It Would Be Crazy To Think That The Padres Aren’t The NL Pennant Favorites Now
The trade for Juan Soto solidified their chances of winning the National League Championship Series this year
The trade deadline for the 2022 MLB season ended at 6 p.m. EST today, August 2nd. There was a major trade in terms of star power being moved around. The Washington Nationals were looking to shop 23-year-old generational talent and outfielder Juan Soto.
That, in itself, sounds insane in terms of his age and what they would be giving up trading him away. He was part of the 2019 Washington Nationals World Series championship team and has been the star of the team since a very young age coming on to the scene.
Even though he is only 23 years old, this is already his fifth major league season. He was 19 when he played his first major league game. In 2018, his rookie season, he played in 116 games, hitting 22 home runs, driving in 70 runs, and scoring 77 runs, while hitting .292 with a .406 on-base percentage and a .517 slugging percentage leading to a .923 OPS and a 142 OPS+. He was so good and valuable to the team that year that he finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in the National League.
He already showed some great promise. He is already a two-time All-Star as of 2022 as he has appeared in the last two All-Star Games. He had an earth-shattering 217 OPS+ in the pandemic-shortened 2020 showing that he can definitely create runs at the plate. He is a once-in-a-generation hitter. He can hit for both power and average as evidenced by his career batting average of .291 and 119 home runs in 565 career games.
All I know now is that with the combination of other young stars on the Padres along with the veteran leadership of Manny Machado at 30 years old, the offense looks solid in San Diego now. They were definitely lacking a little power but now they have another power bat in the lineup. Once Fernando Tatis Jr returns to the lineup and the Padres will have either the 2–3–4 or 3–4–5 combination of Tatis Jr, Soto, and Machado, I’m sure that they will be one of the most feared trio in the league right up with the Yankees’ power threats.
I know, I know, I’m a Blue Jays fan and I just mentioned the Yankees. Forgive me for this indiscretion but I do have two eyes and even I can clearly see that the Yankees have the best power lineup in the American League.
What did San Diego and Washington have to give up to move Juan Soto? Well, the Washington Nationals sent OF Juan Soto and 1B Josh Bell to the San Diego Padres. The San Diego Padres gave up top prospects in left-handed pitcher Mackenzie Gore, outfielder Robert Hassell III, outfielder James Wood, and rookie shortstop C.J. Abrams along with veteran designated hitter and first baseman, Luke Voit.
The name that pops out to me on the Padres’ end is former Yankees’ first baseman, Luke Voit. He was having a good power year hitting 13 home runs and driving in 48 runs. His .225 batting average leaves a lot to be desired but he accompanied that with a .317 on-base percentage. That number isn’t terrible but it’s not that much above-average either. His numbers this year put him slightly above the average hitter at 113 in OPS+.
His replacement, Josh Bell, has an OPS+ of 152 and is hitting 14 home runs this season. He’s also batting .301 so I think that even though Voit stuck out to me, the Padres actually got to upgrade at first base as well along with getting a couple of years younger at the position. Bell is 29 years old versus Luke Voit at 31 years old.
I know that if I were the Dodgers, I’d be watching my back at this point for San Diego to start surging and cutting into that double-digit division lead. Even if San Diego doesn’t win the division, they still would seem like a lock for the playoffs and that should be a scary thought for everyone in the National League, even the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers, who came into the day with the best record in baseball by percentage points over the 70-win New York Yankees.
I could see the Padres potentially being a 90–100 win team when all is said and done at season end and the scariest offense as well. This was a great move by San Diego general manager, A.J. Preller, and will keep them contending for years to come.
