The San Diego Padres are a month into life after All-Stars Juan Soto, Blake Snell and Josh Hader. Things are just fine.

The Padres are again in contention in the NL West, and while they lost big bat Soto in the December trade with the New York Yankees, not only are they more balanced after adding starters Dylan Cease and Michael King but also they doing it economically.

It started with general manager A.J. Preller’s decision to move Soto, which while it seemed inevitable on one level was met with some raised eyebrows.

“At the time, you probably see it (trade) the other way, I’m not going to lie, because I didn’t see up close what these guys were capable of doing.” Fernando Tatis Jr. said, alluding to Cease and King.

“But the more I keep seeing them, they bring the team to a whole different level. We are a really good baseball team. We are a team that can do the big things. This year we are proving ourselves we are having success doing the small things. With that balance and that pitching.

“There is a long road to go. It’s a matter of if we can keep doing the small things and keep ourselves in balance.”

The Padres made the smart fiscal play in trading Soto, who a month into his $31 million walk year is bashing his way toward a top-tier free agent deal, perhaps in the $50 million per year range.

Soto, in his age 26 season, will be the prize in a market that is expected to be as robust as it has been with recent young superstars including Shohei Ohtani, whose 10-year $700 million free agent contract signed last winter is the highest in major league history, even at its $461 million adjusted value due to his extensive deferrals.

At the same time, San Diego already had dedicated big money to run producers Manny Machado ($350 million), Fernando Tatis Jr., ($340 million) and Xander Bogaerts ($280 million), all locked up through at least 2033.

The Soto deal enabled them to assemble potentially one of the best rotations in the NL, with Cease and King joining Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish as a foursome capable of cranking out quality start after quality start.

The Padres acquired King and pitching prospects Ian Thorpe, Jhony Brito and Randy Vasquez in the seven-player deal with the Yankees. They then flipped Thorpe in a package to acquire Cease from the Chicago White Sox.

The moves also helped them save a boatload of money while replacing Snell. Cease and King will make a combined $11.5 million this season, about a sixth of what Snell will get after signing a two-year, $62 million free agent deal with San Francisco that includes a opt-out provision after this season.

Both Cease and King have one more year of arbitration eligibility, which will make them quite affordable again in 2025. Each is three years younger than Snell, who has two more Cy Young Awards than he has complete games in a nine-year career.

Musgrove is signed through 2027 after agreeing to a five-year, $100 million deal last August. Darvish, signed in 2023, is due $83 million through 2028.

Which means that the Padres are still spending money, but the cost of doing business in the wake of their offseason decisions has decreased drastically.

Their $161 million active payroll is just below the major league average, and it is lower than NL West rivals the Los Angles Dodgers ($228 million), the Giants ($197 million) and defending NL champion Arizona ($167 million).

Completing the makeover, closer Robert Suarez has converted all eight of his save chances while taking over the ninth inning from Hader, whose five-year, $95 million free agent deal with Houston was the largest for a closer. Suarez signed a five-year, $46 million contract last season that includes an opt-out after 2025.

Hader made it clear to the Padres that he preferred only one-inning stints, and he pitched more than one inning only once in his 1 1/2 seasons with them. Suarez had two four-out saves and one five-out save in his first 10 appearances this season.

“He’s embraced his role, and … wow,” Tatis said of Suarez. “He’s blowing doors to everybody. Hitters know his fastball is coming and they still can’t hit it.”

Suarez has thrown his 98 mph fastball 87 percent of the time this season, according to FanGraphs.

Cease, who was second in the AL Cy Young voting in 2022, is 3-1 with a 1.82 ERA in his first five starts this season after winning 3-1 at Colorado on Monday, when he gave up one and struck out eight. He has given up 11 hits in 29 2/3 innings, is averaging 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings and leads major league qualifiers in opponents’ batting average (.113).

King was roughed up in a 7-4 loss at Colorado on Tuesday, dropping to 2-2 with a 4.11 ERA, but took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of his previous start at Milwaukee. He is building on a 2.33 ERA he had in nine nine starts with the Yankees after being moved into the rotation in mid-August.

Tatis had one word to describe the two newcomers.

“Nasty,” he said.

Musgrove, Cease and King were among the top 15 in the NL in innings pitched entering Tuesday, an indication of what they have meant to the team.

“If were are going to go out and grab quality innings and be able to help the team compete, let’s start there,” San Diego manager Mike Shildt said. “That’s a big portion of those guys’ responsibilities that take the ball at the beginning of the game. Both of those guys have done that very, very well.

“They do the things that allow you to get deep in games. They hold runners. They control counts. They have multiple pitches they can throw multiple times for strikes. It’s also clearly helpful to our bullpen to keep those guys fresh as well.”