The San Diego Padres closed out the 2023 season on a high note, securing a finish over .500 (82-80) and enjoying a five-game winning streak.
However, that wasn’t enough to advance to the postseason, and that is a highly disappointing ending for fans.
The Friars made it all the way to the National League Championship Series last year, so expectations for 2023 were incredibly high.
The team proceeded to spend lots of resources on the roster, including $280 million on Xander Bogaerts alone.
Ultimately, they fell short even though they had the second-best run differential in the division at +104.
Chairman Peter Seidler released a firm statement on the events that took place in the Padres’ 2023 campaign.
Official statement from Padres Chairman Peter Seidler: pic.twitter.com/WSVtGUkn7u
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) October 2, 2023
In the statement, Seidler says that his team fell short on its goal, which was to build on last year’s NLCS appearance.
However, he also states he is committed to emerging in 2024 “with the pieces in place to compete for San Diego’s first World Series title”.
The 2023 Padres weren’t bad, but they were extremely inconsistent, incapable of winning close games, and definitely not clutch.
Having said all that, it’s also realistic to think that if most or all their current core pieces return (Juan Soto, Manny Machado, Bogaerts, Ha-Seong Kim, Fernando Tatis Jr., Blake Snell, Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish and others), they can make a serious run at the playoffs provided they make a couple of additions.
There doesn’t need to be an overhaul in San Diego: all they need to do is retain their talent and make one or two impact additions.
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