4 horrible moves that doomed the San Diego Padres from making the playoffs in 2023

2) Letting Brandon Drury walk for the contract he got was a foolish decision

Brandon Drury did struggle after the Padres acquired him from the Reds at the deadline last season. He was brought in to provide another big bat for the middle of the order, but had just a .724 OPS with the team after putting up an All-Star caliber first half in Cincinnati. I get the team not wanting to bring him back partially due to his struggles, but the deal he signed to go to the Angels was for two years and just $17 million.

I know Drury wanted to be an Angel as that was the team he grew up for, but you'd think if San Diego offered more money or added on a third year for the 31-year-old Drury, they might've been able to snag him at a very reasonable price. Drury was back in All-Star form for the Angels in 2023 as he put up an .803 OPS this season.

Drury would've provided the Padres some much-needed depth and versatility in the infield. He could've played third base when Manny Machado was out, could've played first base when Jake Cronenworth was out, and could've DH'd when everyone was healthy.

Drury signed for just $5 million more than Matt Carpenter who is six years older and hadn't been good in a full season in a half decade. It didn't look great to let him go for so cheap at the time, and looks even worse after the season is over.

3) The Rich Hill+Ji Man Choi trade hurt the Padres more than it helped

The big move the Padres made at the trade deadline was the deal that netted them Rich Hill and Ji Man Choi from the Pirates. The fact that this was the big move Preller made was disappointing as the Padres were nowhere near a postseason spot at the time of the deadline, so him being more aggressive of a buyer or selling some expiring contracts felt like the rational thing to do. This deal felt like a lame attempt at showing the fan base you were buying, but not really.

At 43 years old, Rich Hill had a 4.76 ERA in 22 starts with the Pirates this season. Expecting him to join his 13th team and somehow catch lightning in a bottle didn't make much sense, and he only made the team worse. The southpaw struggled mightily in five starts before being moved to the bullpen to finish the year. He pitched decently well out of the 'pen to lower his Padres ERA to 8.23. Nope, not a typo.

The Padres went just 2-8 in games he appeared in, and missed the playoffs by two games. Obviously the losses weren't only on him, but it's not unreasonable to claim that this team might've squeaked into the playoffs even if they stood pat instead of acquiring Rich Hill.

Ji Man Choi is a bit harder to blame, simply because he missed most of the stretch run due to injury. While that's certainly not ideal, he had just two hits in 31 at-bats with the Friars. Both of those hits came on the second-to-last day of the season after the team was eliminated. He was hitless in 24 at-bats while they were alive.

To sum up, Choi was worth -0.3 fWAR. Hill was worth -0.4 fWAR. You can realistically say these two hurt more than they helped, which is unfortunate considering how likable they are as players.

4) Austin Nola as the starting catcher never clicked from day one

Austin Nola beginning the year as the Padres number one catcher wasn't quite as indefensible as some of the other decisions the front office made, but sticking with him as long as they did wasn't ideal.

Nola was never the best hitter but was a solid defender behind the dish. This season, he provided nothing. First, as a hitter, he was brutal. He slashed .146/.260/.192 with one home run and eight RBI in 154 plate appearances. A .452 OPS is simply unacceptable for a guy who was the team's primary catcher for the first two months of the season.

His defense wasn't much better, unfortunately. He was in the 31st percentile in pitch framing according to Baseball Savant, costing his team three runs. He also threw out just 17% of would-be base stealers. Not great.

The Padres added Gary Sanchez later in the year and he was a major upgrade. Even Luis Campusano turned it on at the end of the season and looked like the top prospect Padres fans had been waiting for. Pretty much anyone the Padres threw behind the dish was an upgrade over Austin Nola, and that's a problem when he was the starter for one-third of the season.