Padres GM AJ Preller Likes the Friars' Starting Pitching Depth
The San Diego Padres pitchers and catchers reported Sunday as the team begins preparation for the 2024 season.
Ahead of the season, Padres general manager AJ Preller noted he is pleased with the team's pitching depth.
“You want to have a deep pitching staff in general,” Preller said. “But we also like a lot of the starting options that we have and think we have some depth there. I think as we’re going to, potentially, (test) some of the younger pitchers that we think highly of … we want to make sure the ’pen is strong so we have the ability to finish off games and allow some of those pitchers to get into the game for us and develop.”
The Padres have to make up for a huge name this offseason in Josh Hader, who left during free agency to the Houston Astros. Hader spent two seasons with the Padres, where he was a two-time All-Star and All-MLB first-team in 2023.
After Hader's departure, the Padres shored up their pitching depth by bringing in Wandy Peralta, Woo-suk Go, Enyel De Los Santos and Yuki Matsui. These four will add much-needed depth behind the Padres' top pitchers, which include Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Michael King, Matt Waldron and Pedro Avila.
Pitching was a strength for the Padres in 2023 that the team will look to build on. San Diego finished second in MLB with a team 3.73 ERA, only behind the Milwaukee Brewers.
While Hader's 1.28 ERA certainly helped that number, the Padres are hopeful that their new depth can help keep them amongst the top pitching teams in 2024.
