Author: Anthony Franco

Despite some in-fighting among ownership, the Padres brought back one of their key free agents. The Friars took their usual approach of signing a notable player from an Asian league and adding a bunch of cheap veteran free agents just before Spring Training. As has frequently been the case, they’re also heading into the season with a new manager.

Major League Signings

• RHP Michael King: Three years, $75MM (includes opt-outs after ’26 and ’27 seasons)
• 2B/3B Sung-mun Song: Four years, $15MM (includes opt-out after ’28 season and mutual option for ’30)
• DH/LF Miguel Andujar: One year, $4MM (including buyout of ’27 mutual option)
• RHP Griffin Canning: One year, $2.5MM (including buyout of ’27 mutual option)
• RHP Germán Márquez: One year, $1.75MM (including buyout of ’27 mutual option)
• LHP Kyle Hart: One year, $1.2MM (including buyout of ’27 club option)
• 1B/OF Nick Castellanos: One year, $780K league minimum (Phillies covering remainder of $20MM salary)
• RHP Daison Acosta: Major league deal (later outrighted)
• RHP Ty Adcock: Major league deal (pre-arbitration)

2026 commitments: $24.5MM
Total future commitments: $99.45MM

Trades and Claims

• None

Option Decisions

• RHP Robert Suarez opted out of two years and $16MM
• RHP Michael King declined $15MM mutual option in favor of $3.75MM buyout (later re-signed)
• LHP Wandy Peralta exercised two-year, $8.9MM player option (can opt out after ’26)
• Team exercised $6.5MM club option on LF Ramón Laureano
• Team declined $7MM mutual option on C Elias Díaz in favor of $2MM buyout
• Team declined $5MM club option on LHP Kyle Hart in favor of $500K buyout (later re-signed)
• Team declined $1MM club option on SS Tyler Wade in favor of $50K buyout

Notable Minor League Signings

• Jase Bowen, Sean Boyle, Walker Buehler, Omar Cruz, Ty France, Marco Gonzales, Blake Hunt, Triston McKenzie, Jose Miranda, Pablo Reyes, Carlos Rodríguez, Nick Schnell, Nick Solak, Samad Taylor, Alex Verdugo, Justin Yeager

Extensions

• None

Notable Losses

• Dylan Cease, Robert Suarez, Ryan O’Hearn, Luis Arraez, Jose Iglesias (still unsigned), Elias Díaz, Tyler Wade, Martín Maldonado (retired), Nestor Cortes (still unsigned), Sean Reynolds (non-tender)

The Padres’ offseason began in usual fashion. Immediately after being bounced by the Cubs in the Wild Card Series, San Diego faced questions about their leadership continuity. President of baseball operations A.J. Preller was headed into the final year of his contract. Manager Mike Shildt had led the team to consecutive playoff appearances, but that didn’t ensure he’d be back.

After initial reporting that the Padres planned to retain Shildt, he stepped down in the middle of October. Excellent reporting from Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune contextualized that decision. Acee’s column goes into detail about how Shildt’s managerial style wound up alienating many of his assistant coaches, while the 57-year-old skipper said he’d become worn down by the position. (Shildt would remain in baseball but in a lower-profile role by accepting a player development job with the Orioles six weeks later.)

This wasn’t quite the same situation as the Padres’ previous two managerial changes. The 2024 move to allow Bob Melvin to leave for the Giants reportedly stemmed from an acrimonious relationship between Melvin and Preller. Jayce Tingler’s ouster at the end of 2021 came after he’d seemingly lost the clubhouse amidst a second half collapse. In any case, the result was a fourth managerial hiring process in seven years — and a remarkable sixth full-time skipper during Preller’s lengthy run at the top of baseball operations.

Preller’s own contract status would linger over the offseason, but it was apparent early on that he’d be back for 2026 at least. The Padres conducted their managerial search throughout the postseason and into the first few days of the offseason. They settled on former reliever Craig Stammen, who had been in the organization’s player development department but had no coaching or managerial experience. It was an unexpected hire considering initial reporting suggested the likes of Ryan Flaherty, Nick Hundley, Ruben Niebla, and Albert Pujols were in the running.

San Diego kept the well-regarded Niebla on staff as pitching coach despite passing on him for the managerial vacancy. The Padres brought in Randy Knorr as bench coach and tabbed former outfielder Steven Souza Jr. as a first-time hitting coach. Stammen had ties to both men (Knorr as a coach, Souza as a teammate) from his time in the Nationals bullpen.

Once the manager was settled, the front office could turn its attention to the roster. They faced a handful of free agent losses. Dylan Cease and Robert Suarez obviously weren’t coming back. Cease was going to price himself out of San Diego, while the Padres had prepared for Suarez’s departure by trading for Mason Miller last summer.

The Padres had a number of option decisions. Most of them were obvious: Suarez’s opt-out, Michael King declining a mutual option, the team exercising a bargain $6.5MM option to keep left fielder Ramón Laureano. The club bought out depth starter Kyle Hart but quickly circled back on a cheaper one-year deal. They dropped Elias Díaz and Tyler Wade, while lefty reliever Wandy Peralta passed on the chance to opt out of the remaining two years and $8.9MM on his deal.

San Diego issued qualifying offers to Cease and King, both of which were expected. They opted not to make a QO to Luis Arraez, setting the stage for him to join the division rival Giants on a $12MM deal. Ryan O’Hearn was ineligible for a qualifying offer as a midseason trade pickup, not that the Padres would have given much thought to offering him a $22.025MM salary. O’Hearn’s production after the trade was just alright and it doesn’t seem like San Diego made much effort to bring him back before he signed a two-year deal with Pittsburgh.

Of their impactful free agents, King became the priority. Some of that was driven by a glaring need for rotation help beyond Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove, the latter of whom missed all of last season rehabbing Tommy John surgery. Although San Diego’s interest in re-signing King was natural, it came as a moderate surprise they got the deal done. The Padres have curtailed free agent spending since Peter Seidler’s 2023 passing. Even last offseason’s four-year, $55MM deal with Pivetta came late in the winter when the righty was amenable to a heavily backloaded contract with opt-outs after the second and third seasons.

The Padres were also facing some geographic disadvantages. King attended high school in Rhode Island, played collegiately at Boston College, and spent the first five seasons of his career with the Yankees. He said he entered the offseason preferring to land with an East Coast team. That changed when the Padres put forth a three-year, $75MM offer that included opt-out chances after the first and second seasons. King might’ve been able to land a bigger guarantee elsewhere, but he’s able to remain with a team he knows well with a chance to cash in next offseason.

King pitched at a borderline ace level during his first season in San Diego. He was out to an even stronger start to the ’25 campaign before encountering a troublesome nerve issue in his throwing shoulder. That shelved him for nearly three months, and he battled knee inflammation upon his late-season return. Although a fully healthy King is clearly one of the team’s three best starters, the Padres used him out of the bullpen in their playoff series.

It’s an upside play for pitcher and team alike. The Padres are hopefully paying King $22MM ($12MM signing bonus, $5MM salary, and a $5MM option buyout) for one excellent season. He’d be positioned to retest the market at age 32 without being attached to a qualifying offer. He’d likely try to max out the contract length and guarantee at that point.

Slotting King back into the #2 spot in the rotation is far more valuable to the Padres than the fourth round pick they would have received as compensation for his departure. They did land one compensatory draft choice when Cease signed his seven-year deal with the Blue Jays — a deal that shattered whatever the Padres would have been willing to offer.

Even with King in the fold, the rotation remained the roster’s biggest question. Yu Darvish missed a couple months last season with an elbow issue. He looked a shell of his former self when healthy enough to pitch, allowing a 5.38 ERA in 15 regular season starts (plus two runs on four hits in one playoff inning). There were early whispers that the 39-year-old Darvish could walk away from the remaining three years on his contract.

That may still be the case, but all that’s known for now is that the righty won’t be available in 2026. Darvish underwent an internal brace surgery to address UCL damage in his elbow. He made his most recent statement on his long-term future in January, saying that he and the team have had conversations about terminating his contract (presumably with some kind of deferral or buyout structure). He hasn’t made any decisions on retirement. Darvish is signed through his age-41 season for a combined $43MM: $15MM this year, followed by $14MM salaries in 2027-28.

The Padres poked around the market for a second significant rotation move. They reportedly made a three-year, $50MM offer to Merrill Kelly. He opted to return to Arizona on a two-year deal at a higher annual rate. The Padres were loosely tied to Framber Valdez as his free agency lingered but never seemed likely to make the money work.

They’ll round out the rotation with internal arms and reclamation projects. Randy Vásquez is expected to get the fourth starter role on the heels of a decent 2025 season. They added Griffin Canning on a $2.5MM deal after last June’s Achilles tear. Canning had posted a 3.77 ERA across 16 starts with the Mets before the injury. He’ll probably be on the injured list into May but should be locked into a rotation spot once he’s healthy.

San Diego signed longtime Rockies righty Germán Márquez to a $1.75MM contract to round out the staff until Canning returns. Márquez hasn’t been good since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2023. He’s coming off a near-7.00 ERA over 26 starts last season. He was bombed for a 7.32 mark outside Coors Field. The big league deal is less about projecting improved performance at normal altitude and more a flier on a fastball that still sits around 95 mph.

It’s a similar situation for Walker Buehler, who came aboard on a minor league contract. Buehler’s fastball sat around 94 mph last season, well down from the upper 90s heat he brought before undergoing his second Tommy John procedure in 2022. He’s in the 92 mph range this spring, though it’s common for pitchers to add a tick or two as they build up into game shape.

Buehler isn’t guaranteed a roster spot but could push Márquez for the fifth starter role. It’s also possible the Padres start Musgrove on the injured list to avoid pushing him too quickly, which would open another early-season rotation spot. The Padres tendered JP Sears a $2.75MM arbitration contract even though he was a non-factor after coming over in the Miller trade. He’s on the 40-man roster and likely starting the season in the minors. That’s also true of Hart and minor league signee Marco Gonzales, while they’ll face a decision on the out-of-options Matt Waldron once he’s back from the injured list.

The Padres understandably felt good about the bullpen despite losing Suarez. Miller is probably the best closer in MLB. Jeremiah Estrada, Jason Adam, Adrian Morejon, David Morgan and Bradgley Rodriguez could all find themselves in setup roles. Peralta and Yuki Matsui are under contract as lefty middle relievers. San Diego’s only 40-man roster moves were depth fliers on Daison Acosta and Ty Adcock, both of whom will open the season in Triple-A.

There was more work to do on the position player side. The Padres have one of the most top-heavy offensive groups in the league. That isn’t going to change, but they made a few moves to deepen a lineup losing Arraez and O’Hearn.

The most notable was a four-year deal for KBO infielder Sung-mun Song. The 29-year-old has had an excellent last two seasons for the Kiwoom Heroes after a middling career until that point. Scouting reports project him as a utility player at the MLB level. That’s the role he’ll play in San Diego at a modest $2.8MM average annual value.

Song, a lefty hitter, has spent most of his career at second or third base. He’ll back up Jake Cronenworth and Manny Machado at those respective positions. The Padres also planned to get him shortstop and outfield work this spring, though that’s been halted by some oblique trouble that seems likely to delay his team debut by a few weeks.

The Padres wanted to balance the lineup by adding a pair of veteran right-handed bats. San Diego signed lefty masher Miguel Andujar to a one-year, $4MM deal. He’s coming off an excellent .318/.352/.470 showing between the A’s and Reds. The market was nevertheless cold on him because of his lack of defensive value, injury history, and aggressive offensive approach.

Andujar will get the majority of the designated hitter work while backing up Laureano and Fernando Tatis Jr. in the corner outfield. The Padres wanted another righty hitter to platoon with Gavin Sheets at first base. Paul Goldschmidt would have been an ideal fit, but he declined an offer from San Diego to return to the Yankees. The Padres pivoted to Nick Castellanos after he was released by the Phillies.

The move comes at literally no cost financially. Castellanos is playing for the league minimum salary in San Diego (which the Padres would have paid to whoever else was taking that roster spot regardless). The Phillies are eating the rest of his $20MM salary. Castellanos should still be a decent power bat against lefty pitching. Any risk is in adding a player who had no first base experience until this spring and whose time in Philadelphia ended with a highly publicized rift with manager Rob Thomson.

The Padres opted not to make a move behind the plate, where they’ll rely on the Freddy Fermin/Luis Campusano pair. They don’t have clear backups behind Xander Bogaerts and Jackson Merrill at shortstop and in center field, respectively. They’d been hoping to get Song up to speed for that role by Opening Day. A season-opening injured list stint would create a spot for one of Will Wagner, Mason McCoy or minor league signee Ty France as a utility infielder. The out-of-options Bryce Johnson probably wins the fourth outfield role.

They could benefit from one more depth move in the final two weeks of Spring Training, but it doesn’t seem to be a priority. San Diego didn’t make a single waiver claim for a second straight offseason. They also didn’t make any trades despite Preller’s affinity for massive swings. There was a rumor out of the Winter Meetings about talks with the Mets concerning a potential blockbuster involving Miller, Pivetta and Laureano. There’s no indication that progressed, and the Padres stood pat from a trade perspective.

That surely won’t be the case this summer. The Padres mostly sat out last offseason’s trade activity as well before making three big deadline trades (Miller/Sears, Laureano/O’Hearn, and Fermin). If they’re in the running for a playoff spot, it’s in their nature to be aggressive. With Pivetta and King both able to opt out next winter, adding a controllable starting pitcher figures to be a priority. If the team underperforms, either or both veteran righties could be on the trade block themselves.

Preller will lead the deadline with long-term financial comfort. He and the organization finally reached agreement on a multi-year extension last month. That’s of particular importance given the likelihood of a major shakeup at the ownership level. In early February, the Seidler family resolved most of their litigation against one another. That paves the way for the family to move forward with a sale that could be in place as soon as Opening Day. The most recent reporting indicated they were weighing five offers and could pull north of $2.5 billion for the franchise.

The repercussions of a potential sale won’t really be felt until next offseason at the earliest. Last winter was a fairly typical Padres offseason, one they’ll hope was sufficient to maintain their status as the Dodgers’ top challenger in the NL West.