Catcher, left field, and the starting rotation were three areas general manager A.J. Preller said the San Diego Padres needed to address in the offseason.  The

Since we last saw them, lifeless after having reached the doorstep of advancing past the Dodgers in the postseason, the Padres have hardly stirred. They extended the contracts of their manager and almost the entirety of their coaching staff.

This offseason, the Padres lost Jurickson Profar, Ha-Seong Kim, Kyle Higashioka, Donovan Solano and David Peralta to free agency. According to FanGraphs, those five players combined in 2024 for 9.7 wins above replacement — or more than one-third of the WAR that San Diego’s offense produced.