Should Padres Fans Be Concerned After Yu Darvish's Comments About A.J. Preller?
San Diego Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish made some headlines recently with his comments regarding countrymen Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Both players signed with the rival Los Angeles Dodgers this offseason, making it even harder for the Padres to compete in the NL West.
According to Darvish, he checked with Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller to see if his contract extension would get in the way of them going after talent.
Darvish seemed to be upset with the fact that the Padres didn't make an effort to land either Ohtani or Yamamoto. He has first-hand knowledge of how great both players are, so seeing them head to Los Angeles must have been difficult to stomach.
It always felt like Ohtani was headed to the Dodgers, but the Padres sat back while the Toronto Blue Jays and San Francisco Giants raced to match the Dodgers' 10-year, $700 million contract offer. The Padres were nowhere to be seen among the finalists for Yamamoto either.
The front office has been trying to shed salary after reckless spending reportedly challenged the boundaries of MLB's debt-service rule. Still, taking away from a roster following an 82-win season isn't a welcome sign by the players who still remain on the team.
Instead of adding, Preller has traded star outfielder Juan Soto to the New York Yankees and let multiple arms from the 2023 rotation — Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo are Kansas City Royals, while Blake Snell isn't expected to re-sign — walk in free agency.
Nobody expected the Padres to be major players in free agency, but it's telling that Darvish's comments directly mentioned Preller. This also comes shortly after Padres CEO Erik Greupner essentially told fans to look on the bright side of the lack of spending.
The offseason represents a dramatic change in behavior for the Padres' front office, one that fans aren't too happy with. Preller might not be able to follow Darvish's recommendations on the free agent market, but perhaps he can get creative in rebuilding the Padres' roster into one worthy of contention.
