2 excuses the San Diego Padres can't use in 2023, 1 they can use

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Let's begin by acknowledging that there really is no excusing how badly the 2023 San Diego Padres underachieved.

A club with the third-highest payroll in baseball and lofty expectations after coming within striking distance of the 2022 World Series should've been primed for an epic run this season.

Instead, disaster ensued. Fernando Tatis Jr.'s PED suspension, injuries to star players and pitchers, apparent dysfunction. But at the end of the day, this team didn't even come close to scratching the surface of its potential.

Here are two excuses the San Diego Padres can't use to blame for their 2023 misfortune and one that they can use.

1) The San Diego Padres can't use Fernando Tatis Jr.'s PED suspension as an excuse for 2023

Yes, "Nando" missed the first 20 games of this season after being suspended for PED usage. No, that's not a viable excuse for the Padres' underperformance in 2023.

Sure, Tatis Jr. is a lightning rod. And his return provided a necessary spark to what had been a lethargic San Diego squad. But all the 24-year-old has done since being reinstated is rake, which is what he normally does.

Tatis Jr. has a 116 wRC+ while being worth 4.5 fWAR, his second-highest value since debuting in 2019.

This Padres lineup was stacked before his re-emergence, and it continued to be stacked after the fact. And yet? They just haven't clicked as much as you'd expect. One player doesn't resolve all the team's issues, just as one doesn't create them on his own.

Sep 25, 2023; San Francisco, California, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Blake Snell (4) / Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

2) The San Diego Padres can't say their pitching wasn't good enough in 2023

Quite the contrary, actually. In fact, the San Diego Padres have the fourth-lowest staff ERA in baseball this season, and the second-lowest in the National League.

It hasn't been the pitching.

Granted, Blake Snell's dominance has a lot to do with this. He's having a NL Cy Young-worthy campaign in 2023. But Michael Wacha, Seth Lugo and Yu Darvish (though he hasn't delivered elite results in 2023) all did their parts by eating innings when healthy. Even Joe Musgrove, now shut down for the year, was effective when he took the mound.

In the bullpen, closer Josh Hader put together a dominant season. And though the rest of the unit didn't always make it easy to build a bridge to the closer, they still fared pretty well all things considered.

When the 2023 season officially concludes and retrospectives are had, one thing people can't say about why the San Diego Padres struggled is that their pitching didn't hold steady.

Jul 4, 2023; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Joe Musgrove (44) throws / Ray Acevedo-USA TODAY Sports

The San Diego Padres can say injuries derailed their 2023 season

Theoretically, every team can claim this, so it's not a unique excuse by any means. However, the San Diego Padres still experienced a plethora of player injuries in 2023.

Whether it's Joe Musgrove, Manny Machado, Michael Wacha, Seth Lugo, Robert Suarez or any player in between, this season hasn't been a particularly healthy one for San Diego. Missing key contributors on the field will always impact a team's performance, and the Padres are no different.

San Diego barely got to see its veteran rotation take multiple full turns together one through five this season. The lineup missed Manny Machado, a typically dependable player, when he was sidelined earlier in 2023. Bullpen setup men Steven Wilson and Robert Suarez each also missed significant time, which made the bridge to Josh Hader relatively perilous.

Are injuries the best excuse for a lost season? Admittedly not, but you can't deny their effect on the 2023 San Diego Padres either.

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2 excuses the San Diego Padres can't use in 2023, and 1 they can use

1) The San Diego Padres can't use Fernando Tatis Jr.'s PED suspension as an excuse for 2023

2) The San Diego Padres can't say their pitching wasn't good enough in 2023

The San Diego Padres can say injuries derailed their 2023 season

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