Each MLB team’s season success or failure?
San Diego Padres
74-88, 4th in NL West
New general manager A.J. Preller wasted no time making an influence in San Diego. Preller came in and made a number of moves to acquire such big names as Matt Kemp, James Shields, Justin Upton and Craig Kimbrel.
It was a huge change of course for a franchise that had typically been conservative while keeping a low payroll. Many expected the Padres to hang around in contention for a Wild Card with a much-improved offense.
However, the Padres just had too many flaws to overcome. The outfield defense was terrible in spacious Petco Park, and the infield was unable to provide much at the plate. A poor start led to the firing of manager Bud Black, who generally did a good job during his nine years in San Diego.
The move to acquire Kemp backfired the most, as the 31-year-old totaled just 0.4 WAR per FanGraphs. Wil Myers hit well when he was healthy but was limited to just 60 games, while Andrew Cashner fell off from his promising 2015 campaign.
San Diego basically went all-in on 2015 and now has very little in the way of prospects. Preller has a lot of work to do this offseason if the Padres are to rebound quickly.
Failure. The offseason spending spree backfired, and now San Diego is left with a flawed roster and thin farm system.
Next: San Francisco Giants