Outside The Confines: Padres are stacking aces

The last time I wrote a post that focused on the Padres, it was because they were in the midst of a historical run of games with grand slams, giving them the Slam Diego nickname this summer.

Now, it appears, they are making news for a different run, and that is their recent spate of trades and signings, all indicating one thing: the Padres are in it to win it.

San Diego was easily one of the most fun teams to watch last summer with star turns from Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr, but over the past three days they have outdone themselves. First they traded four prospected for Rays ace Blake Snell, which briefly gave Cubs fans a sigh of relief assuming they were no longer in on Yu Darvish. But on Monday night, the Padres struck again, this time trading five players to the Cubs for Darvish and catcher Victor Caratini. The Darvish deal was officially announced by both teams late Tuesday.

In the midst of all that, they also reportedly snagged Korean free agent infielder Ha-Seong Kim.

And with all that, they’re still anticipating a return of Mike Clevinger, and might still be in on free agent Trevor Bauer, meaning they’re shaping up to have one of the scariest pitching rotations in years. The Padres are certainly aiming to be a force to be reckoned with next season.

• Kiley McDaniel wonders what the Blake Snell and Yu Darvish trades mean about the mindset of the Rays and Cubs respectively going into 2021.
• Mike Petriello, meanwhile, cuts right to the chase by suggesting the Padres might just be the best team in baseball in 2021.
• Former Rays slugger Tommy Pham responds to the news of Blake Snell being traded (and reuniting the pair).
• Matt Martell grades the Yu Darvish trade for both sides. He also asks a now frequent refrain of “what are the Cubs doing?”
• The Rays are frequently limiting themselves in the name of smart baseball, but Emma Baccellieri wonders at what point does it stop being fun to watch?
• Dayn Perry weighs in on what the recent Padres moves mean in terms of their chances for the 2021 season.
• Zach Cram doubled down on Ringer pieces this week, asking if the trades mean the Padres are coming for the Dodgers crown; and also how the Padres and Rays can both be considered winners of their deal.
• Meanwhile Dennis Lin writes that this offseason feels like the trade deadline for the Padres as they go all in. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Jay Jaffe goes into great detail of why Curt Schilling should not get elected to the Hall of Fame, even if his numbers say he should be in.
• On the same line, Jaffe released his Hall of Fame ballot today, and wrote an in-depth explanation of all of his choices. You might not agree with them all, but at least his reasons are sound.

• I’m a bit of a Todd Helton for Hall believer, so of course I’m going to share Joe Posnanski’s “Outsiders” piece on the first base slugger. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Speaking of the Rockies, Nick Groke and Eno Sarris take a look at the newly gutted analytics department and what it means for the team’s future. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Gary Sanchez doesn’t know why he wasn’t playing for most of last season, either, writes Marly Rivera.
• You can’t create a team atmosphere out of nothing, Tim Britton looks at the best examples of teams whose pitchers never played with the club before. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• This is so cool.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.