The 2023 San Diego Padres were supposed to be a special unit.
In a sense, they were: their run differential of +104 was third-best in the National League.
However, standings are dictated by wins and losses, not by run differential.
And the Padres lost too many close games to count and finished with a disappointing 82-80 record, out of the postseason.
The Friars nevertheless enjoyed a quality roster with the likes of Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., Ha-Seong Kim, Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Josh Hader, and others.
However, they wanted to significantly cut payroll for 2024: from that group, only Machado, Bogaerts, Tatis, Kim, and Musgrove are still with the team.
Soto, who was projected to make around $30 million this upcoming campaign, was traded for five players.
Machado had some really incredibly praise for Soto in particular, and said they will miss him a lot.
“San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado on life without Juan Soto: ‘We believe in the guys that we have (but) obviously no one can replace Soto. He’s the top player in the game. He’s irreplaceable,’” MLB insider Bob Nightengale tweeted, with Machado’s quotes.
San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado on life without Juan Soto: “We believe in the guys that we have (but) obviously no one can replace Soto. He’s the top player in the game. He’s irreplaceable.”
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) February 13, 2024
With Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Yordan Alvarez, and Julio Rodriguez, among others, showing their talent every day, saying Soto is the top player in the game is noteworthy.
Perhaps he is, perhaps he isn’t; but we do know that Soto is one of the top-five hitters in baseball at the moment.
His ability to get on base (he has a career .421 OBP) and game-changing power (160 home runs before turning 25) make him a solid candidate to go off with the New York Yankees.
Machado and the Padres, on the other hand, will have to fight for every win in 2024.
They remain a solid club, but maybe not as good as they were last year.
Losing Soto is a big reason why.
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