Fansided

10 storylines entering Spring Training

By Jeff Weisinger

Feb 19, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; Detailed view of an official MLB baseball on the field during San Francisco Giants spring training workouts at Scottsdale Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 19, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; Detailed view of an official MLB baseball on the field during San Francisco Giants spring training workouts at Scottsdale Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 27, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Eric Stults (53) throws against the San Francisco Giants in the first inning of their MLB baseball game at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 27, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Eric Stults (53) throws against the San Francisco Giants in the first inning of their MLB baseball game at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports /

Padres Getting Serious

The last time the Padres made the playoffs, the Playstation 2 was still the console of choice and MLB The Show became the baseball game of choice for the country.  Baggy jeans were still kind of in and George W. Bush was still in office.  Doesn’t 2006 feel like so long ago now?

However, for the first time since then, the San Diego Padres seem like a team that is set to contend not just for the NL wild card, but possibly for their NL West pennant since winning back-to-back pennants in 2005-06.

The Padres were snubbed by top free-agent targets Pablo Sandoval and Yasmany Tomas making many around the organization feel that “here we go again” feeling.  Twelve of the 25 players on the Padres 2014 Opening Day roster are no longer with the team as well, giving the 2015 version a brand new look.

General manager A.J. Preller threw out Plans A and B and dove into the rest of the alphabet.  He acquired star-outfielder Matt Kemp from the Dodgers, Justin Upton from Atlanta and former Rays top-prospect Wil Myers, all of whom completely overhaul the outfield and add a lot to a lineup that was the worse hitting lineup in all of baseball in 2014.

Then there’s the recent big news of San Diego signing Southern California native James Shields to a four-year, $75 million deal on Monday.  Shields adds a sense of durability to the Padres lineup as he arrives pitching over 200 innings for eight-straight seasons.  Shields improves and already fairly solid rotation that also includes Ian Kennedy, Andrew Cashner and Tyson Ross.  The Padres finished fourth in team ERA (3.27) and seventh in batting-average-allowed (.241).

San Diego’s overhaul improved their odds of winning the NL pennant to 8/1 and are 16/1 to win the World Series, according to bovada.lv.  To put the Padres hype in perspective, they have better odds to win it all over the defending champion San Francisco Giants.

It’ll definitely be worth seeing how all of these acquisitions pay off for the Padres, especially after teams like the 2013 Blue Jays and the 2012 Marlins made similar moves, only to see it all flop during the season.

Next: Royal repeat?

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