With arguably the most generic and bland uniforms in the game, consistently low crowds, the lack of a big name star, and their last playoff berth being in 2006, the San Diego Padres have been wallowing in anonymity and under the huge shadows of the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. But with the announcement that left fielder Justin Upton had been acquired in a trade with the Atlanta Braves, the Padres have made yet another bold statement about becoming not just relevant but a top shelf NL contender.
The Trade
Justin Upton arrives in San Diego with right hander Aaron Northcraft in exchange for minor league left hander Max Fried, infielders Dustin Peterson and Jace Peterson, outfielder Mallex Smith, and international bonus compensation. It was the latest in a whirlwind bevvy of moves by first year general manager AJ Peller, who has obviously been given the green light by the Padre ownership group to remake the team into an instant contender.
Upton will be in the final year of his $14.5 million contract as one of the top power hitters in the game, Last year he had 29 home runs and 102 runs batted in as about the only offense that the Braves could generate. With little “protection” in the lineup, Upton was fortunate to put up such numbers as teams would more often than not pitch around him. That will not be the case now as Myers and Kemp make for a bullet proof lineup that enemy pitchers will be forced to deal with honestly.
At age 27 most observers believe that Upton still has plenty of upside and potential for growth. Upton has averaged 21 home runs per season for his career and has recent home run totals of 31 in 2011, 17 in 2012, 27 in 2013 and 29 last year which was also the first season in which he hit the 100 RBI mark with 102.
“Stacked” Outfield Built out of Trades
The Padres now boast an outfield of Matt Kemp, the LA Dodgers star that was acquired earlier in December in a trade, along with 2013 American League Rookie of the Year Wil Meyers, who arrived from Tampa Bay to complete what is now a top shelf outfield. Just for good measure has added All Star catcher Derek Norris from the Oakland Athletics.
As of now it looks as if Myers will play center with Upton in left and Kemp in right.
Kemp was introduced with much fanfare to the media this week and said it best by simply stating that the Padres lineup was “getting stacked.”
And Peller is likely not finished as of yet.
More Pieces to Move?
What is most ironic is that the Padres still have their outfield from last year on the roster with Cameron Maybin, Seth Smith, and Will Venable. Smith is likely to be the most attractive candidate for another trade by Peller after hitting .266 with 12 HR and 48 RBI in 2014. The Padres are said to be coveting Phillies starting pitcher Cole Hamels that could be part of such a package.
Padres CEO Mike Dee warned “I don’t think he’s (Peller) done yet.”
Peller emerges as GM Rock Star
The 37-year-old Peller has been on the job less than five months and has already remade the image and expectations of the Padres. The Cornell graduate has averaged less than four hours sleep per night during the winter meetings but his efforts are already paying off as Padre Mania has swept normally mellow San Diego with phones ringing off the hook at Padres Headquarters with ticket inquiries.
Kemp is among the many new fans of the Padres GM.
“This was a hidden rock star,” said Kemp of Peller. “Rock stars don’t sleep, either, and they say he doesn’t sleep.”
What is even better is that the Padres have gone from a boring team without identity that induced sleep among the most ardent of baseball fans to now have everyone awake and smelling the coffee of a pennant contender.
New Found Tenacity
The Padres fired the respected baseball man Josh Byrnes as GM last summer as they were frustrated about the apathy both among fans and the team itself. They wanted to ignite passion that would spark interest in the team and wins on the field.
“We just didn’t see the kind of tenacity and the kind of leadership that we’ve seen in the last five months from the baseball operations side,” said Dee. “He’s (Peller) just a relentless pursuer of talent. It’s not a job. It’s who he is.”
Forget the Padres Past
The image of the bland Padres seems to be gone for good. Peller and ownership are remaking this franchise into one that will aggressively charge hard for the NL pennant for years to come.
