The San Diego Padres: A Dynasty in the Making

Padres GM A.J. Preller

If you haven't noticed, San Diego Padres General Manager A.J. Preller is building a dynasty from the ground up in San Diego. I have the utmost respect for this man, as he is a genius. He has been a busy man ever since he took over the Padres GM job in late 2014. For starters, in 2015, he got rid of the majority of his predecessor's [the rather ignorant Josh Byrnes] top minor league players [i.e. Trea Turner & Mallex Smith], which is usually a big no-no. Preller, most notably, acquired Matt Kemp [whose career has been in steep decline since he was traded from San Diego to Atlanta in 2016], Justin Upton [who eventually signed with the Detroit Tigers after the 2015 season concluded] & Wil Myers, who is still with the Padres & is one of the team's star players. But the most incredible part of this is, A.J. Preller kept the most talented young players he had inherited from Josh Byrnes's rather forgettable time in America's Finest City. Those players are catcher Austin Hedges, right fielder Hunter Renfroe & infielder/outfielder Cory Spangenberg. Also, in two separate trades just 7 months apart, A.J. Preller swindled the Boston Red Sox out of center fielder Manny Margot [who projects to be worth 1.7 more victories than what the Atlanta Braves got out of Kemp in 2017], infielder Carlos Asuaje [who looks like a very excellent utility player], shortstop Javier Guerra [who is an outstanding defensive player], starting pitcher Anderson Espinoza [who, according to a vast majority of baseball scouts, is the second coming of Hall-of-Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez] in exchange for closing pitcher Craig Kimbrel & starting pitcher Drew Pomeranz. Not only that, but Preller also tricked the Chicago White Sox into giving up Fernando Tatis Jr., the son of former MLB player Fernando Tatis, in exchange for declining, overpriced starting pitcher James Shields.

But, in my opinion, the Padres do not have enough pitching. Wait, scratch that, they do but those pitchers aren't ready to pitch in the Major Leagues...yet. But there is one pitcher who is possibly ready...Anderson Espinoza.

So, expect the San Diego Padres to reach, at best, 75-81 wins in 2018, but DON'T expect them to reach the playoffs, as they do not have enough reliable pitching... yet. But instead look ahead to 2019, where the Padres will be a legitimate playoff contender for the 1st time in years and, after 2019, they will be contenders for years afterwards. It will be worth the wait for San Diego fans, as their baseball franchise hasn't made the playoffs since the 2006 season.

Of course that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.