Optimism Is High In San Diego As Regular Season Win Total Sits At 82.5

The San Diego Padres hoped that a full season with Manny Machado – plucked from the rival Los Angeles Dodgers a year earlier – would lead to an encouraging season in Southern California. Yet, the Padres – who won only 66 games in 2018 – barely improved upon that total in 2019, winning 70 games. It is true that the Los Angeles Dodgers had a monster team, but the rest of the National League West was not that strong in 2019 as none of the other three teams in the division – the Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants, and Arizona Diamondbacks – made the playoffs. San Diego should have been able to move closer to a .500 record, but didn’t come especially close.

With a young roster that’s supposedly on the rise, can the Padres incrementally improve again and push for an 83-win season?

SAN DIEGO PADRES ODDS

TO WIN WORLD SERIES: +3300
TO WIN NL PENNANT: +2000
REGULAR SEASON WIN TOTAL: 82.5

OFFSEASON CHANGES

The Padres added Tommy Pham from the Tampa Bay Rays and Jurickson Profar from the Oakland Athletics, two solid veteran players to complement a batting order which features Manny Machado and Wil Myers. They have a lot of young talent, which did improve last year from 2018, but everyone will wonder if that talent is capable of taking a much bigger step in 2020. It is one thing to go from 66 wins in 2018 to 70 wins in 2019. Can the Padres go from being a losing team to a winning team and grab a win total in the low 80s?

IF THINGS GO RIGHT…

The Padres will become a .500 team this season. They have been steadily building their farm system while having Machado, Wil Myers, and Eric Hosmer to provide a veteran presence. Closer Kirby Yates emerged as a force for San Diego this past season, so he’s a rock in the bullpen.

The Padres have had to deal with the limitations of youth in recent seasons, but now that youth needs to blossom and take the next step in its development. Francisco Mejia and Franchy Cordero are two examples of Padre players who need to raise their ceilings and show what they are capable of. If they do, the bats of Machado and Myers can stabilize the lineup and make San Diego a lot more formidable in 2020. The young guys need to give the veterans help, and the middle relief corps needs to set up games so that Yates gets more save opportunities in the back end of the bullpen.

IF THINGS GO WRONG…

The Padres will fail to win 80 games. San Diego needs to reach 80 wins to feel it has a chance to become a legitimate contender in the National League West in 2021. If the young guns don’t take a step forward and the team is roughly where it was last season, this year will be a failure.

Sure, we know that they are several miles behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West as the Dodgers are completely stacked at every position and should win 100 games. But if the Padres don’t push for 80 wins and create a realistic hope that they might be able to make the Dodgers sweat a little in 2021, then this season will not be a success.

Get the latest MLB baseball odds and information–follow BetOnline.ag on Twitter!

BetOnline.ag on Instagram–Follow for the latest odds, stats and information!