As we hit Tuesday we go back out west and put the San Diego Padres under the microscope. The Friars are coming into 2024 off of one of the most disappointing seasons a team has had in some time. The 2023 squad was absolutely loaded with talent, but they couldn’t find the right balance in the roster to make the pieces fit. Starpower also seems to have created issues in the clubhouse as veteran skipper Bob Melvin seemingly lost control over the culture of the team. Given the events of last summer they elected to make major changes to the group. Melvin was relieved of his duties, Juan Soto was sent to the Yankees, and Josh Hader and Blake Snell are leaving via free agency. Owner Peter Seidler also tragically passed away, seemingly affecting some of the calculus in the front office. Mike Shildt is now the skipper and the Soto trade returned a swath of pieces from the Bronx, some of which they parlayed into a trade for stud righty Dylan Cease. I’m not as down on this team as others are, so let’s dive into how this team can succeed.

Keys to Success

1. King and Cease Come Through: While the Padres acquired multiple pieces from the Yankees in the Soto trade, the most important one of them all is starter Michael King. The righty comes off two impressive seasons in the Bronx that saw him thrive out of the bullpen and then in the rotation and San Diego will be hoping to harness that talent. After acquiring a haul of assets from New York and inserting King to the mix, they flipped some pieces for Dylan Cease. Cease arrives from Chicago looking to rebound off of a tough season last year. If he and King come through for this group, the Padres could actually have a strong four-man rotation that will have them in the hunt.

2. Big Bats Bounce Back: This Padres lineup lost some star power with Juan Soto heading east, but this group is still keyed by some brand name talents. While they’re all recognizable, the core four of Tatis, Machado, Bogaerts and Cronenworth (in order above) all have another gear to their games after just okay years last season. All four must put it back together this season, if they do, this lineup will be dangerous in 2024.

3. A Closer Emerges: An area of need on this roster is in the bullpen with the aforementioned departure of Josh Hader. As the lefty departs, righty Robert Suarez moves into the closer role, but there are doubts he can truly take the workload on. If Suarez doesn’t come through early on they will take a look some the other internal options or go after another veteran if they’re in contention at the deadline.

The Lineup

1. Fernando Tatis Jr. RF

2. Jake Cronenworth 1B

3. Xander Bogaerts 2B

4. Manny Machado 3B

5. Ha-seong Kim SS

6. Luis Campusano C

7. Jurickson Profar DH

8. Jose Azocar LF

9. Jackson Merrill CF

The Staff

1. Joe Musgrove

2. Yu Darvish

3. Dylan Cease

4. Michael King

5. Johnny Brito

Closer: Robert Suarez

The Prediction

86 Wins and a Wild Card Spot

As I said earlier, I like this team more than most do to have a bounce back season. There is still a lot of talent here and I think, much like their trade partner Yankees, are coming back with a revenge tour in mind. They have A LOT more pitching than fellow wild card contenders in Cincinnati, St. Louis and San Francisco and the lineup has enough thunder in it to carry the freight. It would be fun to see America’s number one ballpark (per USA Today) return to the playoffs this season, and can you check out some great photos from my recent trip and tour of Petco Park a few weeks ago on our Instagram.

You can find me on Twitter @YNWA9623 and subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. Also, check out our new Instagram feed @thebroadwaybreakdownsports for special gameday and promotional content. We’ll be back with our preview of the Giants tomorrow!