Jarren Duran is floated as a buy-low Padres trade target after a rough 2026 with Boston (.627 OPS, 0.4 bWAR). He still hit 20 homers and stole 21 bases, and the lefty power bat could help if Merrill or Sheets struggle. Nothing is agreed. 🎯
Foster Griffin is projected to sign for about three years and $39 million, and the Padres could make a case for him given their need for starting pitching. Still, he's a tougher sell as the fix for the rotation, and Erick Fedde's rebuilt career is the cautionary reference. 🤔
Fernando Tatis Jr. is a Silver Slugger finalist at both outfield and utility, the only Padres nominee. He hit .289 with 25 homers, 83 RBI and 96 runs despite a slow start. Winners are announced Nov. 17. 🏆
One year after being hired, Craig Stammen became the first first-time Padres manager to win 90+ games in his debut season. Not perfect, but his steady, stay-the-course message through an eight-game skid kept the ship upright. ⚓
Manny Machado's 30 homers weren't enough to fix a .217/.303/.407 line, which is why his Silver Slugger case fell short. Cubs' Alex Bregman hit 28 homers with a .265/.355/.464 line. Power got him the argument, not the award. 🔨
Ethan Salas earns a B+ in the Padres' roster report cards. After an 0-for-14 start to his MLB career, he hit .400 over his next 10 games and became the youngest catcher with a multi-homer game. He's likely in the 2027 catching mix. ⚾
Ty France hit .295/.363/.502 with 21 homers and an .865 OPS, matching Bryce Harper and Rafael Devers, yet missed the Silver Slugger finalists. Playing 133 games, not 162, is the main knock on a first-base case that still deserved a look.
Fernando Tatis Jr. is a Silver Slugger finalist in both the outfield and utility categories. Winners will be announced Nov. 17, with managers and coaches doing the voting. Two shots at hardware. 🏆
Fernando Tatis Jr. is a Silver Slugger finalist after a power flip: 5 homers and a .713 OPS before the break, then 20 homers and a .995 OPS after. Strikeouts fell from 87 to 39. Letting go of homer expectations did the trick. 💥
Padres free agency opens with holes in the rotation, left field and first base, and King, Morejón, France, Ray and Mize all hitting the market. One writer floats Shota Imanaga as a lefty to lead the staff, under new owners and a looming Dec. 2 lockout. 🧾
Joe Musgrove's 2026 season debut after two years rehabbing Tommy John surgery may have been the Padres' best moment. He struck out two in an 8-0 Wild Card win over the Cubs, then pitched in the NLDS before San Diego's exit. ⚾
Yuki Matsui earns an A+ for 2026: 1.83 ERA and .171 opponent average over 64 innings, including a 0.68 ERA in his last 15 outings. His 3.03 xERA and 4.18 FIP hint at some luck, but he's staying put for 2027 after skipping his opt-out. 🔒
Francis Peña is making a case for Petco Park in the Arizona Fall League. The Padres right-hander allowed his first earned runs in his eighth outing for Peoria, touches 99.3 mph with his sinker, and has 8 strikeouts and 2 walks over 10 1/3 innings. 🔥
A.J. Ellis is leaving the Padres' baseball operations staff to become the Mets' major-league strategy coordinator on Andy Green's staff. He's close friends with Green and has been in San Diego since 2019, so the Padres now have experience to replace. 🔁
It’s a single-issue negotiation. MLB wants a cap, the players reject a cap. All of the details MLB has shared about its vision -- a number of which are good! -- are tied to the MLBPA accepting a cap system. Publicly, at least, the league has not put forth any vision of a non-capped league. The players, and again I’ll say this is based on what we know, appear to have no intention of accepting a payroll cap. Until one side or the other concedes on this point, there is nowhere for negotiations...
Dustin May, 29, is a projected two-year, ~$30M free agent, and the Padres could consider him for a rotation that needs upgrades. Injury risk looms, but he's made 54 starts since 2025 and posted a 1.23 ERA over 22 innings against San Diego this season. 🎲
A Ty France reunion makes sense for the Padres, with a projected two-year, $32M deal. He hit .295/.363/.502 with 21 homers in 2026 and won the 2025 AL Gold Glove at first. The hesitation: paying for a career year to repeat. 🧤
Dec. 1 CBA expiration looms, and a lockout is widely expected. New owners Feliciano and Jones could move on a rotation that's thin beyond Randy Vasquez, with King a free agent and Skubal a reported target. Clock's ticking. ⏳
Austin Hays earned a B+ for his 2026 Padres stint: .316/.344/.456 in 26 games after the White Sox released him, plus a pinch-hit homer in his first at-bat. He went hitless in the playoffs and is now a free agent who could return as bench depth. 🔙
Former Padres slugger Franmil Reyes has reportedly agreed to a four-year extension with Japan's Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, worth up to $40 million through 2030. Per the report, that would make him NPB's highest-paid player ever. Big swings, bigger paycheck. 💰
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