MLB Twitter reacts to San Diego Padres being named best team on paper: "Best offense? Probably. Best team? Nah" "Half this lineup is very ordinary"

The San Diego Padres have made their share of noise when it comes to transactions, but have they built the best team? MLB Network posed the question on Twitter on Wednesday. The question certainly provoked a lot of debate.

Many fans noticed that MLB Network left off the pitching staff when discussing whether the San Diego Padres were the best team on paper. San Diego's staff has Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, and Blake Snell as its top three starters. Not bad, but not nearly the best, according to many.

Many fans also noticed that the Padres are moving a lot of players out of their natural positions in order to facilitate an elite-level hitting lineup. December's signing of Xander Bogaerts immediately pushed Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. to right field next year, which in turn, pushes right fielder Juan Soto to left field.

San Diego's 2023 defensive alignment, as shown by MLB Network, features five players -- Bogaerts, Tatis, Manny Machado, Ha-seong Kim, and Jake Croenenworth -- that either came into the major leagues as a shortstop, or who have played a substantial number of games at the position.

Again, if the Padres hit the ball as well as their lineup indicates they will, then perhaps this is the best team in MLB on paper right now. It remains to be seen whether the defense will suffer with several players not in their natural positions and how much possible defensive failings will affect the pitching staff.

Other teams in the Padres' on-paper strata are doing so with many more players in their natural positions. But that is not to say that San Diego's team lineup isn't scary. It remains to be seen whether January dominance will lead to October and November success.

The San Diego Padres are built like a fantasy team

Juan Soto #22 of the San Diego Padres runs the bases following a solo home run

The San Diego Padres have been one of the most active teams in both the free agent and trade markets over the past couple of years. The team has made its share of headlines off-the-field, but as of yet has not matched that with on-field success.

However, in spite of finishing 22 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2022 regular season, the Padres did defeat the Dodgers in the National League Division Series last October. Perhaps, this taste of postseason success is a sign of things to come in 2023. What do you think?