By: @PadresConnect
Pictured: Ha-Seong Kim sporting the trademark "swag chain" and rejoicing with teammates after hitting a home run at Petco Park (The Athletic, 2021).
"We've been hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray, run amuck, and flat out deceived". This quote by ESPN's Stephen A. Smith (regarding famed rapper Ja Rule which is a story for another article) could easily describe the sentiments of many Padres fans during the 2021 season.
Last season ended up as a record-breaking year for the San Diego Padres in terms of attendance, season ticket sales, payroll, and overall fan excitement. However, in the unpredictable landscape that America's pastime finds itself in, the baseball Gods delivered Padres fans yet another swift kick to the nether regions.
A 79-83 (.488) finish was hardly what Padres fans expected when the opening day roster had the likes of Fernando Tatis Jr, Manny Machado, Trent Grisham, touted Korean free agent, Ha-Seong Kim, and others. Everyone across the league expected an unbroken boulevard of green lights as the Padres seemed destined for a deep playoff run. However, as quickly as those hopes ascended, reality set in and the friars were back to being the neglected middle child of the National League playoff hopefuls.
Reasons for the disappointing season can be chalked up to poor injury luck, mismanaging of games by (now former) manager Jayce Tingler, and general underperformance up and down the lineup. However, similarly to any toxic relationship (and I assure you, fanaticism for any sports team definitely constitutes as such a relationship) we now look to the future. Padres fans are armed with a new collective bargaining agreement, a number of offseason transactions, the content/hype from endless think pieces, and more. This is all to say, we have talked ourselves into our team and in the immortal words of "The Office" boss Michael Scott, "I am ready to get hurt again".
Here are 3 key things to watch as the 2022 season gets underway.
The Early Season Play of Ha-Seong Kim
I will be brief given the fact many writers and fans alike, are acutely aware that the Padres need Kim more to begin the 2022 season than they did in perhaps all of 2021. Fernando Tatis Jr and his off-season motorcycle accident(s) have ensured he won't see the field for at least the first two months of the 2022 season. And although CJ Abrams has had a strong Spring, the organization is committed to Kim getting the first crack at shortstop.
Kim's glove has never been questioned. In 117 games, Ha-Seong Kim was as sure handed as a delivery room hospital nurse. Last year, he touted a .980 fielding percentage and a 2.9 dWAR. While his defensive game was as smooth as a fine whisky, his bat was as egregious as a celebrity tequila.
Much has been made of the offseason adjustments Kim has made to his swing path, leg kick, and overall comfort levels after moving to the USA, but it remains to be seen if we'll see shades of the 30+ HR per season type of hitter Kim proved himself to be prior to signing with San Diego. One thing is for certain, Ha-Seong Kim is already a San Diego fan-favorite and any iota of life from his bat will certainly be celebrated and revered. Hopefully it galvanizes his continued success.
2. The Bob Melvin Effect
From former San Diego Charger Melvin Gordon, to former Padres center fielder Melvin Upton Jr, Bob comes as another addition to the list of Melvin's for whom San Diego has high hopes for.
Without question, Bob Melvin (affectionately referred to as BoMel by his players) was the belle of the Padres offseason ball. The main change to the 2022 Padres from the 2021 Padres is the man crossing the t's and dotting the i's on the daily lineup card.
Among the litany of issues the friars had last season, underperformance was at the heart of it all. It is the fundamental duty of the manager to get the most out of his players and to be a strong leader that players want to play for. By the end of last season, it wasn't difficult to see that the players were beginning to tune former Padres manager Jayce Tingler out.
I'm not here to bash Tingler and levy all shortcomings on him. Like many others, he had a role in the 2021 Padres demise and paid for it with his job. It's almost impossible to ask a rookie manager to take a roster full of generational stars, established veterans, players with post-season/world series experience, and garner 100% buy-in from all 25 guys in the clubhouse. Given this, it's especially head-scratching as to why Tingler was hired in the first place and notably over other candidates such as Buck Showalter or Ron Washington. It seems as if though Padres GM AJ Preller learned from his mistake and brought the pure antithesis to Tingler in Bob Melvin.
Sporting a career record of 1346-1272 (.514) and three Manager of the Year awards under his belt, BoMel is the real deal. In his stints with Seattle, Arizona, and Oakland Bob Melvin has made the playoffs with players like Hiram Bocachica, Kila Ka'aihue, Jemile Weeks and others. If you're unfamiliar with their careers then fear not because you're certainly not alone. I don't mean to disparage the playing careers of any current/former MLB players as I'm quite certain I would go 0 for 10 with 10 strikeouts on 30 pitches if ever put into an MLB game but my point is Bob Melvin is known for getting his guys to play and to play hard.
Somewhere out there some ESPN or MLB Network talking head, I'm sure, has a list of the best managers in the majors and regardless of the exact order it'd be tough to not put Bob Melvin in at least the top 5.
Seeing how Melvin handles in game adjustments such as pitching changes, lineups, pinch hitters, base running strategy and more will be critical for fans and analysts to key in on as we seek to gain insight on how BoMel will differ from Tingler in those facets of the game. Can we expect a more patient and tactical approach to the game from this year's Padres to mirror their new leader? Can we expect a fast-paced, aggressive approach to mirror some of the team's star players? Or can we perhaps expect something in the middle? No one will know until the home plate umpire shouts, "play ball!" on the inaugural pitch of the Padres season. Regardless of the approach, one thing is certain: Bob Melvin and his players will be well-prepared, aligned as a team, and looking to deliver on the promise of their talented roster.
3. How Competitive is this Roster as Constructed?
Luke Voit (left) and Trent Grisham (right) doing some field work prior to a Spring Training game.
The NL West will serve as a great proxy for the rest of the league. In the West, there is a clear competitor who is ready to win now in the Dodgers, and a couple teams with multiple talented players that would surprise no one if they ended up jockeying for playoff position. How will the Padres stack up as they go head-to-head with division foes? In three of the first five series of the season the Padres will be battling against division opponents.
Much has been made of AJ Preller's moves (or lack thereof) this offseason. The only noteworthy additions after manager Bob Melvin include the acquisition of Luke Voit (1B/DH) from the New York Yankees, Nick Martinez (P) and Robert Suarez (P) from the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (Japan), and Jorge Alfaro (C).
This is not exactly what one would expect for a team looking and expecting to compete and win now. Earlier in the offseason, Padres owner Peter Seidler was asked if the team had a budget for this year and if that impacted roster moves. Seidler replied with "We have a vision" and left it at that. Without extrapolating too much, one would assume that means the Padres are more concerned with who they need rather than who they can afford. A sight for sore eyes for many Padres fan given the frugality of Seidler's predecessors.
However, the question remains, what can this team do as constructed? Assuming the roster can field some combination of Luke Voit, Manny Machado, Jake Cronenworth, and (hopefully) revitalized versions of Trent Grisham, Ha-Seong Kim, and Wil Myers while utilizing a Snell, Darvish, Musgrove, and Clevinger pitching rotation then San Diego should be in a good position to stay ultra competitive until their star shortstop returns.
On paper, this team has the potential to be as good as any especially considering #1 prospect CJ Abrams is chomping at the bit to contribute to the big league ball club. As the old adage goes, it's not who wins the offseason that matters it's who wins once the season starts. If the Padres can get off to a hot start then we'll chalk it up to rockstar GM AJ Preller being ahead of the curve as usual. We'll consider him the omnipotent GM who we stand behind as our fearless leader. If they don't, then expect some shuffling for a team that cannot underperform for a second straight year.
Lastly, one can't forget that regardless of what the team looks like on Opening Day, Preller has always been one to make moves at the trade deadline. I offer this as a nugget of hope for those fans who feel we need more dramatic changes. But as for now, let the season play out. Let's see what BoMel can do with the group of guys and how a healthy Clevinger, Darvish, and Snell change the fortunes of the team from a season ago.
Regardless of what happens, the 2022 season is shaking up to be one of the most anticipated seasons in the club's history and I can't wait to watch it alongside the rest of the friar faithful.
Thank you for reading! Padres Connect exists for the purpose of providing analysis/insight, sparking conversation, and discussing the team we all love without agendas and without having to pay to subscribe. We believe Padres baseball talk should be accessible to everyone, inclusive, and serve as a supplement to following the game we know and love. If there's a topic you'd like us to dive into please shoot us a DM @padresconnect on Twitter or send us an email to padresconnect@gmail.com.
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