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3 players the San Diego Padres wish they signed last offseason, 1 they are glad they didn't

Every offseason, the San Diego Padres have the chance to strengthen their roster. Here are some options they missed out on, and one bypassed player that was the right decision.

By Zachary Rotman

Los Angeles Dodgers v Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Dodgers v Colorado Rockies / Justin Edmonds/GettyImages
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The San Diego Padres had another huge offseason, inking a slew of players on contracts to try and help them make the jump from the team that lost in the NLCS to a World Series favorite.

Unfortunately, things have gone just about as poorly as you could've possibly imagined for this team. Sitting at 43-47 at the All-Star break, the Padres are on the outside looking in when it comes to the postseason picture.

Some of the signings the Padres made like Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha have helped San Diego stay somewhat afloat while others like Matt Carpenter and Nelson Cruz are part of the reason they're in this mess. With the Padres struggling, it gives us a good excuse to look back at some players we wish A.J. Preller would've signed, while also acknowledging another that could've made things even worse.

1) The San Diego Padres wish they signed J.D. Martinez

It's safe to say the Matt Carpenter/Nelson Cruz DH platoon did not work the way San Diego imagined it would. Two veterans with long track records of success felt like a fine idea to give the Padres decent production at the DH spot, but it's been an utter disaster.

Cruz was awful to the point where he was designated for assignment by San Diego, and it feels like Carpenter could be next with the Padres desperately needing to upgrade the DH spot. Padres DHs have a WRC+ of 80 which is 29th in baseball, only ahead of the Brewers.

Let's say the Padres chose to not go after the DH platoon and instead steal J.D. Martinez away from the Dodgers. Los Angeles got Martinez on a deal that's turned out to be a bargain of one year for $10 million. One of the best DHs of the last decade got such a cheap deal because he was coming off a down year in Boston, but he's bounced back in a huge way for the Dodgers.

Martinez is slashing .255/.303/.570 with 22 home runs and 62 RBI. He'd comfortably lead the Padres in both home runs and RBI while trailing just Juan Soto in OPS. For a Padres team that has been starved for offense much of the season, that would've helped.

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