SAN DIEGO PADRES

2005 finish: 82-80, 1^st place in NL West

Manager: Bruce Bochy (12^th season)

Incoming: CF Mike Cameron, C Mike Piazza, 3B Vinny Castilla, RHP Chris Young, 2B Mark Bellhorn, OF Terrmel Sledge, C Doug Mirabelli, IF Geoff Blum, RHP Dewon Brazelton, RHP Seth Etherton, RHP Doug Brocail, LHP Alan Embree, 1B Adrian Gonzalez

Long gone: RHP Adam Eaton, C Ramon Hernandez, RHP Brian Lawrence, 1B/OF Xavier Nady, 1B Mark Sweeney, IF/OF Damian Jackson, 3B Sean Burroughs, 3B Joe Randa, RHP Pedro Astacio, C David Ross, IF Manny Alexander RHP Rudy Seanez, LHP Chris Hammond

Rotation: RHP Jake Peavy, RHP Chris Young, RHP Woody Williams, LHP Shawn Estes, RHP Chan Ho Park

Relievers: RHP Trevor Hoffman; Setup men: RHP Scott Linebrink, RHP Clay Hensley, LHP Alan Embree, RHP Scott Andrade, RHP Dewon Brazelton, RHP Seth Etherton, RHP Scott Cassidy, RHP Doug Brocail (DL)

Regulars: LF Dave Roberts, CF Mike Cameron, RF Brian Giles, C Mike Piazza, 1B Ryan Klesko, 3B Vinny Castilla, SS Khalil Greene, 2B Josh Barfield

Role players: C Doug Mirabelli, IF Mark Bellhorn, IF Geoff Blum, IF Damian Jackson, IF/OF Eric Young, OF Ben Johnson, 1B Adrian Gonzalez, OF Terrmel Sledge  

The pressure is on: Bruce Bochy long has been known as an excellent handler of a pitching staff, particularly the bullpen, but he has his work cut out with this group.

Breakout candidate: Khalil Greene was slowed by two stays on the disabled list last season. His rise to stardom should continue in his third full season.

Rundown: No defending division champion underwent a more dramatic off-season makeover than the Padres. Of course, no defending division champion barely avoided the embarrassment of winning the title with a sub-.500 record as the Padres did, either. At one point this off-season, it appeared as if local icons Trevor Hoffman and Brian Giles were headed elsewhere, but when the dust settled, they were two of the few left from last season’s 82-80 finish. Yet for all of GM Kevin Towers’ maneuvering, it’s hard to see how this roster can match up to last year’s. For one thing, it’s an older team, with five projected regular position players 33 and older. And while they could have more offense, the pitching staff appears weaker. Emerging star Jake Peavy remains at the front of the rotation, but dealing away Adam Eaton and Brian Lawrence has weakened Peavy’s support group. Even if Chris Young steps up and replaces Eaton, Bruce Bochy could be looking at Woody Williams, now 39, Shawn Estes coming off an ankle injury and Chan Ho Park as his No. 3-5 starters. Perhaps Dewon Brazelton or Clay Hensley can step in, or they can succeed in trading for David Wells. But as presently constituted, this rotation simply isn’t division-title material. The story is much the same in the bullpen, where after Hoffman and Scott Linebrink, holes left by Akinori Otsuka, Rudy Seanez and Chris Hammond have to be filled. Fading Alan Embree is the only left-handed candidate, the right-handed options beyond Hensley are a mixed bag at best, and one of them -- Doug Brocail -- underwent an angioplasty procedure this spring. They didn’t attempt to re-sign Ramon Hernandez, and then traded Mark Loretta for Doug Mirabelli in a salary dump. That forced them to get a fading Mike Piazza at deep discount -- $2 million. Piazza is expected to catch 100 or so games, and likely will hit cleanup. What he provides in additional power he will give up in stolen bases by the opposition. Rookie Josh Barfield – Jesse’s kid – apparently has won the second-base job, pushing Mark Bellhorn, on team No. 6 in six years, to a utility role. Vinny Castilla, 38 and probably playing his last season, nonetheless is an upgrade over Sean Burroughs at third base. Ryan Klesko moves to first base, where he played only one game last season, blocking Adrian Gonzalez from a spot he probably deserves. The outfield also has been shuffled, with only right fielder Giles returning in the same spot. Getting Mike Cameron from the Mets for Xavier Nady could be Towers’ best off-season move, provided Cameron is over that nasty collision he had with Carlos Beltran. Cameron will make the center-field defense better, as he moves Dave Roberts over to left field. The bench lost two power bats in Nady and Mark Sweeney, but has plenty of versatility and speed with Bellhordn, Geoff Blum, Eric Young, Termmel Sledge and Ben Johnson. The Padres won the game’s worst division last year by process of elimination due to the injuries that ravaged the Dodgers and Giants. This year, they won’t be quite so fortunate.

Predicted finish: 3^rd place, 77-85

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