MLB 30/30: 28/30 San Diego Padres, NL West

Article Written By: Manny Alcala

San Diego Padres
2013 Record: 76-86 (3rd in NL West)

Key additions: Seth Smith, Josh Johnson, Joaquin Benoit, Alex Torres.

Key losses: Luke Gregerson, Ronny Cedeno, Jason Marquis (unsigned), Logan Forsythe.

Most important players for 2014: Chase Headley, Everth Cabrera, Andrew Cashner, Ian Kennedy, Josh Johnson, Jedd Gyorko, Carlos Quentin.

The San Diego Padres played great baseball at times last season, they managed to finish third in their division and had the same record as the San Francisco Giants who were the defending world series champions at that time. This might be a sign that the Padres are ready to move forward this season and be a more competitive team. San Diego quietly had a good off-season as they signed and traded players to fill in some holes they had on their roster.

Signing Josh Johnson to a one year 8 million dollar contract was a smart move by the Padres. Although he is coming off one of his worst season’s in his career, he still has value and potential attached to him. Let’s remember that Johnson had great back-to-back years with the Marlins in 2009 and 2010. Adding him to this team makes the Padres rotation better and gives it more depth.

With the addition of Johnson, the Padres now have what appears to be a very solid rotation. The Friars are hoping that Ian Kennedy, who was acquired mid-season last year, can return to form and be that 21 game winner he was with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2011. Add the likes of Andrew Cashner, Eric Stults, and Tyson Ross, and the Padres rotation looks ready to go.

Cashner is the Padres gem that is carefully being polished. The team is doing what they can to keep him healthy and develop him more by giving more innings little by little. In what can be considered his first year as a starter, Cashner had a 10-9 record with a 3.09 ERA. I expect a breakout season for him as he has shown great pitches and the ability to dominate opposing lineups. Keep in mind that all of San Diego’s starters will be pitching most of their games at spacious Petco Park. Look for them to take advantage of their pitcher friendly home ballpark.

After trading a very strong reliable reliever in Luke Gregerson for Seth Smith, the Padres signed Joaquin Benoit to fill his spot. Then shortly after they traded to acquire more bullpen help with the acquisition of Alex Torres. Losing Gregerson is tough for the Padres, but they wanted a left handed bat, and Smith was that guy. Not only did they get their left handed bat, but the team did a nice job of adding Benoit to make Gregerson’s departure look less shocking. Benoit can be Houston Street’s set up man, or they can share the role of closers as they both have the capability of getting the last three outs of the game.

The core of the Padres is still young and has to come through offensively in order for the Padres to have success. Chase Headley is still the leader of the team and is looking to bounce back from a below average season last year. Players like Everth Cabrera, Carlos Quentin, Will Venable, and Jedd Gyorko will have to keep this team afloat. In order for San Diego to improve this season, they will need to have their players produce solid numbers offensively and not have them fall into hitting slumps as they did at times last year.

The Padres have an interesting team that could surprise many people. It is going to take bounce back years from Kennedy and Johnson in the rotation in order for the Padres to succeed in any way. The good news is that both of these pitchers have been great before, so they could do it again. The lineup needs to continue to grow offensively and will need great years from Headley and Quentin with Cabrera being the table setter.

If San Diego can put it all together, don’t be surprised if they make a run at one of the wild card berths. It looks like the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks will have their race for the division, but things could go much better for the Padres this season and seasons ahead as the Padres future looks bright.