The Padres are building something formidable, having added 2018 AL Cy Young winner Blake Snell, 2020 NL Cy Young runner-up Yu Darvish, and much-hyped Korean infielder Ha-Seong Kim in the manner of a few days. The trades and the signing are massive, improving the front line without sacrificing much of the back line, something that creates a significant amount of depth where there was previously little.
And yet, it seems the Dodgers still have the upper hand. Let’s look at projected fWAR:
| Position Group | Padres | Dodgers |
| Catcher | 3.1 | 2.9 |
| First Base | 0.8 | 2.8 |
| Second Base | 2 | 2.1 |
| Shortstop | 6.1 | 5.6 |
| Third Base | 4.7 | 1.4 |
| Left Field | 2.4 | 1.2 |
| Center Field | 3.7 | 5.7 |
| Right Field | 1.3 | 5.6 |
| Designated Hitter | -0.3 | -0.3 |
| Starting Pitching | 16.5 | 15 |
| Relief Pitching | 3.4 | 2.3 |
| Total | 43.7 | 44.3 |
Yes, it’s narrow, and yes, more additions could be coming for both teams, and yes, this is just projected fWAR, which doesn’t tell the full story. But looking at this graph, a few things stand out in the Padres/Dodgers comparison:
- Eric Hosmer is not very productive.
- Corey Seager is almost on Fernando Tatís Jr.’s level.
- Manny Machado is very good, but pound for pound, Cody Bellinger and Mookie Betts are better.
- Dinelson Lamet is a difference-maker. Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw are comparable to Snell and Darvish, and perhaps better, but Lamet outweighs Dustin May or David Price (take your pick), and below that things are fairly even. This is perhaps most meaningful when getting ahead of ourselves and considering the playoffs.
- Are the Dodgers going to make a bullpen move?
It’s a great time to be a Padres fan. But it’s tough to have these Dodgers in your division.
