Will Bold Moves Make or Break the San Diego Padres?

             

             In case you haven’t noticed it by now, the San Diego Padres are going for it all in 2015. Like 

literally, really going for it all so much, that they’ve upgraded to an entirely new outfield made up of Matt Kemp, Will Myers and as of 9:30 am this morning, Justin Upton as well.

            So who is the man behind this madness you ask?

            It’s new general manager A.J. Preller, who was hired just four months ago in mid-August to try and right the ship for the San Diego Padre’s who haven’t had a winning season since 2010 and haven’t played baseball in October since 2006.

“A month and a half into his first offseason as general manager, A.J. Preller has already introduced himself as one of the more aggressive front-office types in the game,” writes AJ Cassavell of Sports on Earth. “And one thing is very clear: He wants to win now.”

            The Padres, are suddenly and undoubtedly relevant again not just in the NL West, but throughout all of baseball, thanks to all of these bold acquisitions. Aside from their revamped star-studded outfield, AJ Preller also traded for All-Star catcher Derek Norris, who previously played for the Oakland Athletics – but with all of this off-season activity, the questions lingers as to whether these moves will work out? Or could so many new faces in such  short period of time ultimately end up backfiring on Preller and the San Diego Padres?

            While there are clearly plenty of questions that remain unanswered and still more moves to be made, one thing is certain: the 2015 San Diego Padres offense will be significantly better than years past. After all, the Padres ranked dead last in the MLB basement with just 535 runs scored last year with a team slash line of .226/.292/.342. To put it into perspective, the .226 team batting average ranked 14th-worst and the .292 on-base percentage ranked 21st-worst in baseball history.

            All three of Matt Kemp, Will Myers and Justin Upton are right-handed power hitters that should instantaneously provide a much-needed boost. But, and hold your ears Padres fans, that doesn’t necessarily translate to offensive success. Remember: The San Diego Padres still have to make contact with the ball in pitcher friendly Petco Park, which in particular doesn’t favor right handed hitting at all.With the addition of three aforementioned righty’s, maybe San Diego’s lineup it too righty heavy?

            There’s also the legitimate possibility that the clubs defense has significantly downgraded, as none of Kemp, Myers or Upton are more than an average defender, and they’ll have cover the extremely spacious outfield of Petco Park to boot.

            Can Matt Kemps injury plagued hips hold in center field? Or will the Padres elect to start the younger Will Myers in center field. There’s always the possibility that San Diego will stick the highly athletic Cameron Maybin in centerfield, thus perhaps shifting Myers to the infield? Who knows?