Game Over: The 2016 San Diego Padres
Sorry, San Diego Padres, your World Series trophy is in another castle. But you might not be able to find that info in your internal databases.
Let’s get right to it: The Padres were a mess this season. They failed in pretty much every aspect of being a baseball team — from the front office to the on-the-field entertainment. If you’re looking for a bright side, they did host a nice All-Star game and made some trades that could prove fruitful down the road. But this year, to put it nicely, was all bad for the Padres.
[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Baseball contest now]
Like we’ll do with every eliminated team in our Game Over series, we’re about to examine what went wrong for the Padres, what went right, what’s the best 2016 memory, what they need to fix and what the future might hold.
WHAT WENT WRONG
It would be fair to say the Padres in almost every aspect as an organization this season: They’re one of the worst teams in the NL thanks to the worst batting average in the league and the ninth-worst ERA. Their GM was suspended by MLB for reportedly withholding health information to get an advantage in trades. One of their top execs called out players for underperforming. And heck, the Padres managed to anger a number of community groups for things that happened away from the field. It was quite a year.
WHAT WENT RIGHT
It’s been a lean year in the good news department for the Padres. Wil Myers has broken out for 26 homers this season, and considering that he hit 27 total in his previous three seasons, that’s significant and great. Matt Kemp, who was traded a while back, is still second on the team with 23 homers. (Yikes.) The Padres also managed to unload James Shields, though they’ll still be paying half his salary through 2018. But at least he’s not taking up space on their roster. (Liz Roscher)
TOP OF THE FLAGPOLE (aka THEIR BEST MOMENT)
The Padres pulled off not one, but two wins against the best team in baseball on May 11. Playing a doubleheader at Wrigley Field to make up for a rainout earlier in the series, San Diego rallied in the first game, scoring four runs in the seventh and adding one more in the eighth, to beat the Cubs 7-4. Starting pitcher Drew Pomeranz was the star of the second game, striking out 10 over six innings as the Padres shutout Chicago 1-0. Now that was a good day. (Israel Fehr)
WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE
The A.J. Preller situation is a complete mess. It will certainly hamper the team’s future dealings, which is awful for a team needing to rebuild again. If ownership isn’t aiming to force Preller out, then it must force Preller to focus on rebuilding the farm system after his wildly aggressive moves failed leading into the 2015 season.
A special focus should be placed on acquiring and developing pitching. San Diego’s staff should never rank in the bottom 10 in MLB in ERA, but it does this season. Bolstering the defense wouldn’t be a bad idea either. Try to make coming to Petco Park a nightmare for opposing offenses and hope the confidence that would inspire leads to success on the road. (Mark Townsend)
WARP INTO THE FUTURE
If you were a fan of the Boston Red Sox’s minor-league system, then you’re in luck. A good chunk of San Diego’s future talent was acquired in the Craig Kimbrel and Drew Pomeranz deals. While pitcher Anderson Espinoza and shortstop Javier Guerra will need another year to develop, outfielder Manny Margot should be a regular in the Padres outfield next year. He’ll be joined by Hunter Renfroe, who was drafted and developed by San Diego.
Further down the road, first baseman Josh Naylor, who was acquired in the Andrew Cashner deal, could make an impact. So could pitcher Cal Quantrill. Quantrill was drafted in 2016 and missed the college season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, so the team may take it slow with him next year. (Chris Cwik)
More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:
