It’s the most wonderful time of the year aka Baseball season! As a baseball fan, I’m so beyond excited to see what this year has in store for the San Diego Padres.

Padres update

During the offseason, one of the biggest moves the Padres made was trading Juan Soto and Trent Grisham to the Yankees for RHP Michael King, RHP Jhony Brito, RHP prospect Drew Thorpe (No. 99 in MLB), RHP prospect Randy Vásquez (No. 13 on Yankees), and catcher Kyle Higashioka. Personally, I was expecting this to happen because Soto wanted to test free agency and we needed to change the dynamic in the dugout.

Another player the Padres received during the offseason is Dylan Cease from the Chicago White Sox who was the runner up for the CY Young Award last season in the American League. Within the blockbuster trade, RHP Drew Thorpe, Outfielder Samuel Zavala, RHP  Jairo Iriarte, and RHP Steven Wilson were traded to the White Sox.

In Addition CY Award winner, Blake Snell signed a two year $62 million deal the San Fransisco Giants reuniting with former Padres manager Bob Melvin.

Although it hurts loosing Snell, I will always root for him because he is a team player and exciting pitcher to watch. I wish him the best of luck throughout the rest of his career.

Throughout the offseason, the Padres also hired a new manager Mike Shildt who has been apart of the organization since 2022. He was also the manager for the Saint Luis Cardinals from 2018-2021.

According to Colombian Broadcasting System writer Matt Snyder, “Mike is a proven winner as a manager at the Major League level, and he brings over two decades of experience in professional baseball to the position.” After reading this quote, I’m excited to see what this season has in store for us and hopefully make it to the playoffs.

Owner of the Padres, Peter Seidler past away in December that devastated the city of San Diego along with the Padres organization. To the Seidler family, my heart goes out to you during this time of healing and will always remember him while being at the ballpark cheering on our team.

After Seidlers passing, long time friend Erik Kutsenda was hired to be the chairman for the Padres continuing his vision for the team and bring the championship to the city honoring him. Once the news broke out about hiring Kutsenda, my emotions went through the roof because I wasn’t expecting to find anyone that shared the same mission for the team.

MLB update

In the offseason, one of the biggest trades that occurred was Shohei Ohtani signing a 10 year $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. After the news broke out, I wasn’t very surprised because of the budget the Dodgers have to get high quality players.

Personally, I think the Dodgers were the most active this offseason with signing RHP Tyler Glasnow from the Tampa Bay Rays, RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and outfielder Teoscar Hernandez.

Another team that stood out to me during the offseason was the Kansas City Royals that signed RHP Will Smith, RHP Michael Wacha, outfielder Hunter Renfroe, RHP Seth Lugo, and catcher Austin Nola.

The Arizona Dimond Backs had quite the offseason signing LHP Eduardo Rodrigues, third baseman Eugenio Suarez, and outfielder Joc Peterson.

Playoff Prediction

Currently, the top two teams that stand out to me are the Baltimore Orioles and the Atlanta Braves. Despite the Dodgers having one of the best rosters in baseball, I think the Braves will make it further with the amount of talent that they have on their team with Ronald Acuna Jr and Ozzie Albies.

Jackson Holliday an Orioles prospect, is one of the most energetic players that will potentially have his major league debut this season. In addition, I think the Orioles roster is stacked with players that are determined to succeed on the field for example Adley Rutschman and Corbin Burns.

As for the Padres, I’m looking forward to see how the season goes with Shildt being the new manager and potentially bring home their first world series ring to San Diego.