Padres Making Contender Moves, while Others Observe
The baseball offseason and transaction movement is picking up steam as teams and players start to prepare for the upcoming season and make their intentions known. The San Diego Padres had a promising 2020 season, and the team appears to realize that the best move forward is to continue to add talent to their roster.
Manny Machado was a big signing just two years ago. Now the third baseman will be getting some more help and talent to work with in San Diego. The Padres have been one of the more active teams in trades, already sending 18 prospects out of their system in 2020, including a slew of prospect graduates such as Ty France, Francisco Mejia, and Cal Quantrill. They’re working to catch up with the stacked Los Angeles Dodgers team who will have a repeat World Series on their mind, and with it a real parade through Dodgertown. For fans, a new season of adrenaline promises plenty of action, and bet-wv.com, has you covered on the latest news and updates you need to be in prime betting position come the curtain-raiser.
The Padres headlines this offseason weren’t of the free agent variety, but rather involved a pair of blockbuster deals. The first brings in 2018 Cy Young winner, Blake Snell, from the Tampa Bay Rays, in exchange for Cole Wilcox, Francisco Mejia, Luis Patino, and Blake Hunt. Snell may not have had the kind of performances that earned him the Cy Young nod in 2018, but the left-handed pitcher is still amongst the cream of the crop and will be an upgrade for the Padres as they look to move past the Dodgers in the NL West.
The second big trade sent five Padres players, including veteran Zach Davies, prospects Reggie Preciado, Owen Cassie, Ismael Mena, and Yeison Santana, to the Cubs, in exchange for Victor Caratini and Yu Darvish. The biggest name in the trade is Cy Young runner-up in the NL, Yu Darvish, who is a great addition to the Padres’ starting rotation.
The Padres have had a lot of under-the-hood changes to the team, including their lead investor, Peter Seidler, taking over from Ron Fowler as executive chairman after approval by the board of MLB owners. The team is feeling their time is close in hand and is putting everything in place to take advantage of that window, from reworking the front office to refining their roster. Mike Clevinger will be out for the season following Tommy John surgery, but the team should have enough in the tank following their recent acquisitions, to make a solid push for postseason play and success in 2021, before getting Clevinger back for what should be a great team in 2022. The team already have 3B covered with Manny Machado, while Fernando Tatis Jr. appears ready to add hardware to his shelves while manning shortstop for the next decade. The Padres took the wildcard route to the playoffs last season, but with the new roster, they look very much like a team ready to take over.
