Padres' Game 1 Wild Card win proves San Diego won the Juan Soto trade

During the offseason, the Padres made a major trade with the New York Yankees. In exchange for four-time MLB All-Star Juan Soto and two-time National League Gold Glove winner Trent Grisham, the Padres received catcher Kyle Higashioka and right-handed pitchers Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Jhony Brito and Randy Vásquez.

Despite losing arguably their best player, the Padres have shot up the standings without her this season. San Diego finished five games behind the Dodgers for the NL West Division title and enjoyed tremendous success in the second half of the season. Now the Padres are battling the Atlanta Braves for second place in the National League Division Series against the Dodgers.

The Padres won Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, defeating the Braves 4-0. In front of the largest crowd in Petco Park history, two of the Padres' newcomers shined.

King made his first postseason start in his career and did not disappoint. The 29-year-old right-handed pitcher struck out 12 batters and kept the Braves off the scoreboard for seven innings. His performance was historic, making King the first pitcher in MLB history to strike out 12 batters without allowing any runs in his first postseason start.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Higashioka scored the fourth and final run of their dominant win for the Padres, opening the Wild Card series. The San Diego catcher launched a home run that was his first since August 28th.

In New York, Soto had one of the best seasons of his career. Soto earned his fourth MLB All-Star selection and the first of his American League career. The four-time NL Silver Slugger ranked in the top 10 in the AL for several hitting metrics, including runs (128), home runs (41), batting average (.288), on-base percentage (.419) and slugging percentage (. 569), OPS (.988), total bases (328) and RBIs (109).

In addition to Soto in New York, Grisham is the Yankees' second-most used center fielder behind Aaron Judge. Grisham has made 52 starts at the position this season, which is significantly fewer than the 142 starts he made with the Padres last season.

Both King and Higashioka were acquired in the Soto-Grisham trade. Stepping into the shoes of a future Baseball Hall of Famer like Soto comes with high pressure and high expectations. But the pair's performance on Tuesday dispelled some doubts about whether the Padres made a wise decision.