Call to the pen
Fansided

San Diego Padres 2016 Season In Review

By Benjamin Chase

Sep 23, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres first baseman Wil Myers (4) hits a three run home run during the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 23, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres first baseman Wil Myers (4) hits a three run home run during the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 4, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Tyson Ross (38) reacts as he is taken out of the game during the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 4, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Tyson Ross (38) reacts as he is taken out of the game during the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /

The Bad Stuff

Derek Norris – The power-hitting catcher has never been a guy to hit for a high average, but 2016 was brutal. He slashed .186/.255/.328. He knocked out 14 home runs and actually stole 9 bases as well, but Norris’ rough batting average and high strikeout rate of 30.3% of his plate appearances made the Padres attempt to trade him, but Norris has always been a bat-first catcher, so when his bat was struggling, it was hard to sell him around the league. Norris was arbitration eligible for the first time last offseason, and he’ll start getting more expensive this offseason, so he could end up being a non-tender candidate depending on what his projected cost was.

Tyson Ross – Ross’s season was cut short just 5 1/3 innings into the year with 7 earned runs allowed before an injury to his shoulder ended his season. Ross seemed to be “just around the corner” for a return all season long, and yet never got there. His presence in the rotation would be a major boon for the 2017 team for sure.

Consistent pitching – The Padres got times of great starting pitching from Drew Pomeranz before trade, Colin Rea had a 5 start run from mid-April to early May where he posted a 2.61 ERA before getting injured and eventually ending his season a couple of months later, Andrew Cashner put together a solid three start run just in time to get him traded to Miami at the trade deadline with a crazy 23/3 K/BB ratio over 17 2/3 innings, and even “retread” types like Paul Clemens and Clayton Richard put forth 10+ game runs of success in the rotation, but the team never seemed to have more than two pitchers throwing well at any point in the season, which led to a lot of series losses as they’d take a game or two and then get shelled in the other games of the series.

Of course, none of this was as bad as what transpired mid-season.

Next: Preller

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