Much has been made of how the San Diego Padres trimmed their payroll ahead of the 2024 season. There were already whispers that the Padres could reduce a bit going back to last year if they didn't make a deep playoff run (they obviously didn't), but the trade of Juan Soto still came as a shock to Padres fans who had grown accustomed to "going for it" the last few years.
However, the biggest blow came in tragic fashion last November when Padres owner Peter Seidler passed away. Seidler was such a driving force in San Diego's push to field a contender and spent whatever it took to make that happen.
Once he passed away, the sentiment that the Padres would change course got a whole lot louder, and that is exactly what happened.
Baseball mega-agent and everyone's favorite villain Scott Boras seemed to confirm as much recently when he said that Seidler would have never traded Soto if he was still alive.
Scott Boras' comments on Soto trade will have Padres wondering what might have been
Sadly for Padres fans, Seidler's death came at a uniquely bad time for the franchise. The Padres were coming off a down year and it was going to take a lot of personal risk for an owner to look at San Diego's 2023 season and continue down that same path. Seidler had that drive in him, but his successors (somewhat understandably) don't seem to quite share that. It is a little different when it is your money at stake.
Instead, the Padres had to watch Soto return to San Diego wearing a Yankees uniform. He is currently among the favorites to win AL MVP this year and will almost certainly sign one of the biggest deals in baseball history next offseason when Soto hits free agency.
Given that the Padres have managed to hang around this season despite losing Soto and other star level players last offseason, one cannot help but wonder what they could have done had Seidler been alive today.