Padres Off-Season Review
- Updated: November 14, 2019
San Diego is about to become one of the most talked about cities in the baseball world for a number of reasons. First off, the Padres have already engaged in trade talks with other teams. This is surprising for some, as the Winter Meetings the past two years have had minimal action at best. For trade talks to start this soon is a breath of fresh air. Going forward, the Padres will have to pull the trigger on these moves, if they expect to improve on their last place finish in 2019.
On the pitching side, the task is simple. The Padres need to acquire an ace. If they can, expect the rotation to take big strides this year. Their starting rotation will not have any limitations next year, and they will have some top prospects competing for spots. As for the bullpen, if they can get healthy, the Padres could easily have a pitching staff close to or in the top ten in baseball. This past year, the Padres finished 18th in team ERA. However, the rotation is the easy fix. The difficult task in the next couple of months, is to upgrade the offense.
The Padres offense has to change, and it has to change in a big way. For years, the Padres have produced a bottom ten offense in the league. In 2019, the Padres ranked 27th in runs per game. With most of the infield locked up, expect the outfield to change significantly. San Diego also needs to balance out their lineup, and bring in some left handed hitters. Contact will be key for this team. The Padres were one of the teams who struck out the most this year. As a result, they had one of the lower on base percentages as well.
The next couple of months is going to be extremely important for the organization. Ownership is looking to win, and the Padres have the resources to do it. As for now, the Padres will look to sort out the rest of their coaching staff. A serious overhaul has already taken place, as a result of the new manager. While some are hesitant of them Padres plan, many are excited for what the future brings. likewise, this franchise is ready to bring this city, and their fans a championship.