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.
Fowler’s Message to San Diego Padres was Loud and Clear
“If things don’t change for the better in 2020, heads will roll beginning with mine.”
It was an honest, frank comment from Fowler at a 2019 season-ending team event. Also, it was a fair assessment of another disappointing season. The San Diego Padres had not made the playoffs since 2006 and time was running out on Preller to put a competitive team on the field.
He received the message loud and clear. Preller went back to work and acted like an employee who was on the hot seat. He began re-working the roster by acquiring Trent Grisham and Zach Davies from the Milwaukee Brewers. Then, Preller traded for Tommy Pham and Jake Cronenworth from the Tampa Bay Rays. And the final pieces of the puzzle were the trades completed this past weekend.
Let’s be honest, not many general managers have the guts to make this type of radical change to their roster so close to the start of the postseason. Typically, playoff contenders are looking to add a piece to the bullpen or an extra bat to their bench at the deadline.
Preller broke that mold by successfully completing consecutive blockbuster trades that put the San Diego Padres in the middle of the chase for a World Series title. The Friars have a more balanced lineup from both sides of the plate and a pitching staff can shut down an opponent’s offense in a three, five, or seven game series come October.
Preller Utilized the San Diego Padres’ Farm System to Perfection
It’s hard to imagine that Preller didn’t have to include the San Diego Padres’ top prospects (MacKenzie Gore, CJ Abrams, Luis Patino, or Luis Campusano) in any of these deadline deals. But, he did utilize the farm system perfectly to acquire desired pieces.
The purpose of having a quality farm system is to help your team win at the major league level. Obviously, there are only a finite number of those top prospects who will ultimately play for your team. Therefore, a front office will package the other prospects in trades to acquire major league talent that fills an immediate need on the roster. Hopefully, the talent evaluators have chosen the right prospects to keep in the system.
The Padres gave up good young talent in the six trades consummated in that 48-hour period. However, Ty France and two infield prospects (Gabriel Arias and Owen Miller) weren’t going to supplant Tatis Jr., Cronenworth or Machado in the lineup. Josh Naylor had no chance of breaking into the current outfield alignment. Cal Quantrill will be missed as he was a reliable arm who could work out of the bullpen or in the back-end of the rotation. But his versatility wasn’t a deal-breaker if you could acquire a dominant starter like Clevinger.
If you’re planning to jump on the Padres bandwagon, you better act accordingly as it’s filling up quickly.
Clearly, the San Diego Padres are in the driver’s seat to secure a playoff berth in 2020 as the team has gained a ton of confidence from the results of these recent trades.
Next. Padres winning trades since offseason. dark
MLB better take notice of the team with the cool-looking jerseys because they’re ready to crash your annual party in October.