Despite what rumblings on social media might try to tell you, this flurry of activity in San Diego isn’t about the Dodgers.
The deals — here’s a breakdown of that plethora of moves — the Padres have made over the past few days are not about finishing first in the NL West. That would be nice, of course, but it’s not the ultimate goal. The Padres’ ultimate goal involves cake. Big cake.
World Series cake, folks.
"We're aiming for the big cake," Fernando Tatis Jr. said. "Why not? Let's go win a World Series."
— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) July 23, 2020
And where the Padres finish the regular season in relation to the Dodgers — especially in 2020 — only makes a small impact on San Diego’s chances of eating that cake.
MORE: MLB 2020 trade deadline tracker
Remember, in 2020 there are no postseason byes. Every one of the 16 teams that makes the postseason plays a best-of-three series, and it’s entirely possible those games will be played in neutral-site locations. If baseball’s bubble happens, overall seeding will never be less important.
And that’s good for Padres fans, because here’s the truth: Over a long haul — be it a month or three months or six months — this revamped Padres roster still isn’t as solid as the Dodgers’ roster. Can the Padres catch L.A. in the NL West standings — they enter play Monday five games back, but tied for the second-best record in the NL — by the end of August? Possible, but not likely.
Even with the upgraded pitching rotation, the Friars can’t match the starters the Dodgers are rolling out on a nightly basis. The Dodgers, as their 26-10 record indicates, are the best team in baseball and are on pace to finish first in the NL West for the seventh year in a row.
But in a five- or seven-game series in October? That’s a completely different clergyman.
If the Padres are rolling out Chris Paddock, Mike Clevinger and Dinelson Lamet, with Zack Davies as a fourth guy, and have Drew Pomeranz and Trevor Rosenthal at the back of the bullpen, with the potential returns of Austin Adams and Kirby Yates?
And with a lineup including MVP candidate Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Tommy Pham (when he returns from injury), Jake Cronenworth — he of the quietest .361 average/183 OPS+ in MLB history — Eric Hosmer, Austin Nola, Wil Myers and Trent Grisham?
That’s good stuff. That’s the kind of group that could unseat the Dodgers when it matters most, in a short (relatively speaking) series in October.
And that’s where they serve the cake.
