The San Diego Padres misplaced within the Nationwide League Wild Card Spherical in opposition to the Chicago Cubs to finish their 2025 season. The workforce has loads of bats to go up in opposition to any pitching lineup within the MLB, however one notable high quality is lacking: consistency.
On Wednesday, former Padres reliever Heath Bell was requested what New Yr’s decision he needs the franchise to undertake. Bell pressured doing fundamentals nicely, sending a wake-up name to high Padres sluggers, together with Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill, and others.
“Let’s hit a bit of bit higher than regular. Manny, we all know you’ll be able to hit round .300, go forward and do it,” Bell stated (5:38) on Friar Territory. “Tatis, we all know you are able to do that too. Cronenworth, we all know you’ll be able to hit. You recognize, Jackson Merrill, third 12 months within the league, you don’t have the sophomore droop anymore. We all know you’ll be able to hit. And Bogarts, maintain hitting like you’ve been, and the opposite guys as nicely.”
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Bell asks the sluggers to deliver consistency of their hitting, not like 2025, after they had a couple of nice months and a few utterly reverse.
“Let’s begin the notion of, ‘Hey, we didn’t get off to a sluggish begin,’ or, ‘We had a nasty month,’” Bell added. “Every little thing’s clear. Let’s return to what we did, the fundamentals, the place the Padres, if you concentrate on it, got here out of spring coaching doing the fundamentals, had an unbelievable April final 12 months, after which swiftly, I don’t know, forgot the fundamentals or one thing and didn’t hit for a few months.
“So, guys, let’s simply stick with the fundamentals, and let’s hit for the subsequent six months as a substitute of perhaps a month right here and a month there. It’s all about swinging the bat and doing the fundamentals that introduced you success in April and September of final 12 months.”
Padres made notable additions in offseason
Not like final offseason, the place they remained silent, the Padres have made a splash in December, signing KBO star infielder Sung-Mun Track to a four-year contract. They’ve additionally re-signed right-hander Michael King to a three-year, $75 million deal, giving the franchise stability within the rotation after a busy offseason.
In the meantime, pitcher Jhony Brito, acquired within the Juan Soto commerce, is aiming to return from offseason elbow surgical procedure. Presently, the Padres are considering whether or not three-time batting champion Luis Arraez must be introduced again, given his familiarity with the membership.
Edited by Krutik Jain
