Padres upset two of MLB’s best en route to NLCS berth
The 2021 season was a colossal failure for the San Diego Padres. Despite being a trendy sleeper pick to win the World Series (DraftKings gave them World Series odds of +800 on Opening Day), the team finished under .500 and failed to make the playoffs.
With an Opening Day payroll over $205 million, the 2022 Padres were expected to bounce back and be a legitimate World Series contender. Even with the news that star SS Fernando Tatís Jr. would be out for 3 months with a broken wrist—an injury that may or may not have stemmed from an offseason motorcycle accident or two in the Dominican Republic—the team was remarkably talented. Manny Machado and Jake Cronenworth would hold down the infield, and the trio of Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, and Blake Snell would provide solid starting pitching.
Those predictions came true in the 2022 season, and then some, with Ha-Seong Kim doing an excellent job filling Tatis’ shoes at SS. A surprising trade between Milwaukee and San Diego netted San Diego closer Josh Hader, further bolstering the team’s roster before the deadline.
Then, on August 2nd, San Diego shocked the baseball world by making the biggest deal in trade deadline history by trading for Juan Soto (and Josh Bell). The move was a clear signal from A.J. Preller and management: this team had its sights set on a World Series.
In an equally shocking bombshell just 10 days later, Jeff Passan reported that Tatís would be suspended for the remainder of the season and postseason for violating MLB’s PED policy.
The Padres finished their wild regular season 2nd in the NL West behind the Dodgers, setting up a wild-card round date with the 101-win New York Mets. Going up against the Mets’ three-headed monster of Scherzer, deGrom, and Bassitt, few experts predicted San Diego would come out on top. A pair of gems by Darvish and Musgrove led the Padres to a series victory in 3 games. Their reward? Getting to face the Dodgers in the NLDS, another series where San Diego would be underdogs. And once again, they proved the experts wrong.
The Padres’ run came to an end in the NLCS against the Phillies, but this postseason was still a resounding success. Sans their $340 million star in Tatís, San Diego took out a pair of 100+ win teams en route to an NLCS appearance with a core that will mostly still be around next season. Given the circumstances and the randomness of MLB’s playoff format, the Padres have a lot to be proud of—and a lot to be excited about in 2023.
Postseason grade: A-
Regular season MVP: Manny Machado
Postseason MVP: Joe Musgrove
Prominent free agents: Wil Myers, Josh Bell, Sean Manaea, Jurickson Profar