The San Diego Padres are a team that appears prepared to take the next step after an 89-win season a year ago.
They earned the second National League Wild Card spot and made it all the way to the NLCS, even knocking out two powerhouses in the 101-win New York Mets and the 111-win Los Angeles Dodgers.
After losing to the Philadelphia Phillies, General Manager A.J. Preller got straight to work, adding stars such as Xander Bogaerts, Michael Wacha, Matt Carpenter, Seth Lugo, and Nelson Cruz to an already stacked roster.
That roster features none other than Juan Soto, who expressed his excitement for the season and had some very high praise for his ballclub.
"I've never been on a team this talented."
– Juan Soto on the @Padres roster. #SpringTraining pic.twitter.com/C9fE1b6wyA
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) February 27, 2023
Soto first talked about the return of Fernando Tatis Jr.
During the MLB lockout, Tatis injured his wrist in a motorcycle accident, which resulted in surgery that kept him on the shelf until August.
However, when he was close to returning, it was revealed that he had tested positive for PEDs.
He was subsequently given an 80-game suspension.
But Soto didn’t focus on that.
Instead, he expressed excitement for Tatis’ upcoming return.
He also discussed what Bogaerts brings to the team.
Bogaerts won two World Series titles with the Boston Red Sox and provides the Padres with an extra power bat in their lineup.
Soto even went as far as to say that he had never been on a team with this much talent on the roster, and that it will be a lot of fun to play alongside these stars.
NEXT: Padres Manager Expresses Excitement For 2023
