Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. reveal Padres’ 2024 expectations

Despite having a star-studded roster, the San Diego Padres failed to live up to expectations in 2023, missing the playoffs altogether with a disappointing 82-80 record. But, Fernando Tatis Jr and Manny Machado remain confident this team can make some noise in the NL West in 2024.

Via MLB Network:

“I still believe that we are a good baseball team,” said Tatis Jr. “We need to go take it on a daily basis and take care of business. I definitely believe that we have the guys that it takes to win ballgames.”

“Obviously last year was a letdown you know, with all the hype going into it, the team we had, you know we obviously didn’t meet our expectations, so this year coming into camp, even in the offseason, the conversations between the guys on our staff, you know we have the team to compete,” said Machado.

“We’re confident in our guys – we’ve got some gamers.”

The Padres traded Juan Soto this winter to the New York Yankees and didn’t make any splashy moves to improve their team. Regardless, San Diego is spearheaded by the likes of Tatis Jr, Machado, Joe Musgrove, and Xander Bogaerts, among others.

While the Dodgers improved immensely by signing both Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Padres don’t appear to feel intimidated. Who knows, maybe they can knock off their Southern California rivals in the playoffs again. But as Machado said, taking it one day at a time is the best way right now. Hopefully, the hard work in spring training will pay off.