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Things have not gone according to plan for the San Diego Padres in 2023. With a high payroll, a roster loaded with stars and they are buried in fourth place in the National League West and slipping in the NL Wild Card race.
The good news, if there is any, is they still have six games before the All-Star Break, then the unofficial second half of the season and two and half months to make up some ground. It won't be easy, but it's not impossible.
It is easy for Padres fans to waive the white flag on the season and look ahead to 2024. This team has not shown anything to tell us that they will make a run. Again, it's not impossible. With that said, here are two reasons why Padres fans should give up on the 2023 season and one reason why they shouldn't.
San Diego Padres lack of lineup depth is a reason to give up on 2023
The Padres lineup has been top-heavy most of the season and they are not getting the depth they thought they were when they signed Matt Carpenter and Nelson Cruz last winter. Carpenter and Cruz have struggled most of the season.
Carpenter is someone who played a big role in the 2022 New York Yankees' early season success before an injury cost him a lot of the second half of the season. When he was in the lineup for the Yankees, he was productive and took advantage of the short porch of Yankee Stadium. Last season in 47 games in the Bronx, he slashed .305/.412./.727 with 15 home runs and 37 RBI. This season, he is slashing .180/.310/.327 with four homers and 27 RBI. Not what GM A.J. Preller was hoping for when he signed him. San Diego is hoping he can turn things around.
I get taking a chance on signing Cruz, despite him being 43 years old. With the DH now in the NL, he has always been a right-handed bat with pop in all of the stops during his career. It just hasn't been there this season as he's slashing .248/.267/.404 and right now, believe it or not, Gary Sanchez is someone who should be getting those DH at-bats from the right side of the plate.