Padres manager not thinking about powerhouse division rival
The San Diego Padres are in for a big season, though their offseason was relatively quiet compared to their division rival Los Angeles Dodgers. The reigning World Series Champions only added more to an already loaded roster, most notably bringing in Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki.
Padres’ Mike Shildt isn’t worried about the loaded Dodgers
The Dodgers already have some of the top players in baseball such as Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, and are now set up to potentially become baseball’s first dynasty since the late 90s Yankees. The Padres have a great roster themselves led by Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr., but the question becomes can it compete with the powerhouse Dodgers?
Padres manager Mike Shildt isn’t focusing too hard on their division rivals compared to the main task at hand.
“We only take care of what we can control. We think about the Dodgers — you brought it up — we respect it, we compete against them, we compete against everybody. We have 162 games. They’re on the schedule. It’s really about how we compete, how we play and how we carry ourselves and how we take care of our business,” Shildt said (h/t Sports Illustrated’s Gabe Smallson) “We do that and play the game the right way — regardless of opponent we’ll feel good about shaking hands a lot of the times. I don’t want to spend any mental energy on any other club. We’re gonna respect them. We’re gonna prepare like heck for them.”
The Dodgers have owned the National League West division for much of the past several seasons, winning the division in all but one season since 2013 (the Giants won the division in 2021). The Padres have come a long way and made moves to compete with them, and even knocked off the Dodgers in four games of the 2022 NLDS.
The Padres have come up short of winning a title
However, unlike Los Angeles, San Diego has come up short of reaching its goal of winning a title. The Padres haven’t won the NL pennant since 1998, when they were then faced with playing the loaded Yankees squad that many consider to be the greatest Yankees team in the modern era.
The Padres have plenty of talent around the roster to compete with the league’s best, but they have been unfortunate to be competitive at the same time that historically good teams exist, making the challenge for them even tougher. 2025 could be a huge season for them, and despite the quiet offseason, they still have the star power to make some noise in the National League.
While the Dodgers are the presumed heavy favorites in the NL, the Padres can’t be counted out with their strong roster.
