Columnist Rips Padres Batters, Says Play Doesn’t Equal Pay

He's been able to witness the struggles firsthand.

The San Diego Padres are, without a doubt, one of the most interesting clubhouses in the entire MLB as of now. Their struggles have been clear during this first month of the 2023 season and even though they've had their bright moments, there is definitely also some reasons to be concerned.

Fernando Tatis Jr. is finally back in the lineup and has about a week of games under bis belt now. His numbers are not anything eye-popping with just seven hits in 33 plate appearances but he's been making headlines as of late thanks to a viral dance amidst hate from the crowd and also a clutch performance against the Chicago Cubs.

Fernando Tatis Jr. just dancing through the “he’s on steroids” heckling at Wrigley 💀 pic.twitter.com/F58JQwhHE6

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 26, 2023

But the real person that everybody is hitting the panic button for is Juan Soto. They gave him multiple passes when he first arrived in town last season but now that he's had a full offseason to get comfortable, the fans have upped their expectations heavily.

He has looked nothing like the superstar that he became during his time with the Washington Nationals and right now is the worst stretch for him to be performing like this. Soto is the lone major piece on the Friars that has yet to receive an extension and with Shohei Ohtani potentially set to become available, his future with the team is in question.

Then, of course, you have the leader of the Padres in Manny Machado who has been playing stellar defense per usual but also is struggling to garner consistent hits. It has not been the most ideal start to this year's campaign and few have been able to be as close to their situation as The San Diego-Union Tribune's Kevin Acee and he believes the squad is performing far under their payroll.

Juan Soto has struck out 21 times in his last 15 games. He's never struck out more often in any 15-game span of his MLB career. pic.twitter.com/X98TUJtg72

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) April 27, 2023

"Put another way, hitters making a combined $100 million are playing like a group making $30 million. Because that first figure is what this year’s lineup is making, roughly, depending on the particular game’s participants. And the latter figure is about what the usual lineup for the 94-loss Padres of ’16 was making."

(Via The San Diego-Union Tribune)

This should be yet another wake-up call for the Padres to pick things up.