Eating Crow

Every once in a while I am wrong. Not often, but when it happens I'm OK with eating crow.

Early in the 2024 baseball season, I was highly critical of AJ Preller, the GM of the San Diego Padres. I was concerned that he was too quick to disassemble the 2023 team. A team that was extremely disappointing, but trending in the right direction. 

Going into the 2023 season, Preller had given up on Will Meyers (a fan favorite), Jurickson Profar, Josh Bell and Brandon Drury (obtained in the Juan Soto trade). It was scary because those guys could be the core of a good team. Meyers and Bell had been all-stars, and Profar was a five skill player that was the spark on offense.

It looked to me that in order to acquire Juan Soto, Preller had busted the budget and was, once again, conducting a fire sale. In the offseason, he added Xander Bogearts, Nelson Cruz, Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha, all decent players, but not top notch. They got a Cy Young season out of Blake Snell, but the stars didn't align. The team under-performed, and finished 2 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks, who surprisingly went on to play in the World Series. As disappointing as it was, the fact that they hung in with the Dodgers and Diamondbacks showed they had the backbone of a competitive team.

But Preller tore it apart. He brought back Profar, which in hindsight might have been the single most prescient move ever! Then, after losing Blake Snell to free agency, he went out and acquired Dylan Cease, from the Chicago White Socks and arguably one of the premier pitchers in the league. He promoted Jackson Merrill from the Double- A San Antonio Missions minor league team and placed him in center field to replace Trent Grisham (maybe the second most prescient move ever) Then he moved Michael King from reliever to starter (obtained from the Yankees in the SOTO trade) and Kyle Higashioka (also from the Soto trade) to starting catcher.

But that wasn't enough. He then completely rebuilt the shaky bullpen. Installing Brian Hoeing, Wandy Peralta, Jason Adam and Tanner Scott, along with Jeremiah Estrada, who was claimed off waivers in November 2023. Suddenly, the Padre relief corps was a wicked weapon. What had been one of our liabilities was now a strong asset.

But wait, there's more! At the trade deadline in June, Preller acquired Martin Perez, a seasoned and steady starter, and Luis Arraez, the leading hitter in baseball for the last two seasons. Just last week, when the Rockies mysteriously released their all star catcher, Elias Diaz, Preller snatched him off waivers. This has to be the most bizarre and ambitious series of roster moves in baseball history. If it isn't yet, if the Padres go on to the playoffs or beyond, it will be seen as that in retrospect.

For sure, the Padres are better at several positions over last year. The outfield is now one of the best in baseball. The starting rotation is far better now that Musgrove and Darvish have rejoined Cease, King and Perez. The bull pen currently has the lowest ERA in baseball. At catcher we now have two excellent defenders and improved offensive numbers, too.

Since the return of Fernando Tatis Jr. in July, the Padres have gone on a tear. They are the best hitting team in the National League, and look to be a lock for a playoff spot. It has been one of the most exciting and rewarding seasons in a decade for Padres fans.

So here I go; I am swallowing a huge helping of crow as I write. Thank you AJ Preller, you should be given a lot of credit for making this one of the most memorable and exciting Padres seasons! 

Let's Go Padres!

  

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