San Diego Padres 2018 season review
2018 Padres: Offseason Moves
Shortly after last year’s World Series ended, the Padres let four major league players go to free agency—shortstop Erick Aybar and pitchers Jhoulys Chacin, Jordan Lyles and Craig Stammen. Aybar ended up playing the 2018 season in the Mexican League. The Padres later re-signed Lyles and Stammen. Chacin signed a two-year deal with the Milwaukee Brewers for $15 million. Chacin had a better year with the Brewers than any pitcher the Padres had on their roster.
In mid-December, the Padres made a pair of trades. In one, they sent Jabari Blash to the Yankees for Chase Headley and Bryan Mitchell. Headley had some good years with the Padres from 2010 to 2013, but didn’t contribute anything this year and was released in May after hitting .115/.233/.135 in 27 games. Mitchell wasn’t much better, finishing below replacement-level with a 5.42 ERA and 6.11 FIP in 73 innings.
A few days later, the Padres traded relief pitcher Enyel De Los Santos to the Phillies for shortstop Freddy Galvis. Santos spent most of the season in the Phillies’ minor league system. Galvis was the Padres everyday shortstop, but he wasn’t particularly good (.248/.299/.380, 1.2 WAR).
In late December, they signed Tyson Ross as a free agent. He had a 4.45 ERA (4.55 FIP) in 123.3 innings before the Padres lost him on waivers to the Cardinals in August. Lyles met a similar fate. He was lost on waivers to the Brewers in August.
Of course, the big move of the offseason was the free agent signing of Eric Hosmer for eight years and $144 million. The contract pays Hosmer $105 million in the first five years, then $39 million over the next three, with an opt-out after 2022. This was the big, bold move the Padres made to signal that they were serious about building a contender. Ideally, Hosmer would anchor the club by providing production at first base for the next half-decade (more on this in the “What Went Wrong” section).
The Padres’ season started in late March when they were swept at home by the Milwaukee Brewers, then lost three of four to the Colorado Rockies. They were 10-20 at the end of April, sitting in last place and already 11 games out. It was not a good start.
Then, for a three-month stretch, the Padres went 37-45. That’s not going to get a team to the playoffs, but it’s a 73-win pace over a full season. That’s at least on the road to respectability.
Unfortunately, July happened and July was ugly for the Padres. They went 5-20. At one point, they lost 14 of 16. In the middle of this dreadful stretch, they decided to cash in a couple of their relief pitchers for a top prospect. They traded Brad Hand and Adam Cimber to Cleveland for catcher Francisco Mejia (more on this in the “What Went Right” section).
The team recovered from July to finish out the year with a 24-28 record in August and September. They also provided some big league experience to a pair of their top prospects, the aforementioned Mejia and second baseman Luis Urias. There are more prospects coming in the next few years. In the meantime, let’s take a look at what went right for the 2018 San Diego Padres.