4 no-brainer San Diego Padres roster decisions to make this offseason

Going into the 2024 season, there are a lot of decisions that are going to have to be made by the San Diego Padres front office. From the manager to the roster, there are going to be tough decisions for GM A.J. Preller and the front office to make as to what they look like when spring training begins in February.

Here are four “no-brainer’’ decisions for the Padres front office to make.

1) It’s a no-brainer for the San Diego Padres to keep Juan Soto

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that the Padres are undecided on whether or not to trade outfielder Juan Soto or keep him with a year remaining on his contract. I get it, they could probably use him as a centerpiece for a trade that might get a starting pitcher back, but keeping him and running it back for 2024 is the decision to make.

There have been multiple factors this season as to why the season has gone the way it has for San Diego, but Soto is not one of them. The 24-year-old is slashing .284/.421/.523 with 33 home runs and 105 RBI. He is one home run short and five RBI short of tying the career-high he set with the Washington Nationals in their 2019 World Series championship season.

He is a big piece of the puzzle for the Friars moving forward and now is not the time to worry about his contract beyond next season. If the Padres are as serious as CEO Erik Greupner said they were last week that they will put a team on the field that they believe can win a World Series, Soto needs to be part of that.