What's Next For Padres After Losing Roki Sasaki, Tanner Scott to Dodgers?

The San Padres continue to endure losses this offseason, and what makes the situation arguably worse is the organization has yet to make any major league signing or trades.

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With less than a month before spring training, the Padres still need to address holes in the roster. The organization's goal to shed payroll certainly presents a challenge, but trading players could be a way the team cuts payroll.

There have been several players who have emerged as potential trade candidates, including Dylan Cease, Luis Arraez, Jake Cronenworth, and surprisingly Xander Bogaerts.

Trading players would in turn create a void on the roster, but the Padres could look for more affordable options. Additionally, one free agent the Padres have to sign is Jurickson Profar, who is impactful on the field and in the clubhouse.

After two tough losses over the weekend, the Padres have to regroup. There was reportedly optimism within the organization Roki Sasaki would sign with San Diego, but it was their NL West rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, who won the sweepstakes.

“Really proud of the group,” Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller said Friday night of San Diego's recruiting of Sasaki, via Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune. “Really thorough and complete job.”

“At the end of the day, we want players that want to be here. We’ll move forward and look to add to a really talented roster.

“We’ve seen offseasons where we’ve been really aggressive and been able to line up on moves early in the offseason and other years, like last year, where it was later in the process. We’ve got a really good core and good foundation we like a lot, and we’ve got some needs as well.”

With the loss of Sasaki still fresh, Padres fans woke up Sunday morning with more bad news. Tanner Scott signed a four-year, $72 million deal with the Dodgers. The Padres had traded their No. 2, 4, 5, and 24 prospects to acquire Scott and Bryan Hoeing at the trade deadline.

Less than three months after making a first-round exit in the playoffs, Scott joins the reigning World Series champions and the Padres have yet to make a move.

But fans should have a little faith. Preller has worked his offseason magic before, though the financial dilemma and an ownership lawsuit won't be easy to navigate.

The bottom line is this: The Padres have never spent as much money as their NL West rivals, but they have found creative ways to stay competitive.

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