AJ Preller Understands What Padres Are Up Against in Loaded NL West

San Diego has an uphill battle on their hands next season.

Entering the 2023 season, the San Diego Padres were seen as the likely favorites to win the NL West after their strong offseason. But fast forward just one year and San Diego likely comes in as the third most likely team to win the division in 2024.

The Padres completely underperformed last season, missing the playoffs entirely. During that time, the Los Angeles Dodgers got much better, and the Arizona Diamondbacks grew up. Arizona made the World Series after a magical run in the postseason, ultimately losing in five games to the eventual-champion Texas Rangers.

San Diego understands that they have an uphill battle entering the 2024 season, but they are determined to stay competitive. Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller gave thoughts on the NL West, and he knows that they have a battle upcoming on their hands.

“Every year, the NL West is one of the most competitive divisions, both in-season and the offseason,” Preller said by phone Saturday evening. “Every year it feels like more talent is always added. It’s just an expectation that you have to be good to come out of the West. Obviously, the ’22 season we get to the LCS. This past year, the Diamondbacks get to the World Series. You got the Giants three years ago winning 108, 109 games and then the Dodgers that have obviously won a lot of division titles. It’s some really good front offices, good ownership groups that are really hungry to win. That’s just kind of known every offseason that … teams are going to try to improve and usually do, and it makes everyone understand that you have to be ready to go at the start of the season.”

Per A.J. Preller via The San Diego Union-Tribune

To the Padres' credit, they still have a very good lineup on paper. They have multiple All-Star level players, and they should be much better than they were a year ago.

They have added some young arms to their rotation, which should help this team going forward. It’s likely that they will be competitive next season, and the hope is that they can get back into playoff contention.

The offseason is far from over, and Preller still has some work to do. If anything, San Diego will be a sleeper team to watch out for next season.