CHICAGO -- It wasn't supposed to end like this.

Well, sure, maybe the Padres envisioned ending their 2023 season with a dramatic late win at an American League ballpark. But that was supposed to come deep into October, perhaps early November. Not on a nondescript warm Sunday afternoon on the South Side of Chicago.

The Padres finished their season with a 2-1 victory over the White Sox in 11 innings on Sunday at Guaranteed Rate Field. They ended their season on a five-game winning streak, putting them above .500 for the year at 82-80.

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The final month was noteworthy enough. From Sept. 1 onward, the Padres posted the best record in baseball at 20-7, marking their best 27-game finish in franchise history. If they had more baseball to play, they'd feel pretty good about their chances.

Instead, their clubhouse after the victory in the season finale Sunday was full of hugs and parting words. Not to mention a tinge of regret that it was all ending so soon.

“The sad part is, it was in there the whole time,” said Xander Bogaerts, the embodiment of the team’s struggles for much of the season before its strong finish. “We did it. … It was just too late.”

Two games too late -- that’s the margin separating the Padres from a playoff spot at season’s end. As such, they’ll be on the outside looking in when the postseason begins on Tuesday. Their next game comes in Seoul, South Korea, where they will open their 2024 regular season against the Dodgers.

Given all that must take place before then, that Korea Series feels like an eternity away. It's fair to wonder what the team -- what the organization, really -- will look like by then.

Before the Padres address the handful of looming roster decisions, they'll need to settle their managerial situation. Bob Melvin's first season in San Diego was an unquestioned success. He led the team to upsets of the Mets and Dodgers in October to reach the franchise's third National League Championship Series.

But Year 2 hasn't come close to meeting expectations. Melvin, of course, has readily acknowledged as much, and he has been accountable for his share of the blame. Beyond that, his players have consistently expressed their support for him.

“Utmost respect for him,” Bogaerts said. “... The communication has been phenomenal. He’s been really good to me, and I’m pretty sure he’s been really good to most of the guys in this room. I say that from just seeing it on a daily basis. He’s a very special human being, for sure.”

Still, considering the team’s underperformance, Melvin’s job status has come into question. Prior to the season finale he was asked whether he expects to return to the manager's chair next season.

"I'm under contract here next year, and that's the only thing I'm thinking about right now," Melvin said.

If Melvin returns, he’ll do so with the bulk of the team’s core intact. Blake Snell and Josh Hader are key departures set to hit free agency. Fellow pitchers Michael Wacha, Nick Martinez and Seth Lugo have options and could become free agents, as well.

But the core group of players the Padres have built around is mostly on board for next season, especially on offense.

Bogaerts, Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jake Cronenworth are locked up long term. Ha-Seong Kim and Juan Soto are on deals that expire after the 2024 season.

"Very talented core," Melvin said. "So whatever the complementary pieces or the rest of the pieces look like, it's a team that should have aspirations to play well next year and go further than we did this year."

That should be the bare minimum. Considering the team’s investment in its current core, next season simply cannot end after Game 162.

And so, a busy offseason begins in earnest, as the Padres look to set right all that went wrong in 2023. Fitting, perhaps, that their final game was decided in extras. They tied the 1969 Montreal Expos for the longest extra-innings losing streak to start a season at 12 games. Then, amid their torrid September, they won their final two extra-inning games to finish 2-12.

Impossible not to wonder what might have been had the Padres gone, say, .500 in those contests. Or .500 in one-run games. (They ended the year 9-23 in one-run decisions.)

“A little irony there with a one-run, extra-inning win to finish it off,” Melvin said. “Obviously, we played a lot better at the end.”

Added Bogaerts: “We just didn’t perform when we were needed the most.” 

And, ultimately, that’s the biggest reason why these 2023 Padres, who began the year with such lofty October ambitions, were packing their things and saying their goodbyes with October only having just begun.