The 2022 San Diego Padres Are One Sad Case
The Padres on paper are indeed a good team. GM AJ Preller constructed it that way, after all. What the team lacks is chemistry. It’s a sad, harsh reality and it’s been that way for more than five years.
This season, San Diego is 74-60 as of Sept. 4 — a good record. The team, however, sits 18 games back of the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers. They hold the third slot for the Wild Card, behind the Phillies and the Braves.
Coming into the season, hopes were much higher for this club. Star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr was slated to come back with pitcher Mike Clevinger. The pieces were falling into place heading into Spring Training. Machado was healthy, and Jake Cronenworth was coming off an All-Star campaign.
In reality, none of it went according to plan. Tatis failed to disclose a fractured wrist from a motorcycle accident. This landed him on the IL for three months before the start of the season.
The Padres were off to a really good start to the season. Through June 22, they sat 44-27. In fact, they were tied for first with the Dodgers. Then, Los Angeles surged, and San Diego somewhat plateaued.
San Diego had very high hopes through July, though. Tatis was rehabbing and despite being considerably out of first place, the trade deadline was coming up.
AJ Preller splashed on Aug. 2 trading for outfielder Juan Soto, utilityman Brandon Drury, first baseman Josh Bell, and reliever Josh Hader. Now, many expected the Padres to make a run at Los Angeles. People said that the Padres were the best team in the NL West. Until they weren’t.
The Dodgers never took their foot off the gas, going 21-6 in the month of August. The Padres, meanwhile, had much bigger fish to fry. Tatis, slated to come back, was caught on Aug. 13 using a performance-enhancing drug called Clostebol, which he later claimed was used to cure his ringworm.
The league suspended him for 80 games. To make matters worse, Tatis was also dealing with shoulder issues and said he’d get surgery. Strep throat delayed that as well.
Meanwhile back on the field, the new star acquisitions weren’t doing as hot either. Hader is by far the worst, posting a horrid 19.06 ERA in eight games with a 7.01 WHIP. Bell is slashing .185/.318/.292 in 111 plate appearances. Since Aug. 2, the Padres are 15-13.
The chemistry doesn’t seem to be clicking sadly. Yes, the Padres are on pace to get to the Wild Card round, but with the messiness of Tatis and the unpredictability of the team as a whole, who knows if they can perform with the teams in the biggest stage.
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