3 areas where the San Diego Padres fell way short in 2023

San Diego Padres area to fix in 2023: First base

All of the combinations at first base resulted in a minus-1.5 bWAR for San Diego in 2023, tying them for 20th among all MLB teams.

Much of that disappointment at the position last season came from a Jake Cronenworth down year (producing a career-low 92 OPS+ as well as just 1.0 bWAR after totaling 4.1 and 4.8 bWAR the previous two years, respectively). However, Cronenworth was just one person holding down the spot in 2023. Garrett Cooper, acquired in a trade with the Miami Marlins, was the only other Padre to have more than 100 plate appearances at the position. After that, it was a hodge-podge of characters, ranging from Matt Carpenter to Ji Man Choi to Jurickson Profar.

San Diego obviously hopes that Cronenworth will have a bounceback year in 2024, and re-signing Cooper in the offseason could certainly be worth it for the Padres. If Cronenworth can return to form and Cooper can fill in when needed at the position, things will likely look much brighter at first base next season.