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

After signing Xander Bogaerts in the offseason, the sky truly felt like it was the limit for the San Diego Padres. They were coming off a season in which they were three wins away from a World Series berth and had, at least on paper, the best roster in the NL West. The season ended with no playoffs and a whole bunch of questions about the future.

While A.J. Preller and Co. have done mostly good things for the Padres, it's abundantly clear that this roster simply wasn't good enough. They had the starpower, but the surrounding pieces lacked for much of the season.

Here are four moves that hurt the Padres chances to make it back to the postseason in 2023.

1) The Matt Carpenter/Nelson Cruz DH platoon failed miserably

It's hard to envision a worse outcome than what San Diego got out of their veteran DH platoon that had Matt Carpenter and Nelson Cruz in it. Both came in as established veterans who were looking to play big roles on championship teams, but neither came close to fitting what the Padres actually needed.

Cruz began the year as the team's DH against left-handed pitching but was so unproductive, to the point where the team cut bait with him in July. He had just a .682 OPS in 143 at-bats. Cruz struggling in his age-43 season wasn't a huge shocker as he had a down year the season prior in Washington and only signed a deal worth $1 million. If the Padres or other teams around the league thought he still had something left, he would've signed on for more.

On the flip side, Matt Carpenter was expected to be a real force for San Diego. He was coming off a season that revived his career in 2022 with the Yankees and inked a two-year deal to come to Southern California. Carpenter was one of a few Padres that actually hit in April, but he had a .539 OPS from May 1 until the end of the season, and only had 46 plate appearances in the second half despite being healthy most of the time.

Padres designated hitters had a 92 WRC+ this season, which was in the bottom 10 of the majors. Carpenter and Cruz's ineptitude offensively was a huge reason why this team struggled to score runs early this season.

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.

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.