Optimism remains despite ending to Padres season
Credit: AP Photo
It was extremely difficult witnessing the San Diego Padres lose three straight games in Philadelphia to close out the season.
Plenty of optimism gripped the city of San Diego this past few weeks as the Padres took down both the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2022 playoffs. Both 100-win teams fell to the Padres, who started to look like a team of destiny.
In the end, the Padres were unable to accomplish their goal. However, there is no reason to hang your head, Padres fans. Keep your chin up and be proud of your team.
For years, the Padres have only pretended to try and compete in the NL West. From firesales to constant rebuilds, the fan base has suffered for a long time. Seeing this year’s team constructed by A.J. Preller was exciting. From the additions of Juan Soto and Josh Bell to the acquisition of Josh Hader, the Padres made exciting moves. The young GM has no restraints when bringing in star power, and the ownership group led by Peter Seidler is spending like no time in the history of the franchise.
The Padres are relevant, and that in itself is an awesome thing for the fan base.
The 2022 season ended with a loss, but if you examine the situation, you gain a little perspective.
The Padres, led by Manny Machado and Juan Soto, were missing arguably their best player. Fernando Tatis Jr. is not far from being classified as the best player on the planet. His steroid suspension clouds his future slightly, but Padre fans have to be excited about the 2023 season. Tatis should come back with a vengeance. Or at least that is what Padre fans hope.
With that trio at the heart of the order, the Padres have a core group of players that may be the best in the league. And they will possess the three for the next two years and possibly more, as the Padres have already reportedly contemplated re-signing Juan Soto long-term.
Bob Melvin stabilized the clubhouse and steered the team toward their goal late in the season. You can criticize the experienced manager all you want, but without him, the Padres may have never even made the playoffs when they started to fade late in the year. Melvin will return in 2023, and you can be sure that he will remain focused on bringing the city of San Diego its first World Series title.
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Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, and Joe Musgrove return next year, and that trio of pitchers will guide the pitching staff. The Padres have some openings in the rotation for the coming year, and that is exciting thinking about how A.J. Preller will fill those vacancies.
With a core group of players and a fresh off-season, the future of the San Diego Padres is exciting. A.J. Preller will make some changes, and really anything could be in the cards for the Padres as they re-tool for the coming season. Spring training in February cannot get here soon enough.
James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.