And The Pods will still be 2nd Place in the NL West. Usually, buying that many FAs doesn’t achieve success. Instead, build a contender and then add two or three pieces to succeed in MLB.,,....

 

Isn't that what the Padres did? They still have 6 of their 7 best prospects.... and now maybe the best rotation in the game. I'm not sure your point

The post I quoted listed five plus other players for the Pods to sign. I do believe they have improved their squad, but over-buying can be counterproductive in a league where so many all-stars are younger.

Something tells me that San Diego have had ongoing talks with Chicago and there was overlap that created an opportunity to get Snell and Darvish on the same day. Snell was costly while Darvish was a bargain. The Padres have designs on playing significant baseball next October and bringing in two pitchers like Snell and Darvish improves their odds of success. When the Cubs agreed to take Davies, the money suddenly made sense too. I'm a baseball fan whose only allegiance is to the Twins, but San Diego created some excitement for their fans. 

An unrelated question occurs - how much larger is the market in San Diego than the Twin Cities?

 

And The Pods will still be 2nd Place in the NL West. Usually, buying that many FAs doesn’t achieve success. Instead, build a contender and then add two or three pieces to succeed in MLB.

They've already got a contender. Acquiring top shelf SP to add to their impressive core via trade is different than just signing the top few FAs.