SAN DIEGO — Five years ago, in the weeks between the end of the World Series and the beginning of a 99-day lockout, the San Diego Padres poached manager Bob Melvin from the Athletics and agreed to re-sign right-hander Nick Martinez to a four-year, $25.5 million deal. Otherwise, they did relatively little.

They exercised club options on relievers Pierce Johnson and Craig Stammen. They signed relievers Robert Suarez and Luis Garcia to modest free-agent contracts. They jettisoned second baseman Adam Frazier to the Seattle Mariners, receiving reliever Ray Kerr in return.

It wasn’t until business resumed the following March that Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller and then-owner Peter Seidler took their biggest swings.

They poked around on first baseman Freddie Freeman before he signed a six-year, $162 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. They thought they came close to signing Seiya Suzuki before the Chicago Cubs threw the outfielder a five-year, $85 million offer. And, in a previously unreported gambit, Preller planned to meet with one of the sport’s top sluggers before the Philadelphia Phillies secured the same target with a four-year, $79 million agreement.

“I was getting on a plane to go talk to Kyle Schwarber and got told to get off the plane because he was going to finish up a deal with the Phillies,” Preller said. “That one hurt a little bit or a lot of bit because he’s a phenomenal player. It seems like he hits a homer every time we play him.”

That was the most interesting revelation from a video call Preller and Stammen, now the Padres’ manager, conducted Wednesday, a week after their team was ousted from the postseason.

Seven weeks from now, Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement will expire, and another lockout is expected to commence. No one knows how long it will last — or how much Preller will try to accomplish next month, between the end of the World Series and the beginning of potential labor Armageddon.

“It’s hard to predict,” Preller said. “I think we’ll look back on that ’21-22 offseason … and my guess is that there’s a chance that it follows some kind of pattern there. I think we’ll get a way better feeling coming out of the GM Meetings (in November).

I still miss the Franimal

In 2026, the fraternity of big leaguers with diabetes remains small. Yet this postseason has served as a showcase, linking a few players on different teams to a common cause. Mitchell might be the only one still competing, but until last week, he was joined by fellow Type 1 diabetics in Padres closer Mason Miller and Chicago White Sox reliever Jordan Hicks.

“I think we kind of take it on as a responsibility we have to be a role model,” Miller said in an interview with The Athletic before the NLDS. “Just to give kids an opportunity to meet you and see that you’re a real person and hear it from you that the things that we’re achieving are possible, and that Type 1’s not something that holds you back.”

“When I get the chance to meet kids, I just always tell them that you’re never going to have it all figured out. I certainly don’t,” Miller said. “It’s an imperfect science, and it’s things like your monitors or pumps or whatever you’re using to help you. Just the technology and resources we have these days really allow you to kind of shrink your ‘miss’ window.”

Thank you for you!

You showed up. You showed love. And you helped make this about more than baseball. You made it a season of connection, excitement, and unforgettable moments.

Behind those moments were our players, coaches, staff, and their families, who gave so much this season. We know baseball asks a lot of families, and we don't take their sacrifices for granted. We're proud of what this team accomplished, but we're not satisfied. There's more work to do.

Since becoming Principal Owners in August, we've felt more warmth and energy than we imagined, and have even more reasons to believe in what we can accomplish together. Sitting in the stands and cheering alongside you, we've experienced the excitement surrounding this team firsthand. And while we felt the sting of this season ending too soon, we gained an even deeper appreciation for the championship dream you've carried long before we arrived.

We see you. And we thank you.

We're new to this chapter, but the Padres' story runs much deeper. We respect that history, and we're grateful for the foundation Peter Seidler and so many others built. We chose to invest in the Padres' present and future because we believe in what's possible here. And we're excited about what we can build together.

We said we were ALL IN. We meant it then. We mean it now.

All in on our people. All in on winning. All in on San Diego, Baja, and beyond.

Your faith deserves more than words; it deserves action. We're committed to earning your trust through the decisions we make and the work we do alongside Padres leadership.

We want to bring a World Series championship to this community and build an organization that makes you proud for years to come, both on and off the field. We know that takes more than ambition. It takes thoughtful decisions, hard work, and a willingness to improve every day. We're committed to all of it.

Thank you for being part of what makes the Padres so special. We're excited about what's ahead and can't wait to share more moments together.

The season ends. The work doesn't. We're all in, and we're in this together.

With belief and gratitude,

Kwanza Jones and Jose E. Feliciano

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MPH

Just wanted to shout out the Padres' Spanish radio announcer Eduardo Ortega now that we're in the off season. My dad played Ortega's radio broadcasts while I was growing up and I still listen to his play-by-play while driving to or from work stuff. Dude's a legend with 40 years behind the mic and I'll miss listening to his narration until were back on the field next year.

How the Padres could fill out their starting rotation for 2027

SAN DIEGO -- The Padres are set to enter the offseason with major questions about their starting rotation.

What else is new?

It’s become something of a yearly occurrence for the Padres to enter the winter in search of starting pitching. General manager A.J. Preller generally finds it, too, even if he has to get creative. 

Before the offseason officially gets underway, here’s a look at who the Padres have, and who they might be losing, in their starting rotation:

Returning: Randy Vásquez

Let’s not lose sight of what Vásquez has meant for this rotation over the past couple seasons. When San Diego’s rotation was incredibly thin, Vásquez helped stabilize it. He posted a 3.87 ERA across 60 appearances (49 starts) in 2024 and ‘25.

Obviously, the Padres would like to have more certainty about their rotation than just Vásquez, but they can pencil him in the No. 4 spot for 2027 and feel relatively good about it.

Potentially returning: Nick Pivetta, Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish

Big-time questions here. All very different.

Pivetta’s player option became a team option when he spent more than 130 days on the injured list with a flexor strain in his right elbow this season. He was excellent down the stretch, posting a 2.05 ERA after his return on Sept. 7, including two postseason outings. San Diego won all six of his starts. If the Padres are sure Pivetta is healthy, he’s worth the two years and $32 million remaining on his deal.

Speaking of health: Musgrove returned from right elbow surgery in the postseason and, pitching for the first time since 2024, looked about as sharp as the Padres could’ve hoped for. But he also had trouble building back into a starting role. It seems likely he’d attack that challenge anew next year.

Darvish, meanwhile, remains a wild card. With two years remaining on his contract, he still hasn’t decided whether he’s going to attempt a comeback from the right elbow surgery he underwent in October 2025. He will turn 41 next summer.

Likely a free agent: Michael King

King can opt out of the three-year deal he signed last December, which has two more years and $58 million remaining. (If he opts out, he would receive a $5 million buyout.) 

Coming off the season -- and postseason -- that he just turned in, it seems likely he’d opt out. King made 32 starts with a 3.21 ERA, then owned the postseason stage with a 0.64 ERA across 14 innings. The 31-year-old figures to be one of the most sought-after starters on the free-agent market and could be seeking a longer-term deal. But King seems open to a reunion.

“San Diego has been incredible for me, and it’s all the way across the country from home,” said King, a native of Rochester, N.Y. “Now, I feel like I have a second home on the West Coast. It’s been awesome. And I hope to continue it.”

Free agents: Walker Buehler, Casey Mize, Lucas Giolito, Griffin Canning, Robbie Ray

Buehler’s resurgence was one of the biggest success stories of the Padres’ season. He signed a Minor League deal during camp, then made the roster, making 32 starts. He’ll hit the market again this winter and probably command a pay raise, though the Padres would presumably be interested in a reunion.

From the rest of that group? Mize, who was acquired at the Deadline, and Giolito, who signed as a free agent in April, both struggled mightily in San Diego. Mize posted a 7.46 ERA in 10 starts before landing on the IL with a right ankle sprain, while Giolito missed most of the season with right elbow inflammation.

Canning struggled to a 5.68 ERA in 30 appearances (11 starts). Ray was serviceable (5.02 ERA in 43 innings) after arriving at the Trade Deadline from the Giants, and could be an option at the right price. (So many of the Padres’ current options are righties, the lefty Ray could at least balance that.)

In the mix: JP Sears, Luis Gutierrez

Speaking of lefties … Sears will be out of options entering the 2027 season. He’s worth another look, at least during camp. Gutierrez, the team’s No. 12 prospect, must be added to the 40-man roster or be exposed to the Rule 5 Draft.

The verdict

Count Vásquez and Pivetta as in. (Or, if the Padres are worried about Pivetta’s health, then count those two years and $32 million as money that can be allocated toward a Pivetta-type addition.)

There are major questions beyond that. What can you count on from Musgrove? What about Darvish if he decides to return? Can Sears establish himself? 

Among that group, let’s say you’re getting one back-of-the-rotation type starter. That leaves the Padres in need of at least two starting pitchers this winter, preferably front- or at least middle-of-the-rotation types. Preller has some work to do.

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Article came out today with 2027 arbitration numbers and has Sheets getting 6.3-6.5m next year. He's obviously a fan favorite but with a 97 OPS+ and no defensive value, seems like a clear non-tender for the Padres imo.

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San Diego has some big roster decisions to make.

Unrestricted Free Agents

LHP Adrian Morejon LHP Robbie Ray RHP Walker Buehler RHP Jason Adam RHP Casey Mize 1B Ty France OF Ramon Laureano OF Austin Hays

Mutual Options

RHP Lucas Giolito ($8 million) RHP Griffin Canning ($5 million) IF/OF Miguel Andujar ($8 million)

Club Options

RHP Nick Pivetta ($14 million) LHP Kyle Hart ($2.5 million)

Player Options

LHP Wandy Peralta ($4.5 million)

Opt-Outs

RHP Michael King ($28 million) LHP Yuki Matsui ($6.5 million)

By Derek Togerson / NBC 7 -- October 2026

Related article:

https://www.mlb.com/news/adrian-morejon-michael-king-ty-france-padres-key-free-agents

Before the trade, he definitely had interest from other teams. He actually wasn’t terrible for the A’s. Stats aside, he actually looked pretty nasty from a few samples I saw when he was on the A’s. My question is, what happened to him? Injury? Coaching? Or was he overhyped? Could we see him a bullpen piece?