Michael King Believes Padres Would Have Won 2024 World Series If They Beat Dodgers

The San Diego Padres were one game away from eliminating the Los Angeles Dodgers from the postseason. But, in the end, the Dodgers defeated the Padres and went on to win the World Series.

Since then, Los Angeles has had arguably the most productive offseason in baseball. The Dodgers reinforced their roster with Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki, Michael Conforto, and Tanner Scott while keeping Blake Treinen, Teoscar Hernández, Tommy Edman, and Kiké Hernández.

More news: Padres' Joe Musgrove Provides Massive Update on Return Timeline

Further down the West Coast, San Diego’s offseason was nearly a bust after the franchise struggled to make any major moves for most of the offseason. Losing out on Sasaki to the Dodgers was the ultimate loss for the Padres, as he would have been an inexpensive way to strengthen San Diego’s rotation.

The Padres were very active in February, though, and maintain a ton of confidence heading into the 2025 season — especially with the players they still have from last year.

Michael King, who has been in trade rumors all offseason long, recently told the San Diego Union-Tribune he thinks the Padres could have won the World Series if they beat the Dodgers in the National League Division Series.

“It’s got to be similar to last year,” King said to the San Diego Union-Tribune. “I still think we were one of two teams that could have won the World Series last year and that Dodgers series was a tough one to swallow, but we still got a bunch of our core group of guys.”

More news: Manny Machado Looking Forward to Beating Dodgers, Winning World Series

The Padres will get another shot at a World Series run this season. However, San Diego has lost many of its key players since last postseason, including catcher Kyle Higashioka, shortstop Ha-Seong Kim, and outfielder Jurickson Profar.

The Padres also could still look to trade some of their top players to help cut the payroll. While San Diego seems open to trading most players, starting pitcher Dylan Cease, first baseman Luis Arraez, and relief pitcher Robert Suarez have all been mentioned extensively.

Fortunately, the Padres have recently signed Connor Joe, Jason Heyward, Kyle Hart, and Nick Pivetta in February, among others. The addition of the quartet solves some of San Diego’s problems in the corner outfield and rotation.

More news: Padres' Mike Shildt Gives Massive Update on Competition for Final Spot in Rotation

The Padres will get their first chance to face the new and improved Dodgers on Sunday at Camelback Ranch in Cactus League play.

For more Padres news, head over to Padres on SI.