San Diego Padres
If any team got more off-season attention than the Mets, it was the San Diego Padres. Seeking to dethrone the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West, the Padres beefed up a team that went 37-23 in 2020, adding starters Yu Darvish and Blake Snell.
But the big adjustment may turn out to be the signing of star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. to a long-term extension. He returns to a cast that also includes third baseman Manny Machado, first baseman Eric Hosmer, and starter Dinelson Lamet.
The 2020 season marked a big turnaround in fortunes for the Padres, who hadn’t played a post-season game since 2006 and hadn’t had a .500 season since 2010. The franchise is winless in two World Series, having lost to the Tigers in 1984 and to the Yankees in 1998.
That 1998 team had the franchise’s best winning percentage prior to 2020, winning 98 games. Its championship drought dates back 51 seasons to its founding in 1969.