Padres desperately need the DH in 2021
Credit: USA Today Sports
The San Diego Padres have more quality options than they have spots in their lineup in 2021.
2020 gave us a glimpse into what baseball could look like moving forward with expanded playoffs and, yes, the designated hitter in both the American and National Leagues. Labor disputes and strategic hemming and hawing about the universal DH for the 2021 season have put many teams, not just the Padres, in a frustrating position.
For the first time in what seems like decades, maybe ever, a Padres manager, in this case, Jayce Tingler, has more quality bats on the roster than he has spots to pencil them in a starting lineup each game. What a wonderful problem to have.
To give some perspective, the top nine hitters for the Friars are projected by Fangraphs’ ZiPS to post a 25.2 fWAR this upcoming season. The 2017 squad’s best nine hitters totaled a whopping 9.8 fWAR. The 2021 projection looks to surpass the mighty 1998 Padres’ 18.3 fWAR mark. Things are certainly different in San Diego.
Pitchers and catchers are set to report to Spring Training in less than three weeks, with the first exhibition games beginning shortly thereafter. No one knows if the designated hitter will be featured in the National League this season. This is an indictment of the MLB owners’ ineptitude and the ongoing labor agreement failures. It’s maddening to think a league as widely popular as Major League Baseball can’t figure out one of the more critical rules of their sport with just weeks left before their preseason begins.
Most of the backlash regarding the designated hitter implementation to the National League in 2020 was overblown. People liked it, plain and simple. The benefits were clear. San Diego used ten different designated hitters in 2020, and only Tommy Pham stepped in for double-digit games, so spare us the “it’s just so old fat guys can have a few extra years” or “there is no strategy involved in the DH” nonsense. The Padres clearly used it to give a guy a break in the field, keep a player healthy, or give a prospect some low-pressure experiences at the big league level. It seemed to work out for their Cuban outfield prospect Jorge Oña, who posted a 1.065 OPS in four games as the DH, including his first big league homer.
This season, the need for a DH is at a whole new level for the Friars. ZiPS projects the Padres to have at least 11 players with at least 1.0 offensive fWAR. Where are all these guys going to get at-bats? Where the argument is most intense seems to be at second base, between Jake Cronenworth and Korean newcomer Ha-Seong Kim. One could argue for a platoon, Cronenworth against righties and Kim against southpaws. However, A.J. Preller didn’t bring in a guy like Kim, coming off of a .306-average, a 30-home run season in the KBO, guarantee him $28 million over four years to sit and wait for a tough lefty starter before putting him in the lineup. On the flip side, it’s tough to justify benching the National League Rookie of the Year runner-up so quickly. Cronenworth is also a solid fielder at multiple positions. Kim is an unknown commodity that Tingler may want to bring on slowly.
It doesn’t end there. What about the outfield? Obviously, Wil Myers played himself back into an everyday role in 2020, with a monstrous .959 OPS (better than Mookie Betts, by the way). Trent Grisham is now a Gold Glove centerfielder. Pham is in left and one of the more patient hitters in the game as long as he is healthy. Where does Jurickson Profar’s bat fit, with his very respectable 113 OPS+ in 2020? Third base and shortstop are taken last time I checked. Profar adds value with his switch-hitting abilities.
At catcher, Austin Nola seems to be the guy, but Tingler likely wants to give his everyday catcher a breather every now and then. Nola is also an attractive piece to have, as he can play a multitude of positions like first base, second base, third base, and in the outfield. It’s also worth mentioning that Nola has a career .917 OPS when batting as the DH. Victor Caratini comes into the fold as Yu Darvish’s personal catcher. When it’s Darvish Day in San Diego, Tingler still has the option of Nola hitting in the lineup, especially against a tough righty, where he is a career .290 hitter.
Luis Campusano is not going to want to sit on the bench and rot either. If the Padres carry three catchers, they will want to give their prized prospect, who ranks No. 46 in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects, some looks at the plate.
Brian O’Grady is another versatile option Tingler may want to pencil in against a tough right-hander or put him in the outfield and give one of Myers, Grisham, or Pham a day without the need of their glove.
The DH can give Manny Machado a rest from the field at third base. 162 games is a ridiculously long season, especially after a 60-game campaign. Guys are going to need breaks. However, the Friars would hate to lose Machado’s bat in the lineup if he needs a break from fielding, with a sore throwing shoulder, or just general in-season fatigue. The same goes for star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. When the 22-year-old was struggling late in the year, Tingler put him at DH, and he ended up going 3-for-7 with a home run in those two games.
It would be a shame to have one of Cronenworth, Kim, Profar, or Nola sitting on the bench while one of the Padres’ prized starting pitchers risks injury to try and flail at a pitch at the plate.
Gone are the days where the DH is just for an aging slugger who is long in the tooth. The game is constantly evolving, and the DH needs to be part of it moving forward to benefit the Padres.
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.
The DH makes a manager even less of a manager. In the day and age of the GM calling the shots with help of the analytics department, AKA see the Dodgers, the DH allows the GM to be even more in charge of the daily line-up. I will miss the masterminds like La Russa, Cox, Torre, Bochy, Leyland. Let the NL stay the NL. No universal DH is my vote.
Do they “desperately” need a DH?..you’ve got two Silver Slugger winners, surrounded by guys who know how to get on base. Last season’s lineup was the most talented and impactful lineup, this team’s ever had…including the ’98 team. Yes, that team..
It wasn’t nearly as deep or threatening as this one, and the one we’ll probably see in 2021. Again, I point to guys getting on base, who you aren’t immediately mindful of. Namely, Cronenworth, Grisham, Nola and a better Will Myers. Put them in a lineup with guys like Manny, Tatis, and Pham ( who are known to get on base) and you have a lineup that may not need a DH as much as you think
First, stop citing small sample sizes. He did this in 7 ABS. He did this in 4 games. Really? This kind of foolishness needs to stop.
Second, there are 2 quality bats on the team (Machado and Tatis). Period. To write that there are more good hitters than there are spots to play them is embarrassing. Myers is a prime candidate for regression and in any case a 60 game season is once again, a small sample size. Pham might qualify, but let’s see how he recovers from his stabbing first.
If the NL adds the DH, and they should, the club will, based on the current composition of the roster, use the spot to rest players by rotating them through. The most likely outcome might be Tatis (10 games), Machado (10), Myers (30), Kim (30), and Pham (82). Any manager that used Nola or Profar (one of the worst signings made this off season) at DH should be fired. They simply don’t hit enough to be a bat only, even for just a day.
Great article, and great point.
Totally disagree, the DH isn’t baseball. My argument is you have to take the good with the bad with each player. What’s next A designated runner because it’s not exciting to have a slow guy on base that can’t run. If a player isn’t a good fielder that’s the price you pay for his hitting ability. What about good hitting pitchers? They should be allowed their at bats. And it does reduce strategy
Uh, the question and point here is not whether or not the DH is baseball, it is how much the Padres would benefit from it. The AL always has it, and if the NL has it then in what ways might they need it and benefit from it? Because all of their starters could benefit from resting, especially when it comes to injuries, then many players will be greatly helped by the DH.