San Diego Padres scapegoats: 1 to fire, 1 to put on hot seat, 1 to be patient with

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The San Diego Padres have been arguably the most disappointing team in all of Major League Baseball, sitting in fourth place in the NL West with a record of 25-29. Only the Nationals, Cardinals, Cubs, and Rockies have worse records in the National League. Fans are starting to lose patience, and rightfully so.

San Diego went from a team that was just three wins away from an NL pennant to one of the worst teams in the National League. While we do expect the Padres to eventually start winning games consistently, it's fair to question whether this team will even squeak their way back to the postseason.

Obviously if this team doesn't even make it to the postseason moves will be made, but it's possible things will happen before then if the Padres keep slipping. There's one move they really should make, one they should start to think about, and another they should stay away from.

San Diego Padres hitting coaches Oscar Bernard and Scott Coolbaugh should be fired

The Padres are one of the rare teams that doesn't have an established hitting coach. They have Oscar Bernard and Scott Coolbaugh splitting duties in that role, both with titles of assistant hitting coach.

The Padres offense has been, to put it bluntly, dreadful. It's a group that was above-average in 2022 and should be elite in 2023, but has been among the league's worst two months into the season.

The Padres, a team with Fernando Tatis Jr., Juan Soto, Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts and Jake Cronenworth all in the same lineup, ranks tied for 25th in runs scored. They're lower than teams like the Royals and Nationals, just to name a few.

The Padres are 12th in home runs so they can hit the ball out of the yard, but are dead last in hits and are tied for last with the lowly Athletics in batting average. How that's even possible is beyond me.

I have no idea what these hitting coaches do or how much blame they actually deserve, but the only Padres player holding up his end of the bargain is Juan Soto, and even he was bad in April. Virtually every other player in the Padres lineup full of stars is underperforming, and someone has to take the fall for that. It can't just be a coincidence.

San Diego Padres manager Bob Melvin should be on the hot seat

It's not all Melvin's fault, but again, this is how this game works. When your team that made the NLCS last season and added Fernando Tatis Jr. and Xander Bogaerts to the offense while also having Juan Soto and Josh Hader for the full season, the team is expected to at least compete for a World Series.

World Series or bust aspirations are always hard to reach, but this team has the talent to get back to October and has played poorly all year long.

The Padres have either split or lost series against subpar teams like the Rockies, Cubs, and Royals while winning just once in six meetings against the division rival Dodgers. They're not winning the games they're supposed to win, and aren't winning games against their biggest rival.

Last season, it was easy to see the impact Bob Melvin played. He outmanaged Dave Roberts in the Padres NLDS victory over the 111-win Dodgers, but it's been harder to see his impact this season.

The Padres have dealt with their share of injuries and underperforming players, but the bottom line is this team should not be under .500, let alone five games under at the end of May while being one of the worst teams in the National League.

It might not be fair, but Melvin deserves some blame for this slow start, and if they don't pick it up, it wouldn't be surprising to see him go.

A.J. Preller, San Diego Padres / Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

San Diego Padres fans need to be patient with General Manager A.J. Preller

A.J. Preller has not been perfect, but anyone who says he hasn't put together a playoff roster would be lying to themselves.

The Padres made the postseason and went all the way to the NLCS last season. Most of that roster is back, while he added Fernando Tatis Jr. and Xander Bogaerts to the offense while also having Juan Soto and Josh Hader for the full season. The Padres even signed guys like Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo who have been among the team's best starting pitchers.

This team is underperforming expectations in a massive way, and something has to change, but Preller is not to be blamed for this. He has a better roster on paper than the team that was three wins away from a Pennant, yet they're nowhere near a postseason spot right now.

It's not his fault that virtually every player on this team has underperformed relative to what we can see on the backs of their baseball cards. If any of you had a crystal ball and told me Manny Machado would have a .654 OPS through May, I would've called you crazy. There was nothing that signalled this kind of start, and nothing that would've convinced me he'd be close to this bad. The same can be said about almost every Padres regular.

The Padres have a star-studded roster that hasn't performed. It's on the stars to perform, and on the coaches to get the most out of these players. Preller put together one of the best rosters in baseball. He'll continue to add to it, just like he did with the Gary Sanchez signing. What he can't do is predict these talented players to randomly fall off cliffs, which is what's been happening so far in 2023.

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San Diego Padres scapegoats: 1 to fire, 1 to put on the hot seat, 1 to be patient with

San Diego Padres hitting coaches Oscar Bernard and Scott Coolbaugh should be fired

San Diego Padres manager Bob Melvin should be on the hot seat

San Diego Padres fans need to be patient with General Manager A.J. Preller

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