San Diego Padres: Three steps towards World Series contention in 2020

The San Diego Padres have a great farm system and attractive big league assets, but they lack a few pieces to be in contention next season. Here are three steps to contend in 2020.

The San Diego Padres started this season like they were ahead of schedule, as they began the season 11-5 and their starting rotation was one of the best in the National League.

As we all now know, they have gone downhill in the second half, as it seems like the combination of the Fernando Tatis Jr. injury and the Franmil Reyes trade to Cleveland sucked the energy out of the club.

There have also been reports about how Andy Green could have lost the clubhouse and that may be a reason contributing to the uninspiring and sluggish play as of late.

Well, there will need to be a leader who is writing the lineup card next year who is a better motivator than the one that was present this season, whether it is Andy Green or not.

In addition, there is also going to have to be multiple upgrades to the roster to boost the team’s chances of making the postseason, something they haven’t done since 2006.

It is going to be A.J. Preller’s most interesting offseason yet, as he can go so many different routes to reach a goal: acquire talent in trades, sign free agents, or promote talent from within.

Here are those three steps, counting down from 3rd most important step to the most important step that–if they are done right–will result in their first winning season since 2010.