Juan Soto, Manny Machado snubbed as ex-Padres star picks best teammate
On Thursday, former San Diego Padres outfielder Will Myers talked about the best teammate he has ever played with. Despite having shared the field with some incredible talents such as Juan Soto and Manny Machado, another one of Myers' ex-San Diego teammates takes the cake.
Having been traded to the Padres as part of a three-team interaction between the Friars, Tampa Bay Rays and Washington Nationals before the 2015 season, Myers quickly established himself as a vital player for the team. As he got his first career All-Star cap in his second season at Petco Park, Myers earned himself a six-year, $83 million extension.
In those years, numerous outstanding talents shared the dressing room with the 34-year-old. However, according to Myers, Fernando Tatis Jr. was the most "special" of them all.
"If you're saying best player, I did play with Soto so he is in that conversation. The one thing about Soto, he has the highest floor of any player I've played with," Myers said on the 'Diggin' Deep' podcast. "He can be awful and still get on base at .350, which nobody else really can do. I still would probably give the upper hand to [Fernando] Tatis [Jr.], just because nobody can get as hot as Tatis can get. It's like when he's hot, you just can't get him out.
"Soto's obviously really good when he's hot, Manny's really good when he's hot. But, Tatis, when he is hot, he's going to hit two homers a game, it's unbelievable, it's like he can't miss. He doesn't walk a ton, so he's swinging the bat a lot, and when he's hot, he's just putting barrel on it everytime. I would give the upper hand slightly to Tatis, Manny's my boy too, so I hate saying that, but I gotta give credit where credit is due," he added.
(from 28:00 mark onwards)
Padres GM lays out expectations for Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and other stars as 2025 season approaches
On Thursday, Padres General Manager A.J. Preller talked about his ambitions for the new season, laying out his expectations of some of his most talented players such as Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Xander Bogaerts, Jackson Merrill and Luis Arraez.
"We've got multiple players who could be in MVP consideration — Tatis, Machado, Xander and Jackson leading the way. Then you have guys like Arraez, hopefully winning another batting title. Health is always a big factor — we’ve seen that play a role over the last four or five years," Preller said via Marty Caswell.
"But if we can continue what we started last year, especially with [Schildt] and the coaching staff being so detail-oriented, focusing on the little things that lead to winning baseball games, we’ll be in a great spot," he added.
Heading into the new season, Padres fans will be hoping that the aforementioned players can deliver on those expectations, and potentially inspire the team to a first World Series title.