Padres News: Friars Officially Eliminated From Postseason Contention, What's Next for San Diego?

The inevitable has finally come.

September 29, 6:40 p.m.

That is the official time of death for the San Diego Padres' 2023 season.

With the Miami Marlins’ win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday, the Padres have officially been eliminated from postseason contention for the 2023 season.

This inevitable fate was prolonged by a last-ditch effort that saw the team go on a season-high eight-game winning streak last week. But seemingly all the hope came to a screeching halt on Monday night, when the team blew an eighth-inning lead to the San Francisco Giants with closer Josh Hader sitting on the bench, waiting to pitch in a ninth inning that would never come.

The Padres somehow lasted another four days, though, thanks to some miraculous results that included a massive storm postponing the Marlins vs. Mets game with Miami up 2-1 in the 9th inning, three outs away from ending San Diego's season.

The Padres' fate fell far out of their own hands weeks ago, though, when the team struggled to put a winning streak together and needed a miracle to find their way into October baseball.

While they somehow remained mathematically alive until September 29 — even outlasting the Giants who they eliminated from postseason contention on Tuesday night — their nightmare season has officially come to an end, and all focus will now be turned to an offseason that will only bring more questions.

Hader and Blake Snell are entering free agency as likely the best pitchers in their respective positions.

Juan Soto is entering his final year under team control before he'll be up for a record-breaking extension.

The big contracts the team shelled out to the likes of Yu Darvish, Robert Suarez and Jake Cronenworth did not pan out this year, and the Padres will have some decisions to make regarding the future of those players in San Diego.

And none of that even mentioned the almost billion-dollar big three of Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Xander Bogaerts, who will have to find a way to turn this team into a winner next season — a year in which Machado and Bogaerts will be 32 and 31 years old, respectively.

Then there's the question marks surrounding the returns of manager Bob Melvin and general manager AJ Preller, and a host of other questions regarding players and staff members throughout the franchise.

On the bright side, the 2023 is finally over for the Padres, and they can turn the page on what was a true disaster from top to bottom.

On the not so bright side, they have a long offseason of questions waiting for them.

The Padres may not be the biggest disappointment in MLB history. But considering their sky-high payroll, their four massive superstars and their self-proclaimed prediction that they would win the World Series no matter who they played this season, they're definitely up there.