Juan Soto has come and gone, and the San Diego Padres don't seem to have changed much.
The Padres were 12 games over .500 in August 2022 when they acquired Soto in a blockbuster deal with the Washington Nationals. They finished that year a distant second to the Dodgers in the NL West, but then they beat Los Angeles in the playoffs and made the NL Championship Series.
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Then last year, San Diego finished a disappointing 82-80 despite plenty of production from Soto. The Padres traded him to the Yankees in the offseason, and although it's been a big loss — Soto has played brilliantly in New York — San Diego is in pretty much the same spot. The Padres are 52-50 after Sunday's win over Cleveland.
San Diego did finish with a run differential of plus-104 last year, and this season's team isn't on pace to end up anywhere close to that, but it's still remarkable how the arrival and departure of an MVP-caliber player didn't turn the Padres into a juggernaut and didn't leave them out of contention.
In the 2022 trade, San Diego sent first baseman Luke Voit, left-hander MacKenzie Gore, shortstop C.J. Abrams, right-hander Jarlin Susana and outfielders Robert Hassell III and James Wood to Washington. The Padres received Soto and first baseman Josh Bell.
Gore has been a rotation mainstay for the Nationals, if a pretty average one, and Abrams has become an All-Star. Together, they've been worth more wins above replacement for Washington than Soto was in his season-plus with the Padres, according to Baseball Reference. And Wood recently arrived in the majors as one of the game's top prospects.
Last offseason, San Diego dealt Soto and outfielder Trent Grisham to the Yankees for catcher Kyle Higashioka and right-handers Michael King, Randy Vásquez, Jhony Brito and Drew Thorpe. King, Vásquez and Higashioka have all contributed for the Padres this season, and Thorpe was a key prospect in the trade that brought Dylan Cease to San Diego in March.
In both cases, the team dealing Soto made out decently despite trading away a player who is close to a sure thing with the bat.
TRIVIA TIME
The Padres' push toward the playoffs this year may depend on the successful return of outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr., who hasn’t played in a month because of right leg problems. He’s been able to swing a bat and play catch recently.
Which pitcher did San Diego give up when the Padres acquired Tatis from the Chicago White Sox in 2016?
LINE OF THE WEEK
Cease struck out 10 in seven one-hit innings Saturday night in San Diego's 7-0 win over Cleveland. The Padres took two of three against the AL Central-leading Guardians.
COMEBACK OF THE WEEK
Oakland had a 95% win probability in the bottom of the seventh inning Sunday according to Baseball Savant. The Athletics led 5-2 and had the bases loaded, but the Los Angeles Angels prevented any further Oakland scoring and then tallied five runs in the top of the eighth. The Angels ended up winning 8-5.
The A's are having a better season than last year, but escaping last place might still be too much to ask. They trail the Angels by four games at the bottom of the AL West, although Oakland does have the better run differential.
TRIVIA ANSWER
The Padres traded James Shields to the White Sox. Tatis was 17 at the time.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb