The Padres have been one of baseball’s biggest spenders in recent years, and it’s hard to argue (for the most part) with the results: San Diego has strung together three winning seasons in four years for the first time since 2004-07.
However, their financial free-for-all has reportedly come at a price.
The Padres took out a loan of about $50 million in September to cover “obligations, including player payroll,” according to a Wednesday afternoon report from Evan Drellich, Dennis Lin and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
San Diego ran the third-highest payroll in the sport in 2023 at $256 million, trailing only the Mets ($344 million) and Yankees ($279 million). The Padres went 82-80 and missed the playoffs, but finished only behind the Dodgers and Yankees in attendance.
“The Padres organization continues to have access to all the resources, financial and otherwise, it needs to field a championship caliber team for the fans of San Diego,” San Diego CEO Erik Greupner told The Athletic in a statement. “We established a capital plan for 2023 with our ownership group and lender partners and are operating our business in accordance with that plan.”
Per Drellich, Lin and Rosenthal, the Padres may “be in a position where they feel a need to trade another star, (outfielder) Juan Soto, to better their finances.”
Soto is entering his final arbitration-eligible season before hitting free agency after 2024.
