New-look Padres springing into action (2024)

All the way back in November, A.J. Preller opened the offseason with a loss.

Two of them, actually.

Despite the Padres’ unprecedented push to land a major free agent, Pablo Sandoval turned his nose up at their record-breaking $100 million offer and instead joined a far more established brand on the East Coast. Then, Target No. 2, Yasmany Tomas, signed with a division rival, leaving the Friars faithful making an all-too- familiar lament:

Here we go again.

Only the Padres’ new, bright-eyed general manager had other ideas. All kinds of them, really.

“You have to be prepared to move on to Plan B or C or D or E or F or even Z, honestly,” Preller said. “I think our group, we don’t have a group that dwells on things too long. … We want players that want to be here.

“If it didn’t work out, then you go to the next thing and try to work on getting better.”

That “next thing” swung a wrecking ball through the Padres’ roster. Whether or not the Padres are truly better as pitchers and catchers -prepare to report to Peoria, Ariz., on Thursday for the start of spring training, Preller has at least succeeded in breathing new life into a team that appeared ready to be torn down when Padres President Mike Dee fired GM Josh Byrnes last June as his offense slogged through historic lows.

The reset button, though, was calibrated for a one-year turnaround over a start-from-scratch rebuild.

Gone are Yasmani Grandal, Rene Rivera, Seth Smith, Jesse Hahn, Joe Wieland and a dozen prospects ranked among the top 30 in the organization. In their place, the Padres cleared room for a dozen additions to the 40-man roster, headlined by five trades that brought outfielders Matt Kemp, Justin Upton and Wil Myers, catcher Derek Norris and third baseman Will Middlebrooks into the organization in a span of three days, and capped by the signing of pitcher James Shields last week.

Even hitting coach Phil Plantier was shown the door in favor of Mark Kotsay during a dizzying offseason that left the Padres with just 13 of the 25 players from their 2014 opening-day roster.

“That was a crazy stretch of moves, a flurry of moves, that were really exciting for everyone involved with the Padres,” outfielder Will Venable said. “And with each move, the seriousness of the front office to make changes and try to win was apparent.

“I was just hoping I’d still be around at the end of it.”

Where it will end, of course, is anyone’s guess.

Yes, the Padres seem to have won the offseason. By the start of Cactus League play, fans will care less about those off-field victories than they do about the considerable work still on Preller’s plate as the Padres march toward their April 6 season opener in Los Angeles.

Before then, the following issues will have to be resolved, one way or another.

Oh, that outfield

For as much thump as Kemp, Upton and Myers are expected to bring to the lineup, none of the newcomers are particularly suited to play center field, especially in a park as big as Petco. In fact, two injury-plagued seasons have pushed the most experienced outfielder at the position (Kemp) to right field, leaving Myers as the next logical option.

One problem: The 24-year-old has played just 51 of his 1,336 major league innings in center field, including just two last year. How Myers adjusts to a full dose of center field while moving to the National League will go a long way toward grading Preller’s first season, along with how Upton and Kemp fare defensively as part of an outfield corps that’s no longer considered much of a safety net for the pitching staff.

Cameron Maybin and Venable can assist as defensive replacements late in games. As for Carlos Quentin, the Padres would do well to give him as many at-bats as possible this spring to unearth a taker on the trade market.

Up the middle

After watching Everth Cabrera pop in and out of the lineup the last two years because of a PED suspension, hamstring injuries and legal issues, the Padres finally washed their hands of the enigmatic shortstop. While Alexi Amarista’s play down the stretch — especially on defense — helped make that decision easier, the career utility man has never held down a full-time job, let alone played extensively at shortstop over the course of an entire season.

Signed early in the offseason, Clint Barmes, 35, will provide a measure of insurance at a position that can no longer be considered the strength it was two years ago. At the very least, the Padres hope it doesn’t become a liability because their minor league system isn’t close to producing a replacement.

Top of the order

Preller had a clear plan this offseason: Add right-handed power.

To say nothing of just how right-handed the projected everyday lineup is, the moves this winter have left Padres manager Bud Black without a clear-cut leadoff hitter.

Switch-hitter Yangervis Solarte showcased some on-base skills last year, but he’ll have competition at third base from Middlebrooks (although the latter still possessing minor-league options could give Solarte a clearer path to the starting job).

Beyond Solarte, Myers reached base at a .354 clip as a rookie. While his power potential should land him closer to the middle of the order, inserting him atop the lineup is a better option than relying on Amarista and his career .279 on-base percentage.

Around the corners

For the first time in five years, the Padres are entering a season with someone other than Chase Headley as their starting third baseman. While Solarte is the incumbent, Preller bought low on Middlebrooks for a reason.

But the 26-year-old has a lot to prove after watching his batting line plummet from .288/.325/.509 as a rookie in 2012 to .191/.256/.265 last year. Across the diamond, Yonder Alonso, too, is hoping for something of a comeback after two injury-plagued seasons landed him on the non-tender watch this offseason.

A revival for both would lengthen the lineup beyond anything that Black has had to work with in his eight seasons in San Diego.

The rotation

As good as the Padres’ pitching was in 2014 — fourth best in the majors in earned-run average — Preller’s frantic overhaul of the offense cast a new light on shortcomings in the rotation, which he acknowledged by signing Shields to a below-market deal last week.

Shields may not be an ace — at least that’s what the industry suggested when no team wanted to pay him $100 million — but his arrival gives the Padres at least two starters used to logging 200 innings a year. The other, Ian Kennedy, breathed new life into his career during his first full season in San Diego, giving the Padres a starting quartet that ranks as deep as any team’s outside of Washington, D.C.

The most pressing question this spring, then, is just how close Tyson Ross and Andrew Cashner are to assuming ace status. Both certainly have the stuff, but neither has topped 200 innings in a season, a necessity to move into a higher class of pitcher.

Beyond that, the Padres will sift through a number of intriguing options — Odrisamer Despaigne, Brandon Morrow, Josh Johnson, Casey Kelly, Robbie Erlin and Matt Wisler — to fill the final spot of a rotation that could be as strong as any in the NL West.