Kiké Hernandez's return to the Dodgers should be another wake up call for Padres

The Los Angeles Dodgers have made yet another signing, and this time they did something the San Diego Padres were unable to do themselves, bring back a clubhouse and fan favorite. Kiké Hernandez has reportedly signed a one-year deal to remain in Los Angeles for the 2025 season, securing the Dodgers a player that, although may not put up earth shattering numbers, is a very positive signing for a team looking to defend their World Series ring.

Hernandez's reported one-year deal should be a major wake up call for the Padres front office. The departures of fan favorites Ha-Seong Kim and Jurickson Profar have some fans already worried for the upcoming season, while other notable free agent departures including Kyle Higashioka and Tanner Scott have left the Padres with an objectively weaker roster. The Dodgers on the other hand have had a downright dominant offseason, adding to a winning culture that the Padres must try to emulate if they want any chance at taking control of the division.

Padres must learn from Dodgers winning culture

The San Diego Padres have made just three major league signings since the offseason began. Elias Diaz, Connor Joe, and 35-year-old Jason Heyward have all been brought in to replace the departed Higashioka and Profar. The Joe and Heward signings, although somewhat welcomed by Padres fans as temporary relief to a painful last few months, are an unfortunate reminder that the team is simply not at the Dodgers level. Switching out a 3.6 WAR player in Profar who just had the best season of his career with two players whose combined WAR is less than half of that, and you can see why MLB.com has the Padres missing the playoffs in 2025.

Completely missing the playoffs may be a stretch for the Padres, but repeating the success found in 2024 may be a stretch as well. After spending months trying to convince Roki Sasaki that San Diego is the place to be but ultimately losing out, and watching former Padres Blake Snell, Kirby Yates, and Scott all join the Dodgers, a major move should have been in the books for San Diego. Instead, Padres fans got multiple minor league signings and no big name moves. The fire felt in 2024 that pushed the Padres to their third playoff berth in five years seems to have been basically extinguished.

Granted, the Dodgers do not have the ownership issues the Padres are currently going through, and the unavoidable influence that is brought by Shohei Ohtani surely influenced Sasaki in his decision, but it's time for the Padres to move away from the excuses that have been plaguing the offseason. With a roster that is as full of superstars as San Diego's and a past five years that have brought relative success, the team's inability to bring back key pieces like Profar reveals a culture that has an inability to sustain winning ways.

If AJ Preller wants to be the guy that finally brings San Diego its first ever major championship, he needs to do one thing: stop acting like a San Diego sports executive. Yes, Preller has been the most important aspect of the team since he arrived in 2014, pushing the Padres into the spotlight with colossal contracts and wildly successful trades, but he needs to keep going. Coming off their most successful season since 1998 and actually challenging for the division, now is not the time to take a step back. Where past general managers and owners would have seen 2024 as a successful year for the Padres, Preller needs to see it as a jumping off point. Whether it is one more big name signing or trade, the Padres need to start acting like a dominant team in order to become one.