Any fellow Padres fans out there?

Reason I ask is I'm curious to know what you might do to relax when Preller starts his trade storm as he's currently in the middle of. The nervous thing is that we acquired all these wonderful prospects that are cheaper than dirt and now Preller is in the process of likely shipping most of that away. Not necessarily a bad thing but definitely a nervous thing! How do you cope with having a GM for your favorite team that never sleeps and can make so many deals in a short period of time?

I know this is a weird question but damn, I need the help!

The Pads get Darvish and his personal catcher, Caratini, for Zach Davies and others. Davies (1.07/2.43 in 12 starts) was excellent last year and is only 27. Darvish is 34. At first glance it seems the Cubs did well. Dump salary and get Davies and 4 young'uns.....

I hope Preller can replace the talent he's traded away of late. I mean prospect talent. Preciado and Mena are studs. These two are Tatis clones. Young perhaps but studs nevertheless. And I'm a bit perplexed as to why Preller would deal Davies if he was looking for starting pitching help. Davies did very well in the shortened 2020 season. What's not to like? A lot younger than Darvish too. I hope it works out but wow.

Fred,

I am a Phillies fan (no sense in saying you're sorry, I am used to the decades it takes to put together a good team in Philly). However, I am in a face to face C&D league for the past 20 years. When I joined I had my choice of two teams that were available. The New York Yankees (who were a playoff team the previous season) and the San Diego Padres (who were the worst team in the league the previous season). I chose the Padres because I could rebuild the team which is always fun for me. Of course, since we draft each year based upon new cards, I only have a couple Friars on my roster but I still identify with the Padres.

I played 6-7 seasons in a salary league with the computer game (not online). Arbitration, free agency bidding, the whole works. It was close to what we see in real life except we all had the same team income to spend each year plus some winning bonuses.

It took aggressive owners to know when to cash in chips and that's what Preller is doing now. Farm system is/was one of the deepest and he's only traded 2 top 100 prospects over the last two years. Plus Snell & Darvish each have 3 years of control. This isn't overpaying for the one player who you hope gets you into the playoffs. Padres window is open for a few years. Great timing to be aggressive.

Like Eddie I'm a die hard Phillies fan. It's been hard knowing they do not have the farm system to make these type of deals.

The Blue Jays went through this several years ago when they traded for PROVEN major leaguers (reyes buehrle dickey price tulowitzki). This led the push to get over the hump and complement their competitive team ( bautista encarnacion donaldson etc. Fans and media complained about the prospect load that was traded away. Retrospectively, the "prospects" have ultimately not turned into too much other than the occasional awe and regret of SYNDENGARRD.

SO, do you want to win or hope and project ? I can certainly be a tough call, but Snell is a great pickup but the Darvish one maybe not so much. Good luck, Wynn for GWYNN!!

All of you have good points. Thank you for taking the time to share them. When Preller gets in these trade moods it seems to trigger something in me. I think it is probably tied to his initial trade storm a few years back when he traded Trea Turner for Wil Myers - ouch - and also Max Fried was involved in a trade for Justin Upton I believe. Matt Kemp and an A's catcher were also acquired via trade that year. Only problem was that not only were they all right-handed but they were maddeningly inconsistent.

But I'm hopeful that Darvish and Snell can remain healthy into the playoffs (if we make it) and show their true value. A six-man rotation seems like a good idea to keep everyone healthy. I could see Snell, Darvish, Paddack, Garrett Richards, Mackenzie Gore, and Lamet in the Padres rotation. That seems like a pretty solid group of six SP's. If Lamet can't go (he had injury issues in the playoffs) then perhaps Morejon, Weathers, or Lucchesi could replace him.

Darvish looked back to being one of the top pitchers in the league after struggling with some injury issues and Snell showed he had play-off stuff last year against the Dodgers. That's an elite 1-2 punch in the play-offs. It's very hard to find guys nowadays who can be effective in the play-offs. I think those are great moves.

Being a Red Sox fan this reminds me of Dave Dombrowski who followed Theo Epstein in Boston. Theo had built up one of the best groups of minor league talent in the league. Dombrowski comes in and trades most of it away for current MLB stars. That turned into a WS or two but then it was over and the young talent cupboard was bare. You could say it was worth it for the WS wins he brought but it was a win now at all cost mentality rather than a renewable long term plan.

Speaking of the Padres, they tried this about 5 years ago too didn't they? They traded away many of their top minor league players for then current players like Will Myers, Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, Derek Norris, Craig Kimbrel, Ian Kennedy & James Shields?

That influx of players didn't turn things around for SD. Hopefully Snell & Darvish are the final touches they need for a much improved team. Hopefully they can topple the Dodgers in the NL West!