SAN DIEGO -- In right field, the Padres have Fernando Tatis Jr. They’re set there through 2034. In center field, the Padres have Jackson Merrill. They’re also set there through 2034.
In left field? These days, that’s a hot topic in San Diego. The Padres have gotten solid offensive production just about everywhere else. In left, they’ve been well below average. On Saturday, Jason Heyward was designated for assignment. The search continues. Of all the team’s biggest needs ahead of the Trade Deadline, a left fielder with some pop ranks right at the top of the list.
Which was the backdrop on Monday, as James Wood and the Nationals came to town.
The 22-year-old left fielder made his long-awaited Petco Park debut on Monday night. He did all the things the Padres envisioned when they selected him in the 2021 Draft. Except he did so in leading the Nationals to a 10-6 victory in the opener of their three-game set at Petco Park.
“This is a really nice park, great fanbase,” Wood said. “It was the team I got drafted by, so I definitely did take a little second today. And it was cool.”
Wood went 3-for-5 with a three-run homer in the eighth that put the game on ice. CJ Abrams, also part of the 2022 Juan Soto trade, had three hits as well. It was a stinging reminder of what the Padres gave up in that deal -- one of the biggest Deadline blockbusters ever.
Manager Mike Shildt was an adviser in the organization at the time. He spent plenty of time on the Minor League side and got to know Wood a bit, watching him tear up the California League.
Now that Wood is one of the best young players in the Majors?
"Not surprised,” Shildt said prior to the game. “Look, when the trade was made, and the good news about that trade and both Soto trades is that they were good for both parties. … It was like, ‘Man, that's so great we're getting Juan Soto. But ooh, James Wood.’
“But I don't think that was a surprise to [general manager] A.J. [Preller] That was the cost of doing business. So what he's doing is not a surprise. He's a very gifted player. But also, he's wired right with his head. He sees the game well, a really mature guy."
Here’s the truth about the way the Padres’ organization now views that trade: They don’t regret it. At least not in the way you’d think.
Would they like to have Wood in left field right now, completing an all-world outfield of 20-something superstars? Sure. But they were keenly aware what Wood might become when they dealt him.
Organizationally, there’s a pang of regret. But it’s not about dealing Wood. It’s about the fact that, from 2022-24, the Padres built contending teams that could’ve won the franchise its first World Series if things broke their way. For various reasons -- many of them entirely unrelated to Soto -- they didn’t.
• In 2022, Soto was a key part of a Padres team that beat the Dodgers in the NLDS, putting San Diego on the precipice of the World Series. That team lost the NLCS to the Phillies in five games. There’s plenty of internal regret from that series. None related to Soto.
• The biggest regrets come from the 2023 season, when the Padres built an on-paper juggernaut, then won only 82 games. Their roster wasn’t perfect -- it had depth issues. But it was also confoundingly un-clutch and unlucky. All the while, Soto posted a .930 OPS with 35 homers.
• In 2024, with Soto entering a contract year, the Padres traded him for Michael King and, among other things, the top prospect that netted them Dylan Cease. That team was desperate for pitching and essentially managed to replace Soto’s production on the cheap with Merrill and Jurickson Profar. They came up one game short in the NLDS.
Three teams the Padres felt had World Series-caliber ceiling. Zero titles to show for it. But when you have a team with a chance to win a title, it’s a disservice not to maximize those opportunities. It’s a disservice not to trade for Juan Soto.
Now they’re paying the price for it.
So, does the current group have a World Series-caliber ceiling? There’s some star power, sure. But there are also more holes than on last year’s roster. Presumably, the Padres will use the Trade Deadline to address those holes. At some point, they’ll likely add a left fielder.
But, man, there’s a good one in Washington who will be off-limits for a while.