Shaikin: Despite a quiet offseason, Padres are still making noise in competitive NL West
San Diego's Fernando Tatis Jr. celebrates in the dugout after scoring on a double in the first inning of an 8-7 loss in 10 innings to the Dodgers on Monday at Petco Park. (Orlando Ramirez / Associated Press)
Fernando Tatis Jr. sat in front of his locker late Monday night, assessing his San Diego Padres in the wake of an extra-inning loss to the Dodgers. He did not have much to say, but he did not have to say much.
'We can still play better,' he said. 'It's that simple.'
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Tatis reached base three times Monday, but his OPS is 78 points below his career average. The Padres dropped the highly anticipated opener of the season series of baseball's best rivalry by one run, but their most productive and healthy starting pitcher got hit hard, one of their relievers threw away a comebacker, one of their outfielders misread a line drive, and their shortstop lost a pop fly in the twilight.
Read more: Dodgers-Padres lives up to the rivalry hype as L.A. prevails in 10th inning
Yet, after all that, the Padres (37-28) awoke Tuesday nine games over .500 and two games out of first place in the National League West. At this point last season, the Padres were one game under .500 and eight games out of first place.
The Padres rallied to clinch a postseason spot and came within one game of eliminating the Dodgers in the first round of the playoffs. Then came winter, with the Padres going into hibernation as the Dodgers signed most of the free world.
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The Padres did not win the winter, by choice. That did not endear them to their fans, particularly not after the Dodgers took home a championship trophy because no one could beat L.A. in October.
There was a preseason fan fest in San Diego. It was decidedly not festive.
'I don't think we were ever bad,' Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove said. 'People see the additions of big name players for a lot of money and think that directly correlates to the ability to win.'
That is true for fans, and truer still for major league owners operating in markets far smaller than San Diego, refusing to spend and then pointing fingers at the Dodgers. The Padres earned a playoff payoff last season, and they have sold out 27 of 31 home dates so far this season.
San Diego's Jackson Merrill celebrates after hitting an run-scoring double against the Dodgers in the 10th inning Monday.
(Orlando Ramirez / Associated Press)
'I don't think the fans are wrong for feeling how they felt,' Musgrove said. 'That's just a natural, knee-jerk reaction to seeing everyone move and you not move.'
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The Padres lost Tanner Scott, Jurickson Profar and Ha-Seong Kim over the winter. They lost Juan Soto, Blake Snell and Josh Hader the previous winter.
That would frighten any fan base.
The Padres traded Soto and got two New York Yankees relievers — Michael King and Randy Vasquez — that now start in San Diego. The Padres replaced Soto in the outfield with a minor league shortstop, Jackson Merrill, who should have been the NL rookie of the year.
They didn't use Scott as a closer when they traded for him; Robert Suarez closed then and closes now. Gavin Sheets, signed to a minor league contract, has 11 home runs, more than anyone on the team besides Tatis.
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The top four batters in the San Diego lineup — Tatis, Luis Arraez, Manny Machado and Merrill — can hold their own against the Dodgers' quartet of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández.
Utilityman Tyler Wade scoffed at the winter notion that the Padres might not fare as well this season.
'Look around our room, man,' Wade said. 'We've got a super-talented bunch. We basically have the same team as last year — minus a couple of key pieces, obviously.'
The Padres' catchers have a negative WAR. So do their left fielders, and their .248 on-base percentage is the lowest among any team's left fielders.
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The Angels' Taylor Ward would be a nice fit here. A.J. Preller, the Padres' president of baseball operations, is the rare executive who trades actual prospects. He'll make the Padres better in the seven weeks between now and the trading deadline.
Said Musgrove: 'The people in this room felt extremely confident in the staff, and in the belief that we have in A.J. to put a good product on the field and make adjustments as necessary throughout the year.'
What might distinguish the Padres from the Dodgers this season — and vice versa — is how many starting pitchers return from the injured list, and how effective they can be.
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The Dodgers have Snell, Roki Sasaki, Tyler Glasnow and Tony Gonsolin on the injured list. The Padres have King, Musgrove and Yu Darvish on the injured list.
Darvish has yet to pitch this season but has resumed throwing bullpen sessions. King is expected to miss several weeks because of a pinched nerve. Musgrove, who had Tommy John surgery last October, is not expected to rejoin the rotation this season but is hopeful he can pitch in relief in the postseason, if the Padres get there.
The Dodgers' relievers have thrown the most innings in the league. Both the Dodgers and Padres' starters rank among the top five in innings pitched. The relievers for both teams are pitching very well, but too often.
Ultimately, lest the bullpen arms become injured and/or ineffective, the manager said, 'We're going to need some depth out of some starters.' (The manager was the Padres' Mike Shildt, but it could just as easily have been the Dodgers' Dave Roberts.)
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And, amid all the hype and analysis surrounding the Dodgers and Padres, there is one little wrinkle: The Dodgers lead the NL West, but the team in second place is not the Padres. It's the San Francisco Giants. Did someone say rivalry?
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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