Franchise Timeline
2020
Team decision-makers had pointed toward ‘20 as the year they’d finally break through after years of rebuilding. They were spot on -- although it didn’t exactly happen the way anyone envisioned. In a season shortened by the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Padres came out of the gates flying, and they’d finish with the second best record in the National League. Along the way, they became “Slam Diego,” setting a Major League record with grand slams in four consecutive games.
Both Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado would emerge as NL MVP candidates. They’d finish third and fourth, respectively, marking the first time two Padres had finished in the top five. At the Trade Deadline, general manager A.J. Preller went on an unprecedented spree, acquiring 10 players and shipping 16. Righty Mike Clevinger and catcher Austin Nola were the prizes of that haul. The Padres secured their first postseason berth in 14 years in late September, but they were struck by injuries later that week. Clevinger and Dinelson Lamet sustained elbow injuries that would keep them out of the postseason (save for one inning from Clevinger).
The Padres beat the Cardinals in a three-game NL Wild Card Series, including a wild comeback in Game 2 in which Tatis and Myers became the first pair of teammates with multiple homers in the same game since Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. But without their two aces, the Padres were no match for the eventual-champion Dodgers and were swept in the NLDS.
2021
The Padres' 2020 success would portend a busy winter ahead of the '21 season. They acquired Yu Darvish, Blake Snell and Joe Musgrove in the span of a few weeks. With those additions to a team that had reached the playoffs, expectations were sky high, and the Padres came out swinging. They held the best record in baseball in late May and swept the Dodgers in late June.
But the season started going off the rails in late July, with a slew of injuries and the front office's inability to add any reinforcements at the Trade Deadline. The Padres had once led by seven games in the NL Wild Card race. But they were passed by the Cardinals in September and ultimately slumped to a 79-83 finish, which led to the dismissal of manager Jayce Tingler.
Despite the team's poor finish, it was a brilliant season for Fernando Tatis Jr., who missed time with a shoulder injury but still put up the best campaign by a shortstop in franchise history. Musgrove, Jake Cronenworth and Manny Machado were standouts as well. The Padres entered the winter with their core already in place, hopeful they could return to their playoff-caliber form. To that end, they began the offseason by hiring three-time Manager of the Year Award winner Bob Melvin.
2022
Bob Melvin’s debut season as Padres manager was eventful, to say the least -- perhaps the most eventful season in franchise history. It started inauspiciously enough. On the first day of Spring Training, general manager A.J. Preller announced that Fernando Tatis Jr. would miss the first few months of the season with a fractured wrist. Later, in August, Tatis would be suspended for 80 games after a positive PED test, effectively ending his season before it started.
Without one of their foremost superstars, the Padres persevered nonetheless. Riding an all-around brilliant campaign from Manny Machado, San Diego put itself squarely in playoff contention by the All-Star break. And that's when things got wild. In a Trade Deadline blockbuster, the Padres acquired Juan Soto from the Nationals as part of a series of moves that also brought them Josh Hader, Josh Bell and Brandon Drury.
The Padres rode those reinforcements to a Wild Card spot, the franchise's first playoff berth in a full season since 2006. From there, they upset the Mets in a three-game Wild Card Series, then stunned the rival Dodgers in the NLDS, a series that culminated with a dramatic Game 4 comeback at Petco Park. Ultimately, the Padres succumbed to the Phillies in a five-game NLCS, dropping Game 5 on Bryce Harper's go-ahead eighth-inning homer off Robert Suarez. However cruel the ending, the season could only be considered an unmitigated success.
2023
The Padres’ 2023 season began with monumental expectations. The team was coming off its first trip to the NLCS in 24 years and was adding Xander Bogaerts and Fernando Tatis Jr. to an already fearsome lineup. Those lofty expectations were never met. The Padres started their season slowly and found themselves quickly out of contention for the NL West. In the final month, they made a late push for a Wild Card spot, posting a 20-7 mark from September 1 onward. That would land them 82-80, two games out of a playoff spot. It left them wondering: What if? The Padres equaled the 1969 Expos’ record by dropping their first 12 extra-inning games, and they finished 9-23 in one-run contests. Had a few of those close results swung their way, their season could’ve been wildly different. Instead, the Padres could only solace in some individual brilliance. Blake Snell captured the franchise’s fifth Cy Young Award with a dominant season in which he led the Majors with a 2.25 ERA. Juan Soto, meanwhile, finished sixth in MVP Award voting and became the first player to lead the Majors in walks in three straight seasons since Barry Bonds. Ha-Seong Kim broke out and received down-ballot MVP votes and earned a utility Gold Glove. Tatis, meanwhile, made a seamless transition to right field, taking home the Platinum Glove as the league’s best defender.