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A little bit about a lot, Padres edition …
The team’s shiniest brown-and-gold dream is a pitcher from Japan with intoxicating potential under payroll-friendly control who will charge into Major League Baseball years before others.
Land Roki Sasaki and big things feel possible across multiple seasons. Miss out, especially if the Dodgers swoop in, and a giant task becomes Paul Bunyan.
The Padres have a shot at what could be a game-changer, one way or the other. Either the Padres land a blow against the get-everything-they-want Dodgers or the rich become as loaded as Elon Musk.
They have a real shot.
President of Baseball Operations A.J. Preller has networked aggressively across Japan. He made a huge impression on Shohei Ohtani, despite the National League lacking a designated hitter at the time, by learning a speech in Japanese.
Sasaki was mentored by Yu Darvish, one of his idols, during the World Baseball Classic. The Padres established a footprint in the country beyond Darvish. Pitching legend Hideo Nomo is a team adviser and Yuki Matsui is on the 40-man roster.
If Sasaki wants to make his own mark, away from Ohtani’s crushing shadow and the mass of Japanese media that follows the Dodgers, the Padres provide the best fit.
Given the head start and depth of the Dodgers, the stakes feel enormously high. …
The Padres won the Juan Soto trade. Though Soto helped the Yankees to the World Series, they could not win it and the Shuffler-in-Chief is one-and-done in the Bronx after signing with the Mets.
San Diego, meanwhile, proved the gamble on starting pitcher Michael King came up a winner. He’s a critical piece of the rotation heading into 2025.
They flipped Drew Thorpe from that deal to scoop up Dylan Cease, who gave the franchise its second no-hitter in history. Cease either will be a veteran presence in the rotation or a valuable trade piece if the Padres want to fill holes and juggle money.
They still could mine value in Randy Vásquez and Jhony Brito, as well.
The Yankees got one bite of the apple with one player in the Big Apple. …
Free-agent catching options are beyond thin. So unless the Padres spin magic out of a trade, underwhelming Luis Campusano sits in the wings.
It’s bad timing for Kyle Higashioka to bolt to the Rangers. He was steady, the staff trusted him and he provided pop at a position that has lacked that too often.
For now, a problem. …
What a difference a season can make. Jurickson Profar, in Year 11, went from a free agent almost nobody wanted to an All-Star.
Profar could be the best unsigned left fielder after a career year in San Diego. He’s earned a payday.
When he tried to cash in before landing with the Rockies in 2023, it led to the worst wins-above-replacement total in baseball. Dead last, according to FanGraphs.
The turnaround was phenomenal, reinforcing Profar’s comfort level with the Padres after being productive down the stretch in 2022.
The Padres face a dilemma. How far should they stretch to keep him with payroll rising and Profar’s long-term track record? He’s been a sub-100 player in terms of OPS+ for the majority of his career.
Is Profar the player the Padres benefitted from in 2024, or will he level down to what he’s been for the bulk of his career?
The money likely will decide. As money usually does. …
A story from the Union-Tribune’s Kevin Acee about the Padres considering a trade for Cease is interesting. And it might be the right move.
An initial trade could fill a hole or two and return prospects who, in turn, could position the Padres to hunt a cheaper, more controllable rotation arm. Preller is a creative whiz in exactly these types of situations. Think King. Think Seth Lugo. Think Michael Wacha.
You know he’s scouring the league for relievers who could make the switch. You hand the baton to pitching coach Ruben Niebla from there.
When payroll dollars tighten, you need to win in the fringes. …
A statistical breakdown shows the Padres in the top 12 of almost all bedrock hitting and pitching categories, except walks taken. The team finished 24th in baseball.
Imagine the offense, which had the most hits and highest average in 2024, if it clogged the bases with more bodies.
Profar was tied for 11th in baseball with 76 last season, but Jackson Merrill (29), Xander Bogaerts (28) and Luis Arraez (16) lagged far behind.
Merrill almost assuredly will improve in that area with a season under his belt. The power is there, but he can become even more of a menace if he transforms some of his 101 strikeouts into bases. …
Now, back to Sasaki.
Originally Published:
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