The Padres had a fairly quiet offseason coming off a 93-win season. They were working with limited payroll room for the second straight winter, but they decided not to move any key pieces in cost-cutting trades. A few late signings -- including a backloaded four-year deal for a mid-rotation starter -- rounded out the offseason.
Major League Signings
- RHP Nick Pivetta: Four years, $55MM (includes opt-outs after 2026 and '27 with conditional injury protection for the team)
- C Elias Díaz: One year, $3.5MM (including buyout of '26 mutual option)
- LHP Kyle Hart: One year, $1.5MM (including buyout of '26 club option)
- LF Jason Heyward: One year, $1MM
- LF Connor Joe: One year, $1MM
2025 spending: $11MM
Total spending: $62MM
Option Decisions
- SS Ha-Seong Kim declined $8MM mutual option in favor of $2MM buyout
- LHP Wandy Peralta exercised $4.25MM player option; deal includes respective $4.45MM player options for 2026 and '27
Trades and Claims
- Selected RHP Juan Nuñez from Orioles in Rule 5 draft
- Acquired RHP Ron Marinaccio from White Sox for cash
Notable Minor League Seasons
- Andrew Bellatti, Wes Benjamin, Trenton Brooks, Mike Brosseau, Austin Davis, Jose Espada, Logan Gillaspie, Moises Gomez, Oscar González, Niko Goodrum, Yuli Gurriel (will be added to 40-man roster), Jose Iglesias (will be added to 40-man roster), Reiss Knehr, Tim Locastro, Martín Maldonado (will be added to 40-man roster), Mason McCoy (added to 40-man roster), Luis Patiño, Gavin Sheets (added to 40-man roster), Forrest Wall, J.B. Wendelken
Extensions
- Signed SS Tyler Wade to one-year, $900K deal with $1MM club option for 2026
Notable Losses
- Tanner Scott, Jurickson Profar, Ha-Seong Kim, Kyle Higashioka, Donovan Solano, David Peralta (still unsigned), Martín Pérez, Nick Ahmed, Bryce Johnson (non-tendered)
The Padres faced a pair of injuries late last season that had a significant impact on their offseason. In August, Ha-Seong Kim injured his shoulder diving back into first base on a pickoff attempt. He underwent a season-ending labrum repair a few weeks later. Joe Musgrove left a start early in the postseason with elbow tightness. He required Tommy John surgery that'll cost him the entire '25 season.
Kim's injury was "only" expected to carry into the early part of this season, though it came with a nebulous enough timeline that it's possible he'll miss most of the first half. The Padres never seemed likely to meet the asking price to retain free agency's #2 shortstop. However, there's a decent chance they would have issued Kim a qualifying offer if he were fully healthy.
Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription
- Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco.
- Join exclusive weekly live chats with Anthony.
- Remove ads and support our writers.
- Access GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker
Yawn
Nap time at the Shady Oaks old folks home, BB? Do you need your nappie changed, too?
I’ma going wait for you to become my age and you fall into a nap mid-post.
@JoeBrady. I hear ya. Though I’m not sure I’ll live to be so old as to bear witness to Gwynning’s napping years.
“B” when considering their financial constraints.
The bats at catcher look to be pretty bad. Might as well have never traded Austin Hedges.
Maldonado reminds me of Hedges so much! I like Diaz’s at-bats. Just hoping we get above Mendoza Line #s from Maldonado…
Gwynning;
You know baseball…….
The catcher is the most important player on a team. He works with the pitchers to get opposition batters to hit the ball where his teams defenders are positioned. His batting once every 9 times for his team is incidental as relates to
W’s vs. L’s.
There is no magic stat to quantify a catchers impact – or
lack thereof – to his team. Most decent managers and FO people know. And nothing is more stupid than the framing statistic….where every time I watch a game the announcers will talk about the umpires strike zone that day, so that the 2 teams catchers are given credit for making a ball a strike because the umpire has a large strike zone in an area that day.
–
As for the Padres – they have one of the best managers in MLB. He’ll get the most out of the players the FO has on
the roster each gameday.
Core Needs
Starting Pitching Depth: Grade: C+. No change—Pivetta helps, but they needed more, especially with Sasaki strengthening a rival.
Bullpen Stability: Unchanged—still a functional but diminished unit.
Corner Outfield/DH Production: Grade: D. No adjustment—still a glaring hole.
Catcher Offense/Defense Balance: Grade: C-. No change.
Overall Offseason Grade: C
No revision needed—the Padres’ inactivity remains a middling effort, exacerbated by the Dodgers’ Sasaki coup.
Win Prediction: 85-77
I’m going to give it a C-. Missing out on Roki was predictable in hindsight, and while it was a worthwhile effort, it left LF and C threadbare. I think they would’ve been priced out on Profar regardless, but Higgy would spare me from having to watch Maldonado. The same goes for Perez; these signings should’ve been no-brainers, given the deficiencies of the roster at the time. Heyward and Joe, I thought, would be a below-average but serviceable LF platoon. I liked the Diaz signing as a backup. C. Pivetta was the one slam dunk the FO made all offseason; I’m quite high on him, and I think he’ll be right up there with Cease and King in terms of results. Hart is intriguing as a depth piece, and the club has had success with KBO/NPB pitchers, so here’s hoping.