2005 NL West cont.

San Diego Padres(87-75)
Acquired: SP-Woody Williams, OF-Dave Roberts
Departed: SP-David Wells, OF-Jay Payton

The Padres basically decided to stand pat this offseason, as escalated free agent salaries provided little in terms of value this year. Free agent pitchers were highly sought as usual, and Towers obviously decided he wasn't going to overpay for a starter. That said, the Padres may be the better for it as almost the entire team will return from last season. Dave Roberts will take over for Payton in CF, and if he can stay healthy will provide some speed in the leadoff spot. Hopefully he can push his OBP above his career .335 average. This also allows Burroughs to drop into the bottom of the order and concentrate on hitting for more power and driving in runs. There are a lot of question marks with the Padres this year, which I will detail later on, but if they can stay injury free, should be able to compete for the division.