San Diego Padres: From Wild Card to World Series contender in 48 hours

In a span of 48 hours, the San Diego Padres went from being a Wild Card team to being a legitimate contender for a World Series.

2020 has been the year of the unexpected and nowhere has this statement been truer than in the world of sports. Case in point, in the 48 hours prior to major league baseball’s trade deadline, the San Diego Padres went from wildcard to World Series contender in a blink of an eye.

How was this accomplished? Well, Padres general manager A.J. Preller went on a shopping spree and changed 25 percent of his team’s roster. Preller completed six trades with 24 players involved all before the close of business on Monday.

He filled every need on his Wishlist without giving away any of the organization’s top prospects or taking on additional salary. Preller added a relief pitcher (Trevor Rosenthal), a proven hitter (Mitch Moreland), a starting catcher (Austin Nola), and the best available starting pitcher on the market (Mike Clevinger) to an already impressive mix that includes Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, and Chris Paddack.

Now, the Padres have the most complete roster in baseball. So what brought this sense of urgency? It might have been the tone of Padres Executive Chairman Ron Fowler’s public displeasure last October.