The San Diego Padres were once a lowly franchise, having not reached the World Series since 1998 and continually being stepped on by their National League West division rivals.
More than a decade later, the Padres are now one of the powerhouses of Major League Baseball.
The team has reached the postseason two out of the last three seasons and even went as far as the NLCS in 2022.
Though they fell short against the Philadelphia Phillies, the team figures to have another shot at contention in 2023.
Last night, the team signed Xander Bogaerts to an 11-year, $280 million contract.
On Twitter, a Padres insider pointed out an interesting fact about their payroll, comparing where it was to start the 2010 season to what it is projected to be at the start of the 2023 season.
2010 Padres Opening Day payroll: $37.8 million (2nd-lowest in MLB).
Projected 2023 Padres Opening Day payroll: $235 million (3rd-highest in MLB).
— Danny Vietti (@DannyVietti) December 8, 2022
Then Versus Now
This is quite a stark difference.
In 2010, their payroll was the second lowest in all of baseball.
Now, it’s the third highest in the entire league.
The Padres have grown into a team that has prioritized spending money in order to compete with the best teams in the league.
With Bogaerts in the fold with Manny Machado, Juan Soto, and Fernando Tatis Jr., the Padres look prepared to compete with the Los Angeles Dodgers for NL West supremacy and take another step towards World Series contention.
The Padres have certainly come a long way since 2010.
That year, they were a surprise postseason contender, but ultimately collapsed down the stretch and missed the playoffs.
Things are different in San Diego these days.
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