1 move every NL West team could make that would hurt the San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres have an incredibly difficult task ahead of them this offseason. They're not only looking to improve the disappointing 82-80 record they had in 2023 which caused them to miss the playoffs, but they're trying to do this while reportedly trimming their budget.

The Padres already dumped Scott Barlow and will most likely watch both Blake Snell and Josh Hader depart in free agency. There's also a good chance the team decides to trade Juan Soto for financial purposes. Parting with your top two pitchers from 2023 as well as your best hitter makes it very tough to win, but that's what A.J. Preller is likely going to try to do.

While the Padres are in a tough spot, their competition in the NL West remains fierce. The Diamondbacks just won the NL Pennant, the Dodgers consistently win 90-plus games every year no matter what, and the Giants have tons of money to spend. Fortunately the Padres do have the Rockies who, well, are the Rockies.

The Padres offseason is tough enough for Preller to execute, and will be even tougher if his NL West rivals make these moves.

The Colorado Rockies trading away key pieces to other NL contenders would hurt the San Diego Padres

There isn't much the Colorado Rockies could do that would really hurt the Padres this offseason. Even if they signed Shohei Ohtani, they're nowhere near a playoff team. Despite that, they do have some players that could be traded that would be helpful elsewhere.

They can move a guy like Elias Diaz who was an All-Star in 2023 to a team that needs a catcher. They can move a guy like Brendan Rodgers who missed the entire season but has won a Gold Glove. They can also move a guy like Ryan McMahon who is on an extremely addordable contract, is one of the better defensive third basemen in the game, and has hit at least 20 home runs in each of the last four full seasons.

The Rockies can deal some of their better players within the division, or even to other teams in the NL vying for playoff contention. Either or would make the Padres lives much more difficult.

The San Francisco Giants signing Yoshinobu Yamamoto would hurt the San Diego Padres

The Giants are a team ready to spend big after a disappointing regular season and a disappointing 2022 offseason. The Giants were extremely close to landing Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa at separate times last offseason only to land neither. The team needs a new face of the franchise and has boatloads of money to spend.

Their top target is Shohei Ohtani, but it doesn't feel like they're among the favorites to land him. They can, however, land fellow Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

By landing Yamamoto, the Giants would have one of the best frontlines to a rotation in baseball right now with Logan Webb pitching alongside him. They can definitely use a bat, but passing on a 25-year-old ace isn't something San Francisco will likely do.

By pairing the 25-year-old Yamamoto with 27-year-old Logan Webb at the top of the rotation, the Giants aren't only set up to win with that pitching right now, but they can win for a long time. As hard as it'd be to see them land a guy like Cody Bellinger coming off such a good season, putting him in that ballpark might be more appealing than watching Yamamoto dominate in a Giants uniform for the next seven or eight years.

It feels like the Giants will land some sort of star with how aggressive it seems that they're going to be financially. Just don't let it be Yamamoto.

The Arizona Diamondbacks signing Matt Chapman would hurt the San Diego Padres

The Arizona Diamondbacks are a team that just won the NL Pennant and can get a whole lot better this offseason. They have two gigantic areas of need. One, they could use another starter to avoid having to resort to a bullpen game in key postseason games. Two, they could really use a third baseman.

Arizona third basemen ranked 29th in the majors with just 10 home runs all of last season, and tied for 26th in the majors with a 75 WRC+. Those figures, obviously, must be improved. Evan Longoria is now a free agent, and a guy like Emmanuel Rivera doesn't feel like the solution.

Arizona could put top prospect Jordan Lawlar at short and shift Geraldo Perdomo to third base, but they realistlcally should look for a big upgrade. Matt Chapman can be a frustrating player at times, but he'd be that big upgrade.

Chapman might strikeout a ton and hit for a low average, but he does two things extremely well. One, he can hit for plenty of power. The Diamondbacks were 22nd in the majors in home runs last season, so adding the 25-30 Chapman would provide would be awesome. Chapman is also an elite defender. They'd be upgrading in a major way on that side of the ball.

Chapman being the best infielder in this weak free agency class could mean Arizona is priced out, but if they do somehow land him, that'd be bad news for the Padres.