Somebody made a point as to what the Padres transactions did for the psyche for the other teams. The Padres have now joined the Dodgers, Braves, probably Mets, and maybe the Nationals (with their pitching and Soto/Robles/Turner) to separate from the rest of the NL. Some team from the NL Central will get to the playoffs, because, well one of the teams has to. It is a rule.
Because of the 2020 COVID non-revenue season and the questionable revenues in 2021, too many teams are looking to pare salary. Not take it on. The exceptions, a billionaire with a new toy (Steve Cohen and NYM), and Toronto.