On Friday, Padres beat reporter AJ Cassavell conducted an AMA (ask me anything) on Reddit. You can read the full transcript here. But these are the highlights (edited lightly for clarity and brevity):
If the Padres can only make one more big move, which is the higher priority: starting pitching or offense?
Starting pitching.
I think this is a viable offense already. It's probably not ideal to enter the season with Gavin Sheets as the starting first baseman. You'd rather have him at DH and Luis Campusano as a bench bat. But you can easily make it work with Sheets starting and Sung-Mun Song/Campusano platooning -- with Bryce Johnson, plus an infielder and a backup catcher on the bench. One more bat definitely makes the Padres better, but it's not an absolute necessity.
I think another starting pitcher -- and it doesn't have to be an ace, just a big league-caliber starter -- is an absolute necessity.
If you had to put a percentage guess on the Padres making the postseason with the team we have today, what would you put it at? If we fill our holes, how much do those numbers change?
This is not a playoff team as currently constructed. I think it's probably a playoff-caliber offense. But a playoff team needs a heck of a lot more starting pitching than this team currently has. So let's say 15 percent. (That's a world in which King/Musgrove are healthy and productive, Pivetta is again a top-10 pitcher and Vásquez/Sears outperform projections. A lot to ask for.)
That said, this is also not the finished product. If the Padres add the two starters I think they need, that number goes up to 60 percent. If they add another useful 1B/DH bat, let's say 70.
If you and general manager A.J. Preller swapped jobs, who would you acquire on the free agent market?
Without knowing exactly what kind of spending flexibility the other A.J. has -- I'll say Cal Quantrill, Rhys Hoskins and Reese McGuire to fill the team’s three remaining needs.
Where does Preller stand in the front office, and do you think he gets extended? Do you think Preller will make another splash trade this offseason? Or are we going to be heading into the season as we currently stand?
I still think Preller gets an extension. But, yeah, the holdup seems noteworthy. That said, I'm setting Opening Day as a faux deadline of sorts. That's when I think it actually becomes real that Preller is entering his last season under contract. Until then, it's not really worth worrying about all that much, because both sides have clearly expressed interest in that extension.
By all accounts, Preller is operating as though it's business as usual. So, yeah, if I'm guessing, I think there's another splash this offseason. That's how he operates. And lately, he's done so as we get into Spring Training and the season approaches -- think Pivetta, Cease, Manaea in recent seasons.
What’s your sense on the team’s outlook on Campusano? I personally feel like he didn’t get a fair shake last season, being brought up to cover injuries and getting one-game spurts with minimal pinch-hit opportunities.
I agree, to an extent. I think there's definitely more that the Padres can get from Campusano. But I also don't think he should be their backup catcher. We know who he is defensively. If he's on the roster -- and he's out of options, so if he's not, he's going to be exposed to waivers -- he should be on the roster as a third catcher/DH/PH.
Where I'd say I disagree is this: Campusano needs to learn to perform in that type of setting. Yes, he mashed in the Minors as an everyday player. But that's not what he would be for these Padres. Their lineup is mostly set. I think he'd bring the most value as a pinch-hit bat against left-handed pitching, getting occasional starts against lefties as well. Can Campusano hit 10-15 homers with a .750 OPS in, like, 200-250 at-bats? That's the ideal scenario, I think.
Any idea if the Padres have interest in Miguel Andujar? Seems like he would be a good fit as a righty bat that they can platoon at first/DH, and he has crushed lefties the last few years.
I would think that's precisely the type of hitter the Padres would have interest in.
Is Paul Goldschmidt a possibility to platoon 1B/DH?
Yep, that's another bat I think the Padres would be looking at for that spot.
Here's where I'm interested: They clearly need pitching as well, and I think Preller has a trade up his sleeve at some point. So ... does he expend that trade capital on a starter while going with a low-cost free agent at first? Or would he look to trade for, say, Triston Casas or Mark Vientos, both of whom seem to be available?
How do you feel about the Dodgers’ signing of Kyle Tucker?
It's certainly not ideal from a Padres perspective. But -- contrary to what I've seen all day long -- I definitely don't think these Dodgers are unbeatable.
Also... sheesh, is Adrian Morejon going to get some high-leverage spots against L.A. this year or what?