Division rival’s new-look front office will pose big problems for Padres in future

For the San Diego Padres, the team that causes them the most fits both on the field and in the marketplace is, without question, the Dodgers. Not only do the Padres and Dodgers have a rivalry on the field that has to be among the most heated in MLB right now, but LA spends so aggressively on free agents and trades that the entire player market is skewed by their actions. However, a new potential challenger could be entering the fray in the SF Giants.

The Giants made headlines under Farhan Zaidi for being bridesmaids and never the bride. Yes, they did sign Matt Chapman as well as Blake Snell last offseason, but that was only after agent Scott Boras overplayed his hand and the players found themselves in need of a late offseason deals.

For the most part, the Giants have been a team that has money to spend on stars, but unable to actually attract them to San Francisco because they never went that extra mile.

That could change quickly as the Giants fired Zaidi and brought in franchise legend Buster Posey to be their new president of baseball operations.

The Buster Posey Era could pose some real problems for the Padres going forward

Just to be clear, there is no guarantee whatsoever that Posey will succeed as an executive. While his resume as a player is unimpeachable, running a baseball team from the front office is an entirely different animal. Everything may seem shiny and new with a legend at the top of the front office in San Francisco right now, but there is still a very real chance that things could go sideways in a hurry.

That said, Posey has already demonstrated that he can get big deals done. While most expected that Matt Chapman would test free agency again, Posey got involved and Chapman signed an extension. While Posey doesn't have a ton of business experience, he does carry a lot of weight in baseball circles and is an ideal salesman for the team. Combine that with his desire to hire a GM with experience, especially on the scouting side, and you a potential recipe for success.

For the Padres, this means yet another NL West team with deep pockets will be vying for the same types of players that general manager AJ Preller likes to target. Unlike the Giants (and the Dodgers for that matter) however, the Padres do seem like they are going to have to manage their finances going forward. Assuming the Giants don't screw things up again, that could make the NL West even tougher in the coming years.

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