Padres bid adieu to 2019 as change beckons

PHOENIX -- Moments after Tim Locastro’s walk-off infield single ended the Padres’ season with a 1-0 loss to the D-backs, the entirety of the San Diego roster gathered in the visitors’ clubhouse at Chase Field.

Manny Machado, the franchise’s record-setting free-agent signing last offseason, had a message to deliver.

“The season didn't finish off how we liked,” Machado later summarized to a group of reporters. “We lost six in a row. Our manager's gone. There was a lot going on in the last couple weeks. … Next year's a new season. Everybody in here knows what it takes. Keep that in mind and prepare for that, get ready for that, because it's going to be something special.”

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Hugs and handshakes followed, and the goodbyes felt symbolic. After a disheartening 70-92 campaign, this will not be the same roster that arrives in Peoria next February. Perhaps not even close.

An overhaul awaits general manager A.J. Preller this winter. The Padres expected improvement this season, and they found themselves in contention at the All-Star break. But they slumped to a dreadful 25-47 second half, during which they dismissed manager Andy Green and spiraled toward a last-place finish.

A managerial search looms this winter, and that’s just the beginning. The Padres also seem likely to shake things up in the rotation and the outfield.

“When you lose and you don't have a successful season, you're always kind of expecting change,” said first baseman Eric Hosmer.

“I know A.J. has a mindset of winning,” Machado said. “This organization has a mindset of winning, and this city wants us to win. We have a lot of people on our backs, and we're trying to give them that. Hopefully, A.J. goes out there and enforces the lineup whichever way he can.”

Machado went 2-for-4 with a double on Sunday, finishing his first season in San Diego with a .256/.334/.462 slash line and 32 home runs. Those are solid numbers, but they also represent a notable drop-off from his performance a season ago.

Hosmer, the Padres’ other prized free-agent signing, fell short of expectations, as well. In his second season with the club, he batted .265/.310/.425 with 22 homers, while struggling defensively.

On Sunday, neither Hosmer nor Machado would address their personal successes and failures in 2019. The season was a disappointment for the club, they said. But both expressed hope for a brighter future.

Rookie phenom Fernando Tatis Jr. is expected to be fully healthy next spring after he was shut down in mid-August with a lower-back injury. Starters Chris Paddack, Dinelson Lamet and Garrett Richards will all be turned loose after they were limited in 2019.

“Obviously, the record wasn't good at all,” Hosmer said. “But I think there's a lot of positive signs, and I think next year with certain guys not having limitations and certain guys being ready to step up their roles a little bit, it seems we're still definitely headed in the right direction.”

No question, there’s certainly reason for optimism. But the record tells a different story. Sunday was the culmination of the Padres’ fourth straight 90-loss season, as they assured themselves of the eighth pick in the 2020 Draft. (Sunday also marked the fourth straight season in which the Padres ended their season with a Game 162 walk-off. They’ve been on the losing end of three of them.)

Those struggles weren’t lost on Machado and Hosmer. Despite their generally optimistic overview, both emphasized that the Padres need to get better this offseason if they hope to contend in 2020.

“We showed some good strides in the first half,” Hosmer said. “But in the second half, we fell off a little bit. I think that's what everyone realizes. We've got to come ready to play for a full eight months in this game. It's a mentality that guys are going to go into the winter and take into their offseason programs.”

Machado put it a bit more succinctly.

“It takes a full season,” he said.

In 2019, the Padres put together a solid 3 1/2 months. Then, they offered the front office a stark reminder that this isn’t a playoff-caliber roster yet.

A busy offseason awaits. In early November, the Padres will unveil brown-and-gold uniforms, replacing their current blue-and-white color scheme. At some point they’ll also unveil a new manager, charged with leading the club into its contention window.

The Padres hope those changes mark the start of a new era. As they embarked on a years-long rebuild, they touted 2020 as their goal. Sure, they hoped to contend in ’19. But they expect to contend in ’20.

Said Hosmer: “2020 is a big year. That's the year everybody was kind of shooting for.”

“I was told,” he added with a smile, “that we wouldn't lose in brown.”