Tag: San Diego Padres

Juan Soto trade grades: Who won the reported Yankees – Padres deal?

Who won the Juan Soto blockbuster? Here’s your answer.

It’s the deal that’s been buzzed about for what feels like all of Wednesday at the 2023 MLB Winter Meetings: Juan Soto is on his way from the San Diego Padres — who JUST traded for the young slugger in 2022! — to the New York Yankees, where the outfielder will presumably hit so many home runs as a lefty in that ballpark.

It makes sense for both teams when you think about it. But if you’re here, you’re probably wondering: Who won this deal between the two teams with massive payrolls? We have answers. Here are the grades for both the Yankees and Padres:

Juan Soto trade coming? Ranking the 7 teams reportedly interested in a deal at MLB Winter Meetings

Who should deal for Juan Soto? Let’s rank the suitors.

The hot stove cooled down, and now the temperature is about to get scalding.

The MLB winter meetings are on the horizon, and while all the buzz will be about a certain free agent pitcher/hitter by the name of Shohei Ohtani, there’s also a lot of chatter and rumors about the San Diego Padres unloading Juan Soto.

Weirdly, the Padres dealt for him just a year and a half ago. But it’s possible they may not want to pay him what he deserves in a huge new contract that’s looming, despite the fact that he had a great year last season.

Per ESPN’s Jeff Passan, there are a few teams seriously in the running. Let’s rank them based on who should make the deal:

Padres pitcher and Seattle native Blake Snell to raise 12th Man Flag

Padres pitcher and Seattle native Blake Snell to raise 12th Man Flag

Thanksgiving may be synonymous with football, but for a moment there will be some love given to baseball. For the Seattle Seahawks’ Thursday Night Football showdown, San Diego Padres star pitcher – and Seattle native – Blake Snell will be raising the iconic 12th Man Flag in the south end zone.

Blake Snell, the former Shorewood High School Stormray, is coming off his second Cy Young caliber season. In 2023, Snell was a rare bright spot for the disappointing Padres. Snell helped guide San Diego to a 14-9 record in his starts and had an MLB-best 2.25 ERA. He has now won a Cy Young in both the American League and the National League.

Of course, Snell’s presense will surely have fans wondering about the team who plays just south of Lumen Field. Snell is currently a free agent, and while the Mariners aren’t thought to be in the market for starting pitching depth, bringing him home to Seattle would go a long way to repairing the damaged goodwill between the organization and its beleaguered fans.

Should Snell be announced as a surprise signing before the game, it would most assuredly warrant quite the roar from the 12th Man.

A man can dream, can’t he?

More Seahawks Wire stories:

Seahawks vs 49ers: preview and prediction

Week 12 inactives: Frank Clark, Kenneth Walker III OUT 

The MLB world mourned the death of San Diego Padres owner Peter Seidler

Baseball lost arguably its best owner.

The San Diego Padres announced on Tuesday that team owner and chairman Peter Seidler died at the age of 63.

Seidler took over as chairman of the team in 2020 (after serving as a part owner since 2012) and was the main reason the Padres started spending at a rate that competed with baseball’s big-market clubs. They went into the 2023 season with a top-3 payroll in baseball and defied how small-market teams typically operate.

His stated goal was to bring a World Series championship to San Diego. And despite the Padres falling short, Seidler’s commitment to the club was never in question.

After the news of his passing, MLB fans offered tributes on social media to the late Padres owner.

MLB fans can’t believe the Dodgers are on the brink of elimination vs. the surprising Diamondbacks

The Dodgers are on the brink.

Holy bad baseball, Batman. It’s ugly! Cover your eyes, Los Angeles Dodgers fans.

The Dodgers have a loaded roster filled with absolutely filthy baseball players. It’s hard not to like the talent they have: Clayton Kershaw, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez, Will Smith, and the list goes on. (Seriously, this team is unfair!)

The team has won ten division titles in a row dating back to 2013 and won a World Series in 2020. However, the Dodgers often cannot get out of their way. Meltdowns and the Dodgers are nearly synonymous.

For example, after winning a franchise-record 111 games, they were eliminated in the 2022 National League Division Series (NLDS) by the San Diego Padres, a team they went 14-5 against during the regular season.

It’s deja vu, as the Arizona Diamondbacks have surprised the Dodgers (we tried to tell you) and the baseball world in the 2023 NLDS with a commanding 2-0 lead as the series heads back to Arizona.

Dodgers and MLB fans expect greatness, but they’re all getting sadness. Rightfully so, they are tweeting through it, even though the Dodgers could still come back.

I am sending thoughts and good vibes and highlighting reels of better days to fans everywhere.

San Diego Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. to honor Kobe Bryant vs. Dodgers

The Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. may be looking to beat L.A. when he plays the Dodgers on Tuesday, but he will also honor Kobe Bryant.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been slumping and losing momentum in September, but they will look to get back on track when they continue a three-game set versus the San Diego Padres at home on Tuesday.

The Padres, led by former All-Star Fernando Tatis Jr., are under .500 and are unlikely to make the playoffs this season. Still, they would love to help spoil the Dodgers’ hopes of winning another World Series.

Tatis, however, is showing his respect for another Los Angeles team during the series at Dodger Stadium. He is wearing an awesome set of Air Jordan-style Kobe Bryant cleats in purple and gold that have thousands of crystals on them (h/t Lakers Daily).

The Dodgers recently honored the late Bryant and the Lakers organization during “Lakers Night” on Sept. 1. The rest of the Bryant clan was there, and it was presented with a $100,000 check by Dodgers president Stan Kasten to be put toward the Mamba and Mambacita Foundation.

The foundation, according to its website, is “a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating positive impact for underserved athletes and boys and girls in sports.”

Manny Machado’s tag that wasn’t in extra innings sums up the Padres’ disappointing season

The Padres might really be cursed.

The San Diego Padres were supposed to be a powerhouse. They were supposed to be a team everyone in the National League feared. Instead, with just about two months left in the regular season, the Padres are three games under .500 and five games out of a Wild Card berth.

As San Diego battled the Colorado Rockies on Monday, a third-base non-tag by Manny Machado summed up the Padres’ woes all year.

When Colorado’s Elehuris Montero tried to take third base in extra innings, Machado laid down a seemingly perfect tag for the out. Except Montero knocked the ball out of Machado’s glove, putting him in scoring position and the Rockies on the verge of an eventual 4-3 upset win.

To be fair to Machado, Montero would eventually be thrown out at home. But not getting the out earlier only extended the proceedings, leading to a game-winning sac-fly from Ryan McMahon.

It’s hard to blame Machado for an unpredictable turn of events. That is a routine play he has made countless times. But such bad luck sums up how the Padres have played all year and why they continue to be a disappointment.

MLB fans rip Padres third base coach for getting Juan Soto thrown out at home by a mile

Not good.

Oh, Matt Williams. This was not a good send.

To be fair, Juan Soto isn’t the SLOWEST of runners. But in Monday’s 4-3 San Diego Padres loss to the Colorado Rockies, Williams — the Padres’ third base coach — waved Soto around in an attempt to grab the lead and watched it fail BADLY.

MORE: Tracking every big MLB trade deadline deal

Soto was thrown out by a mile in the eighth inning, and what’s even funnier is that the Padres challenged the play, with the hopes that Elias Diaz would be called out for blocking Soto’s path to the plate.

Nope. FAIL:

 

Fernando Tatis Jr. playfully encouraged Phillies fans to get louder during their ‘steroids!’ chant

He’s not bothered by the heckling.

San Diego Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. expects to get heckled at every away game this season. It was inevitable after he tested positive for the performance-enhancing drug, Clostebol, last season and served an 80-game suspension.

But if Phillies fans wanted to get in Tatis’ head, they should have worked on their material. He seemed to enjoy the heckling.

During a video review in Sunday’s game between the Padres and Phillies, Tatis took a seat in right field at Citizens Bank Park, and that was when the Phillies fans let Tatis hear it with a “steroids!” chant. Rather than ignoring the chant or reacting in a negative way, Tatis had some fun with the heckling.

Video hit TikTok this weekend that showed Tatis playing the role of conductor to the chants and eventually urging the Phillies fans to get louder with the heckles.

By that point, Tatis had probably heard the chant in all 39 away games he’s played in. So why not go along with it? It’s going to follow him the rest of the season after all.

The chants stopped when the replay review ended, and the Phillies went on to win in 12 innings.

A bunch of Reds victory fireworks hilariously interrupted Taylor Swift’s Friday show in Cincinnati

Taylor Swift fans saw fireworks at Friday’s Cincinnati show, but they were actually going off next door.

Taylor Swift fans got an early glimpse at fireworks on Friday night, but they weren’t happening at a concert.

After the Cincinnati Reds defeated the San Diego Padres, 7-5, at home on Friday, the team sparked a round of celebratory fireworks while Taylor Swift concert was going on next door.

The show seemed to be in a quieter mood as piano music could be heard, making the baseball fireworks all the more surprising and jarring.

While there’s plenty of spectacle on display during Swift’s Eras Tour, adjacent fireworks at a baseball stadium probably weren’t part of the plan.

At the least, you can hear a few concert goers get in a good laugh at the random fireworks going off next door.

With the Fourth of July is right around the corner, fireworks will be going off aplenty around the country.

However, baseball fireworks just go off whenever the team wins, but it’s especially funny when it happens during a chill moment at a Taylor Swift concert. That’ll be something those Swifties won’t soon forget.