4 biggest questions for San Diego Padres this offseason

Now that free agency is open, we take a look at the 4 biggest questions facing the San Diego Padres entering this offseason.

The San Diego Padres enter maybe the biggest offseason in the history of this franchise going into an all-important 2020 season.

With the rebuild complete, the pieces should be in place for this team to start competing for a spot in the postseason.

And with general manager A.J. Preller being in the last year of his deal, and him putting the fate of his future in the hands of a first-time MLB manager in Jayce Tingler, I’d say the stakes are high for 2020.

How Preller and the front office decide to play things this offseason will go a long way in determining the future of this franchise.

Can they turn things around and create a positive vibe for Padres fans to get excited about? Or do they have another disappointing season where they’re out of contention before the calendar turns to September?

In my opinion, they can’t afford the latter. This fanbase has gone through way too much already and can’t take another season of futility.

There has to be a major level of improvement in 2020, and to do that, the Padres need to have a big offseason.

And that doesn’t just mean going out and spending ‘stupid money’ as the Philadelphia Phillies did last offseason, but I expect Preller to be very active trying to put together a team capable of winning in 2020.

With that, here are the four biggest questions the Padres face entering this offseason. Questions that must be answered before Opening Day.

How will they cut money? Or will they increase payroll?

As we talked about already on here, the Padres current 2020 payroll is already well over what they normally spend.

So the front office has a decision to make, is it time to spend big and dramatically increase the payroll? Or do they need to find ways to cut money?

My personal opinion is that they’ll do a little bit of both.

It sounds like the Padres are willing to increase the payroll some this season, but I still wouldn’t expect the final payroll figure at the end of 2020 to be over $120 million.

That means that if Preller is going to add this offseason, he’s going to have to first get creative in finding ways to cut money.

That means possibly trading guys like Wil Myers, Hunter Renfroe, Austin Hedges, and maybe even Kirby Yates.

Those four alone are set to make around $35 million in 2020.

Of course, they aren’t going to find anyone to take on all of that Wil Myers’ contract, but even if they can get someone to take on half of it that would be a huge help.

So maybe before the Padres can even add this offseason, they may have to subtract.

Who plays in the outfield?

The infield and catcher positions appear to be pretty settled, but we have absolutely no idea what is going to happen in the outfield in 2020.

There are plenty of candidates, but not many great ones.

Looking at the Padres’ depth chart right now, they have Wil Myers in left field, Manuel Margot in center, and Hunter Renfroe in right.

Those three all hit .239 or less last season, and Renfroe was the only one to top 20 home runs with 33.

Also on the 40-man roster are Franchy Cordero, Nick Martini, Josh Naylor, and Edward Olivares.

Cordero has shown flashes at times at the big league level but has really struggled with injuries.

He only played in 9 games with the Padres in 2019 and hit a solid .333 before getting injured. And then he never made it through his rehab stint playing in only 15 Minor League games and hitting just .203.

Naylor was pretty solid for the Padres in 2019 hitting .249 with 8 home runs in 253 at-bats, but a .315 OBP and .719 OPS are concerning.

Still, his numbers in the minors are much more promising, and he’s been tearing it up this winter in the Dominican Winter League.

Martini is no spring chicken and will likely just be minor league depth.

And Olivares hit a solid .283 with 18 home runs at Double-A last year, but I don’t think he’s an option for the Padres outfield in 2020.

If I had to guess, the Padres look to move both Renfroe and Myers this offseason.

They’ll start 2020 with Margot and Cordero in the outfield along with an offseason acquisition.

Can they get a frontline starter?

There is no doubt that the biggest question facing the Padres this offseason is whether or not they can add a frontline starter to an up-and-coming but talented starting rotation.

Chris Paddack, Garrett Richards, Dinelson Lamet, Joey Lucchesi, Eric Lauer, and Cal Quantrill already give the Padres a very strong foundation for the starting rotation going into 2020.

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But they need someone atop the rotation to lead them and there are some great names available this offseason.

Of course, the biggest names available are Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg.

You can just about go ahead and count out Cole who could demand over $250 million.

But the hype train for Stephen Strasburg is in full swing, especially after the front office hinted towards going after him.

According to MLB Trade Rumors, it could take $180 million for the Padres to bring the San Diego native home.

Over six years that comes to around $30 million a year.

They’re already paying Manny Machado $32 million a year, so it’s hard to see half of the payroll going to two players.

But having the World Series MVP would certainly make the Padres contenders in 2020.

Outside of Strasburg, pitchers like Zack Wheeler, Madison Bumgarner, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Dallas Keuchel, and Cole Hamels certainly fit the mold of a veteran starter to lead a young rotation.

Getting at least one of these guys would legitimize the Padres going into 2020, and I certainly think it will be the biggest question that needs answering this offseason.