The San Diego Padres were expected to be a serious World Series title contender before the 2023 MLB season. But it's hard to tell that was the case based on where Fernando Tatis Jr. and company are at the moment — second to last in the National League West division.

Their frustration grew bigger Sunday following an 8-3 loss at home in the series finale against the Washington Nationals. With that defeat, the Padres dropped to 37-41 on the year and have now suffered a loss in five of their last seven games.

Padres manager Bob Melvin was pretty blunt when he spoke about the state of San Diego following the loss to the Nationals, per Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune.

“We never expected to be where we (are) record-wise at this point,” Padres manager Bob Melvin said. “But it is what it is, and it basically tells you who you are.”

The trio of Manny Machado, Juan Soto, and Xander Bogaerts went just 3-for-13 with five strikeouts. Tatis was just 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.

Despite a collection of high-profile and expensive assets on offense, the Padres are just 25th in the big leagues as of Sunday with a .232 batting average to go with a .322 on-base percentage and .398 slugging percentage. It's hard to accept for Padres fans that their team is coming up with just relatively paltry and inconsistent production at the plate, considering the star-laden roster.

Nevertheless, it's not yet too late for San Diego to turn things around. Coming up next for the Padres is a series against the Pittsburgh Pirates that begins on Tuesday.