Here come the Padres! With a 58-44 record, the Padres are comfortable sitting in a Wild Card spot. It’s likely that the NL West will have three teams in the playoffs including the Giants, Dodgers and the Padres. The Padres are not only looking to make the playoffs, but they believe they can sneak past the Dodgers and Giants and win the division.
They already made a splash before the trade deadline with the acquisition of Adam Frazier from the Pirates. He played second base for the Pirates all season long while hitting .324 along with an OPS of .836. But the Padres didn’t need a second baseman. The Padres already have Eric Hosmer at first, Jake Cronenworth at second, Fernando Tatis at shortstop and Manny Machado at third base.
That’s why this addition was unexpected. But Frazier is capable of playing the outfield and if the Padres were able to add an NL all-star at the deadline to help the lineup, they were going to do it. Frazier already has a buddy on the team that he calls a friend. He’ll reunite with Joe Musgrove who was pitching for the Pirates last season before making the move to San Diego. Musgrove was traded to the Padres in January.
Frazier acknowledged that he has only won since playing the game of baseball and that being with the Pirates in the last couple of seasons has been rough because he’s not used to losing. He’s excited to get onto a winning team and help the ballclub win. He’s been wanting to win for quite some time. “My whole life, all I’ve done is win until I got to the big leagues, Frazier told TrivLive,’s Kevin Gorman. “
So to be able to do that again, be in a playoff push, I couldn’t be more excited about. That’s what we live for, so I’m looking forward to it.” Frazier is going to have to be flexible for the Padres. He might get a chance at second base but to keep his bat in the lineup, he can also expect to play the outfield. One of the best hitters in baseball has been asked to sacrifice and do whatever it takes to win a World Series from the General Manager himself.
“Part of the conversation with Adam himself was, ‘Hey, be ready for second base, be ready for left and right field and be ready to come off the bench,’ ” General Manager, A.J. Preller said. “We’re trying to do something that, as an organization, we’ve never done before: win a World Series. It’s going to take a little bit of sacrificing.” Frazier offered that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to win a World Series. He said all of the right things, but it’s got to be hard to go from star player to potentially flexible bench player.
But if that means winning a World Series, Frazier will do whatever it takes. “I’m willing to do whatever,” Frazier said. “If that means having a day off and coming off the bench here and there, that’s fine. My ultimate goal now is to win a World Series. Just watching from the outside in, it looks like everybody’s on board with that in the Padres’ clubhouse. That’s where I’m going to be, too.”
This could eventually hurt his contract stock in the future but at this very moment, he’ll just accept his role and see where it takes him. The Padres likely aren’t done at the deadline either. They might want to add a couple more arms to their team and could likely use another lockdown starter if they can get one for the right price. The Dodgers have struggled against top tier teams and the Giants have overachieved. The Padres feel like it’s their year to shine. They can win the World Series. Let’s see what else the Padres front office decides but they’re certainly headed in the right direction with Frazier.