It doesn’t happen often where outside factors become a big deal for teams during the trade deadline. Despite being a month away there are a lot of questions about which teams will buy and sell at the deadline. The San Diego Padres recently had a lot of money go as their investment in Bally Sports San Diego went bankrupt. Now with the team out of the playoff contention, the conversation is if they will sell players on the team.
Bally Sports San Diego
Bally Sports is a regional broadcaster in many different cities in the United States. They are owned by Disney and broadcast mainly MLB, NHL, and NBA teams in their respective markets. Last year it was announced that Bally Sports would file for bankruptcy. While it was already a huge blow for teams that need a regional broadcaster, it would be worse for the Padres as they had a 20 percent investment into Bally Sports San Diego.
Earlier this month the legal proceedings went ahead to see how much money the Padres would be able to recover from the bankruptcy and they only got back 80 percent of what they invested. While that number may not be huge, it still means there may be more pressure to cut back compared to other years.
The Other Reasons
Not all the reasons can be blamed on the Bally Sports bankruptcy. The Padres last year were one of the best teams in the National League. They found themselves in the wild card slot and beat both the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers to make it into the finals against the Philadelphia Phillies. While they lost, it still meant they were the second-best team and it felt like they would return in the postseason the very next season.
Go back to today where the team is in fourth of the NL West behind its Californian rivals and the Arizona Diamondbacks. It’s unlikely that the Padres will be able to have another run as last year. But the issue is they don’t have a deep farm system ever since they got rid of a lot for Juan Soto.
If there was a need to restructure, it would be this year. While the team has a lot of core players signed and does not have to worry, Soto’s and a lot of other players’ contracts are expiring after this season. The Padres will probably be looking into resigning Soto first but they will also need to think about their future as well.
What Should Be the Plan
If the Padres decide that the best course of action was to sell for younger players that would replace what the Soto trade did to the farm system, the idea would be to sell players that only have a few years left on their current contract.
Austin Nola, Trent Ghrisim, and Matt Carpenter are all players that have a contract that only lasts two more seasons or less. While that may seem like a long time, it’s short for a team with few options in their farm system at the moment.
But the big plan should be keeping Soto with the team. The Padres traded so much of their future for him to the point that it may be a make-it-or-break-it situation for them.
It’s still a wait-and-see moment. But if the team decides to sell, they should have a long-term plan in getting back into the playoffs and keeping Soto.
With the Bally Sports bankruptcy and a disappointing season in San Diego, do you think it’s time for the Padres to wave the white flag? Let us know why or why not in the comments below!
Main image credit Embed from Getty Images
