The San Diego Padres, of which Kim Ha-seong, 28, is a member, have vowed to challenge for a World Series title next year despite finishing the season below expectations.
“San Diego has begun a ‘thorough evaluation’ of its failure to achieve its lofty goals for 2023,” MLB.com reported on Wednesday (Aug. 3), conveying the mood of the Padres after missing the postseason.
The Dodgers made a big push to bolster their offense last winter, signing Zander Bogaerts to an 11-year, $280 million deal and re-signing Manny Machado (11 years, $350 million) and Darvish Yu (six years, $108 million).
However, San Diego’s performance this season fell short of expectations. They won 82 games, going over .500, but finished third in the National League West and sixth in the wild card, missing the postseason. They went 20-7 in September and finished the season with a five-game winning streak, but missed the postseason by two games. “We did it, it was just too late,” Bogartz said.
“We entered the 2023 season with the expectation of winning the National League Championship last season and being a World Series contender,” owner Peter Seidler said in a statement following the disappointing season. Unfortunately, we fell short of our goals. We learned from this season and will rise up in 2024 to win San Diego’s first World Series title. The people currently leading our organization still have my full support. And I’ve asked them to do a thorough analysis to make sure we get results starting today. We will make the changes necessary to get to the World Series for our incredible fans.”
MLB.com reported, “The first task facing Seidler is the departure of manager Bob Melvin and general manager A.J. Preller. The team held a meeting with Melvin and Preller at Petco Park. According to a source, “their future has not been determined,” noting that Melvin and Preller could remain in San Diego. Melvin is under contract through the 2024 season and Preller through the 2026 season.
In Melvin’s first year in charge, the Dodgers went 89-73 last year, reaching the postseason as the second wild card in the National League and advancing to the National League Championship Series. However, this season’s results have been disappointing. As MLB.com notes, “After a busy offseason, expectations for the 2023 season are even higher. San Diego’s clubhouse chemistry has been questioned and players have expressed their support, but Melvin has been blamed for that. It’s unclear if he’ll be able to keep his job.”카지노사이트
While San Diego has declared its intentions to return to the postseason next season, and possibly even win the World Series, a payroll cut – the third largest in the majors – seems inevitable. According to U.S. media outlet Sportrac, San Diego had a team payroll of about $253.29 million this season. Local media outlets expect the team to reduce the payroll to around $200 million next year.
In this situation, it will be important for San Diego to rely on the performance of a young player like Kim Ha-seong if they want to challenge for the championship once again. Kim, who signed a four-year, $28 million contract with San Diego in 2020, will make just $7 million next year. On a roster full of high-paid players, Kim is one of the best bargains in baseball.
After his best season this year, when he batted .538 (17-for-140) with 17 homers, 60 RBIs, 84 runs scored, 38 doubles and a .749 OPS in 152 games, Kim posted a 5.8 wins above replacement (WAR) per Baseball-Reference, the highest WAR since Shin-Soo Choo (5.9) in 2010. For San Diego to rebound next year, it will be important for Kim to carry over his performance from this season into next year.