Lacking long balls, the Padres' offense sputtered in 2025. They desperately seek home run hitters to ignite their lineup for a playoff push.
The San Diego Padres have gotten off to a bit of a quiet offseason. But, they did bring back pitcher Michael King on a three-year deal that could be worth $75 million if he stays through it.
They then added Korean infielder Sung-Mun Song to a four-year deal, but they watched Dylan Cease sign with the Toronto Blue Jays, Robert Suarez join the Atlanta Braves, and Ryan O'Hearn ink a two-year deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
While the majority of the Padres lineup is set to return in 2026, one big issue is they need to upgrade their power bats, and Zachady D. Rymer of Bleacher Report named that as a New Year's Resolution for the Padres.
"The Padres had a good year in 2025 very much in spite of their offense, which had a 96 OPS-plus despite being better than most at hitting for average (.252) and getting on base (.321). What was missing was power, and specifically home run power as the Padres ranked third from the bottom of MLB with a total of 152 long balls. Sans new sluggers in the lineup, they'll need more from guys who can hit more, including Jackson Merrill and hopefully Xander Bogaerts."
O'Hearn was acquired at the MLB trade deadline in a deal with the Baltimore Orioles, and there was hope he would stick around for another year and play first base, but now he is gone.
Luis Arraez is also a free agent, although he is not a power hitter, but the Padres have been linked to several free agents in what has become a slow-going period with January already here.
The good news is that both AJ Preller and new manager Craig Stammen expect Merrill to be an offensive bright spot in 2026, which would be a huge boost for the team.
If Fernando Tatis Jr. can get back to his superstar potential, and the Padres can fund a solid hitter to put in the 2-hole, it could be a much-improved offense for San Diego in 2026.
Still, finishing toward the bottom of the league in home runs is not what anybody wants, especially for a team with playoff aspirations and one trying to find a way to get over the Los Angeles Dodgers and their mammoth roster.
There is still a lot of time, and the positive side is that you can never count out AJ Preller from making a surprising move, or two or three.