Three Padres takeaways going into the All-Star break

The Padres have made it to the All-Star break. They sit at 50-49 and now have four days off before starting a three-city road trip through Cleveland, Washington D.C. and Baltimore. Here are three big takeaways from the unofficial first half of the season:

They can make it to the postseason

This is not last year’s team. Although a lot of us (including myself) believed they had too much talent to not turn it around, they weren’t a true team in 2023. Some didn’t believe in culture. Juan Soto admitted to them quitting when things got tough. Their closer was more interested in his personal situation than helping his team get to the postseason.

This year is different. Yes, there are still some of the same folks in that clubhouse but there are valuable role players around them. Jurickson Profar hasn’t necessarily been a role player—he’s been a star—but he’s one of those team guys that the Padres need. Jackson Merrill, Tyler Wade, Kyle Higashioka, Donovan Solano, Luis Arraez, Jake Cronenworth, Robert Suarez, Jeremiah Estrada and others have showed a willingness to do whatever is asked of them to help San Diego win games.

The talent for the most part is there to go make the postseason. The only questions now are whether this group will stay healthy and play up to their capabilities.

You can never have enough pitching

This saying rings true essentially every year with this club. In 2021, they collapsed in part because they didn’t have enough starting pitching. Remember Jake Arrieta and Ross Detwiler? That was fun. In 2022, they went on a run but then pitching failed them in Philadelphia. And last season the Padres were relying on a rotation that included 43-year-old Rich Hill (Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish got hurt).

Musgrove (elbow inflammation) and Darvish (elbow inflammation/personal reasons) are both not starting games, which leaves question marks about what this rotation is going to look like the rest of the way. Randy Vasquez is currently the club’s fourth starter.

A.J. Preller reportedly has tried to acquire Garrett Crochet from the White Sox so he clearly is still big-game hunting and knows he needs more starting pitching.

In the bullpen, Mike Shildt seems to have three reliable arms right now: Suarez, Estrada and Adrian Morejon. Yuki Matsui and Stephen Kolek have had ups and downs this year while Enyel De Los Santos seems to be one of the mop up arms now. Austin Davis, Logan Gillaspie and Sean Reynolds are minor league depth arms who have had to come up because of injuries (Wandy Peralta and Tom Cosgrove) and/or a lack of production from others.

It would be nice for Preller to go get at least one other high leverage arm because more injuries can happen and we know how much relievers get used in the postseason since starters don’t go as long.

A.J. Preller’s had an underrated season

I don’t feel like this is being talked about enough. A.J. Preller had to reduce his Opening Day payroll by more than $90 million, trade one of the best hitters in baseball and see a bunch of injuries to key players stack up and yet here the Padres are—still in the thick of things.

When Higashioka was acquired, he wasn’t who fans and media were talking about (and understandably so). It was about the pitching they got back. He currently has career-highs in home runs, slugging percentage and OPS. Michael King is this year’s Seth Lugo (2.08 FIP since the start of June) and Drew Thorpe was used to go get Dylan Cease, who’s under control through next season.

Merrill ended up being the solution in center field and he’s now the first home grown All-Star since Jake Peavy. Preller gave Profar $1 million and it’s the best contract in baseball right now. Donovan Solano, David Peralta and Tyler Wade have all been veteran pickups that have worked out better than last year’s additions of Nelson Cruz and Matt Carpenter.

Manny Machado (elbow and who knows what else) isn’t 100% this season. Fernando Tatis Jr. (right femoral stress reaction) may miss another month plus. Xander Bogaerts just got back (fractured shoulder). Two frontline starters are out. Peralta (left adductor strain) just went on the IL.

And yet here we are. The Padres are right there in the playoff race.

Last season is going to be the most talented team Preller ever had but this season might end up going down as the best job he’s done considering the circumstances.

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What’s your biggest takeaway so far this season?