Will they sign Soto long-term? Can they count on Tatis? Offseason questions for the Padres

ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the L.A. Rams for ESPN from 2016 to 2018 and the L.A. Angels for MLB.com from 2012 to 2016.

The San Diego Padres went big at the trade deadline with a flurry of deals — highlighted by the blockbuster acquisition of Juan Soto. With a revamped roster, they were able to not only secure a playoff spot, but stun the 101-win New York Mets in the wild-card series. Then, even more amazingly, the Pads upset their National League West rivals, the 111-win Los Angeles Dodgers, in the NL Division Series. In the end, though, their magic ran out against another underdog — the Philadelphia Phillies — in the NL Championship Series.

Overall, a pretty positive season at Petco Park. But there are questions looming over the franchise, headlined by the loss of superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. to an 80-game ban following a positive PED test. Here’s a look at the biggest issues surrounding San Diego as it heads into the offseason.

San Diego Padres

Notable free agents: 1B Josh Bell, INF/OF Brandon Drury, SP Sean Manaea, SP Mike Clevinger, OF Wil Myers (club option), RP Craig Stammen

The Padres set a franchise record with an Opening Day payroll of roughly $175 million to begin the 2021 season, nearly $70 million more than their previous high. In 2022, they upped it to about $211 million. The question is: How much higher can they go in order to get over the hump? They already have $137 million committed to just 11 players for 2023 — and that doesn’t include the significant arbitration bumps of Soto and Josh Hader, who are projected to command somewhere in the neighborhood of $35 million through arbitration in 2023.

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