The Padres' crash in 2023 remains a mystery

Padres GM AJ Preller seemed almost heartbroken after trading Juan Soto (and Trent Grisham) to five Yankees. And while that deal worked for the Yanks, it saved the Padres – who brought in top starter Michael King, powerhouse catcher Kyle Higashioka (two wild-card home runs), and Drew Thorpe (who they used as key ace Dylan Cease), as well as Jhony Brito and Randy Vazquez.

It's a mystery how the 2023 Padres – with much of this team plus Soto, Cy Young winner Blake Snell, Seth Lugo and Josh Hader – went 82-80. What's even more bizarre is that it got manager Bob Melvin a three-year contract from the Giants.

A World Series rematch between the Padres and Yankees seems entirely possible.

The Yankees discussed Luis Gil or Clarke Schmidt for Game 3. I would go with Gil, but they love Schmidt.

The Diamondbacks had a tough time becoming the first team eliminated by a paper tiebreaker after the Mets and Braves were allowed to play a day later and predictably split to secure the rare double champagne celebration. In baseball, it is advisable to schedule the finals at the same time, but in this case, with Hurricane Helene impending, the Mets and Braves should have either played the Monday before or played a doubleheader on Tuesday to avoid the doubleheader the day after.

The D'backs weren't too happy about it, but they also know they've lost five of their last seven games. And MLB is slightly less opposed to paper tiebreakers, with 40 percent of teams qualifying for October.

D'backs owner Ken Kendrick told Arizona Sports Radio 98.7 that signing Jordan Montgomery was his “terrible decision” and is not GM Mike Hazen's fault, it's just reality. Kendrick pushed for Montgomery after Eduardo Rodriguez was lame.

This shouldn't necessarily be taken as a dig at Monty (6.23 ERA, middle reliever), although he raised eyebrows there when he attributed his poor performance to the “conditions” of playing in a dome.

Montgomery will certainly pick up his $22.5 million player option despite the terms. Arizona won't release him but could look to trade him.

AJ Hinch, who replaced Melvin in Arizona and made a name for himself in Houston, is doing it again in Detroit. He was supposed to be GM Rick Hahn's pick for the White Sox before Jerry Reinsdorf hired Tony La Russa to make up for his biggest mistake (firing La Russa decades earlier).

Rumor has it that Reinsdorf will let GM Chris Getz take the reins this time, which is a good idea since the relationship between GM and manager is crucial.

Chisox players love Grady Sizemore. But they will also look.

Will Venable is a South Side candidate if he were to leave Texas. Bruce Bochy's likely successor declined an interview with the Mets last winter.