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Just months after the Dodgers won their first World Series title since 1988, the Padres grabbed the headlines. A series of trades and signings has resulted in San Diego being billed as one of the top teams in 2021, even before any other moves have occurred in MLB.
GM Padres AJ Preller was recently asked about the improvements his team has made since their elimination by the Dodgers in the Division Series. The most glaring question was whether he thought this new Padres team was now better than rival Dodgers in the division. Preller answered the question in the most diplomatic way imaginable, as expected for an MLB general manager.
Uh, it’s pretty much better here, ”he said. “They obviously are, they’re the class of the league right now and they’ve been the class of the division for just about the decade. We will see how it goes. … The goal here is to win a championship. This is the idea.
Adding Blake Snell and Yu Darvish is going to make any team better than it was a year ago. But the Padres were beaten in this NLDS against the Dodgers. Mike Clevinger has done his best to fight injury, and that’s part of the reason he has to miss the 2021 season.
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Dinelson Lamet is another guy who has held the Dodgers in check for much of 2020, but he hasn’t had a chance to pitch due to injury. The Snell and Darvish duo should provide San Diego with a decent boost, regardless of the health of their other pitchers. They also signed top international free agent Ha-Seong Kim, but the jury is still out on his potential.
Are the Padres better than the Dodgers now? No… but it’s closer than a season ago.
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