Padres News: Columnist Advises Friars to Keep an Eye on this Team Aspect

This could be their downfall!

There are few times in recent Padres' history that the city of San Diego has been more frustrated than they are right now. Even last season, when the team was struggling mid-season and a missed playoff berth looked like it was in the works, people couldn't be too mad considering what the roster looked like.

However, it is much different this year with hundreds of millions of dollars being spent on guys that were slated to help them win their first World Series in franchise history. Therefore, nobody wants to be patient when it comes to letting the offense develop within the clubhouse. They've seen what the likes of Juan Soto and Manny Machado have done before and cannot understand why their numbers are down all across the board.

Therefore, it makes sense that the number on talking point involving the Padres is concerning their offensive output... You can't win games without getting runs on the board right? However, the Padres are among the top teams in the league that leave their runners on base.

A more glaring issue according to experts is the quality of their bullpen and we saw them struggle early on. The Athletic's Dennis Lin doesn't love how lineups have already had to be shifted around because of it and believes it'll prove to be a bigger negative later on.

Last September and October, Padres relievers were fresh and ready for a playoff run. Thanks to a prolific starting rotation, they worked the third-fewest regular-season innings of any bullpen. That has not exactly been the case early in 2023: Through Sunday, Padres relievers had worked the 11th-most innings of any bullpen. There is help on the way — Joe Musgrove is nearing his season debut, which could push Nick Martinez and/or Ryan Weathers to a relief role — but the rotation’s performance and the bullpen’s usage bear watching as the Padres try to go even further than they did last fall."

(Via The Athletic)

No great team can win games if their bullpen isn't strong so we can all see where Lin is coming from.