door in the 9th inning next year. I figure that is what the Padre brass envisioned when they acquired him from Tampa Bay.
No DH until 2023 at earliest.
Yates to Yankees, confirmed
Keep dreaming, Yankee
Just gotta sign Matt Kemp as their 5th OF. It’s gonna be a great 2015.
Coming from a giants fan, this doesn’t seem like 2015. Current Padres core is better now than what it was in 2014 and they just added Darvish + Snell which is definitely not equivalent to adding James Shields like they did back then.
The Padres may need to add if the DH comes in. Wouldn’t Nelson Cruz fit well in that lineup?
I really thought that Cronenworth was going to the CHC as the new 2b and leadoff hitter in the Darvish deal. Keep him at 2b. Why fix what isn’t broken?
His 500 OPS in the 2nd month of 2020 suggests it’s not fixed like you think it is
Meh – he hits baseballs hard and is fine defensively. He isn’t someone I would worry about and will likely help more than he will hurt. Not to mention, he isn’t a key piece to the Padres offense like Machado, Tatis, or Hosmer are.
You know the Padres were loaded with outfield prospects now they have even more
SMH
I mean, does this kind of thing ever work out?
I get they have a ton of prospects and obviously can’t play them all, but Clevinger backfired immediately, investing too much into pitching can be risky because you never know when they’ll get injured or fall off a cliff.
I wouldn’t say it backfired, they still got net 0.3 WAR from all the MLB players in the deal and 19 innings of Clevinger for players who had no path, the minor short term upgrade alone helped get them to the postseason, so saying it “backfired” isn’t the right phrase there.
Pitcher health is a risk sure, and for all teams. A number of their pitching prospects have gone down with serious injuries. What are you suggesting, that they not invest in pitching?
Does having a lot of pitching ever backfire? The answer is never.
Real “out on a limb” prediction:
Both LAD and SDP will both go to playoffs for the next 3 years. UNLESS, LAD loses both Seager and Bellinger to free agency.
Seager will likely be resigned I doubt bellinger does. Far too streaky and will likely hit free agency as a boras client. Yes I know seager is too but I think dodgers break bank for him, can’t say the same for belli, have to see how he performs next few years. Dodgers will use insight in this and when bellingers next huge season happens he will be delt for a trove of prospects. Much like any other team, the dodgers only true untouchables are betts, smith, seager, buehler, May, urias, graterol and maybe kershaw.
Betts is only untouchable because of his new contract. Kershaw because he has a no trade clause. Buehler should be untouchable. Smith is a place holder for Ruiz and is definitely not untouchable, same for May. I doubt Urias or Graterol truly can’t be had if the deal is right. A year ago Dodger fans were willing to part with Seager for Lindor so not sure how untouchable Seager is
“ A year ago Dodger fans were willing to part with Seager for Lindor so not sure how untouchable Seager is”
No intelligent dodger fan wanted Seager+ for Lindor
Smith is far from a placeholder. They DH’d him on his off days because his bat was that impactful. And he’s a 25 year old catcher
@rsox smith is better than ruiz, ruiz will replace barnes when barnes contract expires.
Laughing@you I think bellinger one mvp season was worth 10 war which doesn’t depict how streaky he is. He came alive this post season but was bad the 2 before. I don’t think they let him walk but I think he get traded ala rays style. I’d say perhaps next winter or the one following depending on production and consistency. I think he is the most moveable piece and would help extend window for dodgers. Just my 2 cents though
I mean, Bellinger put up 19 WAR in 3.3 seasons worth of games. That’s nearly 6 wins a year, in his first 4 seasons
He was horrible in month 1 of 2020, a 300 Ops, but he rebounded to put up a 930+800 OPS In the last 2. His potential is astronomical, 3 more years of control, WAY too early to assume they’re gonna let him walk
Why don’t you think Lux isn’t an elite-level player in waiting?
Due to the strength of both farms, I’d stretch both those to next 5 years for both teams, doesn’t matter who leaves in FA or gets traded.
“Kiley McDaniel of ESPN declares that they’re one of the two best teams in baseball”
Yup, really stepping out on this one. I mean, they were all the way down to the #3 record in BB. And the #2 team traded their best pitcher to the #3 team.
So what are the chances that the #3 team can surpass the #2 team?
Bellinger won’t be a FA till after the next three seasons.
Padres will sign both Yates and Hendriks, then trade for Josh Hader. Can see it coming from a mile away. Probably won’t lose more than 1 of their top 10 in Hader deal, meaning they made all these adds and kept 7/10 from the top 10. Masterpiece offseason if Preller can pull it off.
No way that happens. The Padres are already hitting their payroll ceiling, as they will have their highest payroll in franchise history next year. Best case scenario, we will sign a couple relievers to minor league contracts and get Yates to re-sign on a one year contract.
You forgot Trevor Rosenthal. Surely they can sign him and throw him into a package for Hader as well.
I think they resign Rosenthal and Yates assuming they can afford Rossy. The rest of the pen 3-10 is deep.
Wowzers, MLB The Show screwed up on Cronenworth’s age on his finest card. It says he’s 25, yet he’s almost 27.
Where are the Blue Jays fans calling for them to sign Profar?
Though i do think Profar can help someone and we know he has been linked to the Royals. Chaim Bloom seems to want a multi-positional player so if the Sox can’t get Kike Profar would be a nice fall back.
Yates (very affordable with incentives) and Rosenthal (less than Hendricks) more likely to happen. Josh Hader as good as he is, not really necessary add.
The rotation doesn’t need a Hader at that point. Pom; Yates; Rosie; Pagan; Castillo; Strahm and somebody out of the rest of the group.
I swear it’s hilarious how everyone overlooks or underrates the Braves just like they do Freddie Freeman most years. The Braves were missing their ace (Soroka) and what they thought would be their number 3-4 (Hamels) and still took a 3-1 lead on the Dodgers in the NLCS and basically handed the series to them in 7 games. With a healthy Soroka there is a chance the Dodgers get swept in that series. Crazy how everyone looks past that and acts as if the Dodgers (and now SD) are leaps and bounds ahead of everyone else. With a healthy Soroka and the signing of Morton, if the Braves resign Ozuna or replace him with a similar bat you can all have the Dodgers/SD…give me the Braves.
But this is a Padre article right? Wish you would have had Soroka and swept Dodgers. Wish Pads would have had Lamet and Clevinger to at least have a chance at doing the same. Ifs and butts and candy and nuts. Enjoy your Braves (I like them too) but this is a Padres article so let it be a Padres comment section and don’t be so sensitive.
Braves look good to me!
I don’t think anybody’s overlooking the Braves. It’s just that there’s a lot of fan interest in southern California because the Padres are finally getting good and are starting to challenge the Dodgers.
Sorry, I couldnt hear what you said because of all the choking sounds coming out of ATL…….
no one is underrating the Braves but okay
Actually the Padres do have a bad contract on the books in Manny Machado. Gets paid 30 mil a year to step on people and get into more trouble besides that
What I read may not be accurate and you may not like WAR as a reference point but I read a couple of years ago that 1 War was equal to about 10 mil. That said, Manny had 3.1 War in 60 games. Do the math. I would have agreed with you on Hosmer. Until Manny stops bringing 3+ War per year it isn’t a problem. No, he isn’t going to do it for the entire 10 years but none of those long term crazy contracts do. They are paying for 8 out of 10 basically.
Wanna guess what Machado’s war was in both 2018 and 2019 per baseball ref?
Below 3.1
And before you pull fangraphs, they put his 2020 at below 3.1. So pick your poison. This is his PRIME, btw. He should be racking up 6-7 WAR, to make up for the end of the deal. He’s not. He’s barely worth the deal now
He’s an albatross waiting to happen
Well, Pads were not paying him in 2018 so not relevant to his current contract. As for 2019, if what I read is correct, his salary was “only” (yeah, for us working stiffs that is hard to type) 19 mil – not 30 so, again, hasn’t been a bad contract. Take his 3.1 for 60 games and extrapolate over 162 game season and as you say, he should be in the 6-7 war – he is even higher than that? So no, as far as baseball contracts go, he has not underperformed in relation to salary. At least not yet.
WAR? It’s a grossly flawed number that doesn’t win games. I’ll keep Machado, thank you.
He’s been a bargain so far.
He really hasn’t. Man you are so biased brewer it’s astounding
what don’t you like about him being MVP runner up? Biased?
Because He was mediocre the prior 2 seasons. And now you expect him to maintain his best year in at least 4 seasons… for the next 8 years? Gotcha
I expect him to continue his career pace of about 5 WAR per year while playing gold glove level at hot corner. He stays healthy too. HOF trajectory. Bargain.
WAR takes fielding into account…
Uh … defensive “metrics” are a primary reason WAR is such a nonsensical number.
Myers has one decent season and so he’s a good contract now? And it’s not like Hosmer has been worth the money either. Manny is a slacker, so I expect the Padres will be wishing they could unload him sooner rather than later.
BuT tHe WhItE sOx OfFeReD hIm MoRe MoNeY!
They filled their need at SP, added a middle infielder and catcher. But one of the glaring deficiencies last post-season was 1B. Yes, Hosmer was good at the plate in the regular season, but he didnt show up for the post season with his bat or glove. And not because he couldnt make the above average play, but because he simply didnt catch thrown balls. One from Cronenworth and one from Tatis in particular. Very costly miscues. With no DH Hosmer is a liability in one of the more important defensive positions.
They’ll never move him with that contract. I like the guy but if there is a poor contract on Pads it’s Hos.
Below is from the korean media:
The agreement between San Diego and Ha-Sung Kim is expected to be much larger than the $25 million over four years reported in US local reports.
The total amount presented by the competition was confirmed to be higher than $25 million. An official from Kiwoom also said, “The amount of guarantees excluding options, etc. alone is certainly greater than 25 million.”
4/25 is a is a solid wildcard bet, with his track record
4/40 or something is not quite so hot. Will be interesting where it ends up
Every body forgot JORGE ONA,24 years old Cuban ,for sure he is an elite hitter ,he only needs opportunities
Oña also has very little high minors experience still and didnt do too well on his last full pro season. talent is there but far from a sure bet yet.
now, do the Pads really “need” to bolster their pen? its already fairly well stocked.
My comment above would seem to say no, they don’t. So if they don’t, I’m ok until the question marks prove us wrong (Castillo’s health, Pagan stays or reverts, etc.). That said, won’t hurt my feelings to add a Yates on incentive contract or a Rosenthal if he can be reasonable just to alleviate the ifs and maybes. Don’t need to go so far as Hendricks or trade for Hader but a little something wouldn’t hurt.
Their pen is in shambles. It would improve if they got rid of Rothschild and brought Balsley back.
I wonder if a Croneworth for Musgrove and Frazier could happen. Frazier has played the OF and Musgrove could fill out the back end of the rotation in SD. Musgrove would seriously make that rotation the best in the majors (on paper with Davrish and Snell).
They have a nice competition for #5 spot between Gore (MLB’s top SP prospect), Weathers and Morejon. Lucchesi is still in the mix. I’m guessing they want to see that play out.
Neither Gore nor Weathers is ready for the big leagues. Morejon or Luchessi could be the guy. Luchessi has the track record, but after the way they shafted him last season, who knows.