Xander Bogaerts, Manny Machado, Juan Soto and Fernando Tatis Jr. have not carried the team in the manner that was expected
At the start of a series against the Dodgers and at the point of the season where it is over before it is over, the time seems right to look at why the Padres were doomed.
There was always an acknowledgment the roster had holes. Certainly, Trent Grisham or Jake Cronenworth underperformed as well. Same as Ha-Seong Kim has outperformed virtually every expectation. Juan Soto runs backwards as he is tagged by Phillies catcher Garrett Stubbs during a game last week at Petco Park.The merits of a top-heavy lineup can be debated, as can the wisdom of the contracts handed out to the particular players. But it was not unreasonable to think the Big Four would make for a productive offense.
All of the Big Four ranked in the top 24 in the major leagues in OPS-plus over the four seasons from 2019 through ‘22. Boagerts’ 133 OPS-plus over that span was the lowest of the four. Those four have combined for at least one home run in 72 games, five more than the Padres’ Big Four. That margin seems small until it is considered the Padres’ Big Four started 100 games fully intact while the Dodgers’ foursome started just 68 together. In 172 fewer at-bats, the four Dodgers have 12 more home runs than the Padres’ Big Four.