San Diego Padres general manager A.J. Preller has revamped the team this offseason and the fans have shown they're excited. In Northern California, the Giants have re-signed one of their relievers.
Just one day after Christmas, fans arrived at the Petco Park box office to get their season tickets for 2015. Preller became the team's GM in the middle of 2014 in hopes of ending the Padres' eight-year playoff drought, with their last appearance coming under manager Bruce Bochy in 2006. San Diego has now made themselves a contender in acquiring Matt Kemp, Wil Myers, Justin Upton, Derek Norris and Will Middlebrooks.
"Fans had lined up at the box office before it opened Friday morning, pushing ticket interest to new levels in the midst of an already record-breaking month, Wayne Partello, the Padres' chief marketing officer, said this week," writes Jeff Sanders of U-T San Diego. "Although the Padres declined to reveal specific numbers regarding an uptick in sales this month, business on their six-game holiday packages this weekend alone trumped sales totals from the previous two weeks, Partello said."
Those ticket sales could witness an unprecedented spike if Preller manages to acquire left-hander Cole Hamels from the Philadelphia Phillies.
Also in the NL West division, the San Francisco Giants are working on retaining some of their own free agents after losing Pablo Sandoval and Michael Morse, and watching Jon Lester sign with the Chicago Cubs. After re-signing Sergio Romo and Jake Peavy, the Giants also retained right-hander J.C. Gutierrez on a minor league contract.
The Venezuelan logged a 1-2 record with a 3.96 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 63 2/3 innings this past season, but was dropped from the team's 40-man roster in November. He'll spend his second season with San Francisco in 2015.
The NL West could be one of the more competitive divisions in baseball next season with the reigning World Series champion Giants and because of the recent moves executed by the Padres and Dodgers.
