AJ Preller's genius offseason move saved Padres from spending more at trade deadline

Was Gavin Sheets the sneakiest signing of the offseason, especially for the Padres? While Nick Pivetta's last-second deal has proven to be worthwhile for San Diego, it was somewhat expected of him to pitch well.

As for Gavin Sheets, did anyone really see this coming? Signed to a minor league deal this winter, the 29-year-old was a surprise addition to the Opening Day roster. But ever since Opening Day, Sheets has been nothing short of spectacular for a now-struggling San Diego offense.

This past week, the Friars couldn't hit anything, with the exception of Sheets going 6-for-his-last-17 with four home runs. Finally, though, on Sunday, Sheets' offensive output sparked the rest of the team to produce, leading the Padres to a 5-3 win over the Atlanta Braves to win the series.

In the top of the sixth inning trailing 3-1, Sheets powered a game-tying two-run home run on an 0-2 count, marking his 10th home run of the season. That catalyzed a huge rally for the Friars, which saw Jake Cronenworth and Manny Machado each blast a sole home run in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively.

Padres President of Baseball Operations AJ Preller gets an easy A+ for inking Sheets to the Padres. His 10 homers are second on the team, trailing only superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. Sheets' career-high in home runs across a single season is 15, which he did back in 2022. He's gone deep 10 times in each of the last two seasons, and yet somehow, Sheets has already matched that total just 48 games into his Padres career.

Batting .283 with a career-high .843 OPS, the most RBIs he's ever driven in is 53. Sheets is already at 31 this season. So where did this version of Gavin Sheets come from? He's clearly unlocked his full potential with a new organization, and he seems to be happy doing it. We tip our hat to Preller for a job well done on getting Sheets, and now the front office can shift their focus somewhere else come time for the trade deadline.