2024 San Diego Padres Spring Training Preview

The San Diego Padres dreamt of hoisting the commissioner’s trophy at season’s end but instead turned in a deflating 2023 regular season.

The San Diego Padres went all in at the 2022 trade deadline as they traded for OF Juan Soto, 1B Josh Bell, INF Brandon Drury, and LHP Josh Hader. The results of that deadline aided an unprecedented playoff push in San Diego as they knocked off the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers en route to an NLCS date with the Philadelphia Phillies. The Padres eventually fell in the NLCS, but the hunger for glory was created. 

In the 2023 offseason, The Padres added SS Xander Bogaerts via free agency and extended RHP Yu Darvish. 3B Manny Machado, RHP Nick Martinez, and RHP Robert Suarez were all brought back on new deals, all of whom had good moments in the 2022 postseason. Match that with the return of OF Fernando Tatis Jr, and the Padres had cooked up some big plans for 2023. But the team simply didn’t find their stride in 2023, as they were historically bad in extra innings and in one-run games. The Padres were due for a long look in the mirror after their 82-80 record earned them a third-place finish in the NL West and an absence from the playoffs. PBO AJ Preller and his front office counterparts took a different approach to the 2023-2024 offseason. The approach raised some eyebrows around baseball, but they executed their plan in solid fashion.

Key Additions

RHP Dylan Cease (trade)

RHP Michael King (trade)

C Kyle Higashioka (trade)

RHP Randy Vasquez (trade)

RHP Jhony Brito (trade)

LHP Wandy Peralta (free agency)

RHP Enyel De Los Santos (trade)

LHP Yuki Matsui (free agency)

RHP Woo-Suk Go (free agency)

OF Jurickson Profar (free agency)

RHP Stephen Kolek (Rule 5)

INF Tyler Wade (minors)

C Kevin Plawecki (minors)

OF Oscar Mercado (minors)

Key Subtractions

OF Juan Soto (trade)

OF Trent Grisham (trade)

SP Nick Martinez (free agency)

LHP Josh Hader (free agency)

RHP Seth Lugo (free agency)

RHP Michael Wacha (free agency)

LHP Blake Snell (free agency)

RHP Scott Barlow (trade)

RHP Luis Garcia (free agency)

1B Garrett Cooper (free agency)

LHP Rich Hill (free agency)

C Gary Sanchez (free agency)

1B Ji Man Choi (free agency)

RHP Jairo Iriarte (trade)

RHP Steven Wilson (trade)

OF Samuel Zavala (trade)

DH Matt Carpenter (trade)

LHP Ray Kerr (trade)

Offseason Grade: B-

Aggressive in the Trade Market

The Padres wanted to shave off some payroll going into the offseason, and they kicked it off by trading away Juan Soto to the New York Yankees. Soto was due for a raise in his last year of arbitration and in return they acquired Drew Thorpe, Randy Vasquez, Jhony Brito, Michael King, and Kyle Higashioka. The Padres did well in acquiring cost-controlled pitching in the trade. Trade centerpiece Michael King vies to crack the Padres rotation, as does Jhony Brito. Vasquez will likely start the season in the minors, and Padre fans will eventually watch him start or come out of the pen by mid-season. Thorpe is a different story as he was flipped to the Chicago White Sox to acquire Dylan Cease.

Trade rumors had been swirling around Dylan Cease since the summer of 2023 due to the current state of the Chicago White Sox. Preller struck a deal to acquire the 2022 AL Cy Young runner-up in exchange for Jairo Iriarte, Drew Thorpe, Steven Wilson, and Samuel Zavala. Both sides did well in this deal as Cease has Cy Young caliber upside and is cheaper than bringing back Blake Snell. The White Sox are in full rebuild mode and they acquired solid pieces for the future.

Yuki Matsui was added as a bullpen piece from the NPB (Japan) and Woo-Sok Go from the KBO (South Korea) will also arrive at Petco Park as well. Wandy Peralta signed a free agent deal to join the Padres bullpen and Enyel De Los Santos was acquired in a trade with the Cleveland Guardians. De Los Santos also looks to be a meaningful piece in the relief group. The Padre offseason grade will warrant a change to a B+ or perhaps an A- depending on the impact bat they add for the outfield. They are reportedly eyeing OF Tommy Pham.

Pitching Staff Outlook

The Padres had the best pitching staff in the business in 2023. This offseason they lost a key piece to the bullpen in Josh Hader as he signed with the Houston Astros in free agency and 2023 Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell just joined the San Francisco Giants. (Yes, it’s mid-March.) Despite losing these two anchors, the Padres are still in solid shape due to the return from the Soto trade and the acquisition of Cease. Both Cease and King bring tremendous upside to an already solid group of starters. Brito will also look to earn a rotation spot. Pitching Coach Ruben Niebla will certainly display his talents in an effort to solidify King as a major league starter and Cease into his past Cy Young caliber form.

Robert Suarez and Wandy Peralta will more than likely get save opportunities until one takes control of the role. The Padre reliever group is a deep group again. The group will feature the different looks from Yuki Matsui, LHP Tom Cosgrove, and the high-octane stuff from RHP Jeremiah Estrada. Will the Padres pitching staff reign supreme once again?

The Farm is Alright

When you continuously trade away from your minor league system the way PBO AJ Preller does, you would expect your rankings to take a hit. This isn’t the case with the Padres. OF Jackson Merrill, INF Graham Pauley, and INF Eguy Rosario will all likely get significant playing time this upcoming season. All three are collectively ranked inside the top fifteen in the Padres top thirty prospect list. Randy Vasquez is listed in the number twelve position.

Number one overall prospect C Ethan Salas seems to be on the fast track to the big leagues and SS Leodalis De Vries was added to the system as the top international prospect in 2023. RHP Dylan Lesko and LHP Robby Snelling will both get their taste in the Bigs in the next couple years as well. Preller is one of the best executives in baseball when it comes to stockpiling talent. San Diego definitely has quality depth and help on the way. How will the young farm hands perform in the Bigs? Will new manager Mike Shildt lead a rebound season in San Diego?

Projected Opening Day Line Up

1. 2B Xander Boagerts
2. RF Fernando Tatis Jr.
3. 1B Jake Cronenworth
4. DH Manny Machado
5. SS Ha-Seong Kim 
6. LF Jurickson Profar
7. CF Jackson Merrill
8. C Luis Campusano
9. 3B Graham Pauley

Bench: C Kyle Higashioka, INF Tyler Wade, INF Eguy Rosario OF Jose Azocar

Projected Rotation

1. Yu Darvish
2. Joe Musgrove
3. Dylan Cease
4. Michael King
5. Jhony Brito

Bullpen

1. Robert Suarez
2. Yuki Matsui
3. Wandy Peralta
4. Tom Cosgrove
5. Jeremiah Estrada
6. Stephen Kolek
7. Woo-Suk Go
8. Enyel De Los Santos

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