MLB Insider Believes Padres May Be Forced To Cut Extraordinary Amount Of Salary For 2024

Cuts incoming?

Compared to almost any other team so far, the Padres offseason has been a whirlwind. Since the World Series ended almost a month ago, the club announced they were keeping Bob Melvin, then let Melvin go to San Francisco, got lambasted for taking out a $50 million loan to cover end-of-year costs, still have not hired a new manager, and, of course, Peter Seidler unfortunately passed away.

Amidst all of this chaos, rumors have swirled that the front office needs to shed salary this year. One of the ways to do this would be to trade superstar outfielder Juan Soto. In a report by Joel Sherman of the New York Post regarding a potential Soto trade, he again brought up this possibility,

“There is some reporting that the Padres might have to cut as much as $50 million from the 2024 payroll”

Per Joel Sherman of The New York Post

If the figure of $50 million holds true, then the Padres are in a lot of trouble. Trading Soto alone figures to only rid them of about $30MM in salary next year. 

Besides Soto, the Friars do not have many tradeable contracts. Many in baseball circles view the contracts of Jake Cronenworth, Yu Darvish and Xander Bogaerts to be unmoveable. 

Beyond that, most of the money is tied up in franchise cornerstones Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Joe Musgrove. Believe it or not, the Padres are also still on the hook for Eric Hosmer through 2025 for roughly $25MM. 

The front office will have to get very creative this year if they want to shed payroll. If they don't, it could mean the departure of some fan-favorite players and decreased odds of making the postseason.