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After a quiet offseason, third baseman Manny Machado is “disappointed” by the San Diego Padres' lack of moves. The Padres have lost several important players from last season, including All-Star Jurickson Profar, relief pitcher Tanner Scott, and infielder Ha-Seong Kim. Despite these departures, the front office hasn't made any major signings to replace them.
Discussing the Padres' offseason with reporters on February 1st, Machado noted that while he can't control what the team does in free agency, he will miss his former teammates who signed elsewhere.
“At the end of the day, we got to look at the guys we have in here. Are we disappointed we haven't made any moves? Yeah,” Machado told reporters. “As a team, you kind of look up there, and you're a little disappointed that we let some of the guys that were (in) the core group here go elsewhere. At the end of the day, we can't control that.”
San Diego won 93 games last season and came close to eliminating the Dodgers in the NLDS. With high expectations, there is growing tension about whether the team can mirror the same performance without adding more talent.
One of the biggest offseason storylines was the Padres' pursuit of Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki. The 23-year-old ultimately chose to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers, a decision Machado believes was predetermined.
“I think he had his mind set already on where he was going,” Machado told reporters.
Some have speculated that the Padres' ongoing ownership dispute may have affected their ability to land Sasaki, but Machado doesn't think that was a factor. He believes Sasaki made his choice for other reasons.
The team's ownership situation has made things even more complicated. Financial limitations have kept the Padres from making big moves, which is contrary to previous offseasons when GM A.J. Preller was aggressive in upgrading the roster.
Despite this, Preller reassured fans at the team's annual Fan Fest that they are still working to improve the roster before Opening Day. He stressed that their goal is to build a team capable of winning a championship.
With spring training getting closer, the free agent market is shrinking. Some pitchers, like Jack Flaherty, are still available, and hitters such as Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman remain unsigned. But with Manny Machado at third base, the Padres's best chance at improvement might be focusing on adding more starting pitching.