The San Diego Padres, long one of Major League Baseball’s quietest teams, jolted the sport this week. The Padres grabbed two elite pitchers, swelling the franchise’s payroll at a time of deep financial uncertainty in the game and immediately becoming a favorite to win the 2021 World Series. “This place is going nuts,” Tony Gwynn Jr. said in a phone interview from San Diego on Wednesday. He watched the 2020 Padres become one of the most electrifying teams in an M.L.B. Realmuto — and teams are confronting the dire financial consequences of the pandemic, the Padres have already added roughly $100 million in salary commitments over the next few years.

Source: New York Times December 31, 2020 15:47 UTC