Padres are failing players, fans, and Peter’s legacy with inaction under Seidler brothers

Oct 11, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; San Diego Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (23) looks on in the dugout in the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game five of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Padres were one win away from the NLCS and eliminating the eventual World Series champs. Now? The climb back towards to top feels longer than ever.
“One year soon, the baseball gods will smile on the San Diego Padres and we will have a parade.”
-Peter Seidler
What an offseason it has been for the Padres, and especially their fans. This sentence was used a few times over the last five years or so as A.J. Preller made move after move to build a winner in San Diego. Preller almost appeared obsessive in the way he made moves and signed players at a blistering pace.
It resulted in three playoff berths since 2020, including a run to the NLCS in 2022. Last season, they were up 2-1 on the Dodgers in the National League Division Series. They were essentially nine good innings of baseball away from advancing to the NLCS, likely as the World Series favorites.
Then, the Padres utterly collapsed, especially at the plate. They went 24 straight innings without scoring a run, blowing a 2-1 series lead. They watched the Dodgers celebrate a series comeback win. Then they celebrated again, winning the NL pennant against the Mets. Then, L.A. won the World Series over the Yankees.
You would think this would fuel the Padres, from top to bottom, ownership included, to double down in 2025. They got so close to greatness in 2024. Common sense would be to stop at nothing to make the 2025 squad even better so they don’t fall just short once again. That fire should be burning hot.
Seems like, up top among Padres’ brass, common sense and a burning desire to win championships are in short supply.
The new leadership of the Seidler brothers (John and Matt) has not inspired much confidence in the fanbase. Instead of improving a ballclub that was on the doorstep of the semifinals, they have sat on their hands. Not only that, but they don’t appear to have any semblance of a Plan B for missing out on Roki Sasaki. Jurickson Profar signed with the Atlanta Braves. Blake Snell and Tanner Scott joined Sasaki with the Dodgers.
It’s been Murphy’s Law this winter for Padres fans. It’s one thing to watch your archrival evolve into supernova status. That would be a bit more palatable if the Padres were at least trying to appear like they were trying to keep up.
At this point, Padres fans are asking for proof of life from their favorite baseball team. They are yet to hand out a single MLB-level free-agent deal. Not a single trade has been made to improve the lineup, starting rotation, or bullpen. In fact, there are rumors the Padres are shopping Dylan Cease to clear even more payroll.
The Padres made $345 million in revenue in 2023, valued at $1.8 billion. They set attendance records in 2024, ranking third overall in MLB. The team announced they sold out season tickets for the 2025 season. This team is not poor.
The fact that the Padres were all too happy to announce the season tickets selling out, on top of its best attendance year ever, and then pull this kind of hapless offseason is spitting in the face of the entire city and fanbase.
With the Dodgers signing Roki Sasaki, Tanner Scott, Kirby Yates, and Profar headed to Atlanta, Padres fans have had it.
The Seidler brothers are getting dangerously close to Dean Spanos level of hatred.
— Christian Gange (@CGange6) January 23, 2025
Whoever is in charge of continuing Peter’s legacy (like they keep telling us they’re doing) is doing an absolutely terrible job
— Ryan Cohen (@RyanCohen24) January 23, 2025
The Padres were a game away from probably winning the World Series, and now are years away.
San Diego sports, a tale as old as time. https://t.co/kQIvBoBRzr
— Borna Nazari (@thehogwatch) January 23, 2025
There has been virtually zero communication from the top-up in the Padres front office. The Seidler brothers have been eerily silent on potential moves or a direction for the franchise. The most we have heard from them is refuting accusations made by Sheel Seidler in their pending lawsuit.
In their response, John Seidler, who is set to take control of the team, shares Peter’s vision of putting a consistently competitive team on the field in search of their first World Series title.
Statement from spokesperson for the Peter Seidler Trust regarding lawsuit brought by Sheel Seidler: pic.twitter.com/xMkhmHOjma
— Kevin Acee (@sdutKevinAcee) January 7, 2025
Actions speak louder than words. At this point, the Padres’ actions say they care more about maximizing revenue than providing the resources necessary to get that elusive World Series title.
A.J. Preller himself might even be handcuffed. San Diego has been uncharacteristically quiet this offseason. It’s doubtful that was by Preller’s design. Peter Seidler’s vision included being proactive in bringing a World Series parade to the Gaslamp Quarter. Now, that dream seems farther away than it has in a long time.
Their two “best” additions the Padres have made this winter, outside the organization, have been Martin Maldonado (-1.3 WAR in 2024) and J.B. Wendelken (who hasn’t pitched in MLB since 2022).
They are already above the first tax threshold, yet there are major roster holes. No left fielder with MLB experience is ready to be slotted into the lineup. Randy Vasquez and Matt Waldron are set to be the No. 4 and No. 5 starters in the rotation. The best bench bat at the moment is Tyler Wade.
Be it apathy or ineptitude, ownership seems to have cost the fans a Padres reunion with Jurickson Profar.
Jurickson Profar:
“The Padres have some issues with ownership and all that…”
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) January 25, 2025
For a team that was one win away from the NLCS last season, the Padres’ new ownership seems more interested in acting like the Pirates, Mariners, or Marlins. They inherited a large payroll that fielded a competitive club. They don’t seem interested in continuing that. At least, that’s what their actions (or, frankly, inaction) are telling the San Diego fans and players.
The Padres’ first game that counts in 2025 is roughly two months away. There is still time for Padres brass to change the narrative that is quickly engulfing them.
Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.
While equally concerned, I would suggest waiting until the final roster is completed before making any kind of judgement. Seem to forget the some of Preller’s magic occurred literally the day before the season started. Trading for Cease, Arraez in May, Scott, Hoeing, Adam, Perez at the trading deadline.
Also remember that we have our all-stars already on board. Not too many teams can top Machado, Tatis, Bogie, Merrill, Arraez, Darvish, Cease, King, Suarez, etc. This is already a very good team. Unless you have Dodger, Mets, Yankee money, you can’t expect to add on superstars every year.
Well said!
Let’s see, we had a man with chemo brain spending like a drunk sailor in Thailand, AJ Preller who has deep mancrushes on players who will be very far past their prime and still collecting millions of dollars a year and the grieving widow is suing the businessmen who apparently were named to take over the organization for control (which could plausibly lead to a forced sale of the organization)…
How can you move forward when there is pending litigation? There is a very real possibility that the decision makers will be legally hamstrung.
What player in their right mind wants to go to an organization that is in the middle of a lawsuit like this? The Padres have also committed a ton of money to mediocre performance players who are not getting any younger.
Common sense saw this a mile away. The overextended spending worries were around in 2015 (Kemp and his bad hip…), signing Manny to that reworked extension was a massive red flag. If the SDUT reader comments were still online, You would see dozens of comments on numerous stories mentioning these concerns years ago.