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

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For the San Diego Padres, the writing on the wall on how to improve for 2024 is pretty clear.

At least it's pretty clear if you look at Baseball-Reference's WAR statistics for every team last season and see exactly where the San Diego Padres fell short of their goals in 2024.

Here, we'll look at three areas that should be a focus for the Padres this offseason as they look to strengthen some of their weaknesses from 2023. We'll use last year's combined bWAR numbers as a guide.

San Diego Padres area to fix in 2023: The bullpen

Certainly it seems like there will be a rebuild in the back end with Josh Hader very likely not returning in 2024. Whoever slides into the closer's role in Hader's place will be one of the decisions that Bob Melvin and crew will likely face in spring training.

However, there will need to be more moves than that this offseason for the Padres when it comes to the bullpen. Last year, San Diego's bullpen finished with a collective minus-2.8 bWAR, placing the Padres 22nd in that category out of MLB's 30 teams.

With the Padres finishing 9-23 in one-run games in 2023, a focus has to be on the bullpen in the offseason. Certainly the offense could have done its part to lower that number, but San Diego's relievers also have to be able to give the offense a chance to have a comeback without the other team continuing to put up runs. Look for some new relief arms coming to San Diego in 2024.

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.

San Diego Padres area to fix in 2023: Designated hitter

It has been well documented that the Matt Carpenter and Nelson Cruz experiment blew up in a horrific way last season for the Friars. However, while those two got the majority of plate appearances as a designated hitter last season, don't forget that Manny Machado was penciled in at DH at the end of the season as he battled through an arm injury. He could also start the season there depending on his recovery timeline from recent surgery.

Carpenter, Cruz and Machado each finished the season with more than 100 plate appearances as the San Diego designated hitter, and they were the leaders at a position that produced a combined minus -1.0 bWAR. That tied for 17th among all MLB teams.

Machado may be the answer at designated hitter to start the season, but the Padres will be ready to install him back at the hot corner when he is fully healthy. That leaves an opening in the lineup that will need to be targeted this offseason, and find better answers than what A.J. Preller and crew brought to the table last year.

Boosting the offense and the bullpen should be points of emphasis for the San Diego Padres this offseason. Expect the rumors to be flying as Preller not only tries to build a roster that can compete for a World Series title, but also stays in line with cost considerations.

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