Padres prioritize ace arms, potentially waiting weeks for a starting pitching splash as roster holes linger. They also look to fill out their lineup amid key losses this offseason.
The San Diego Padres are still waiting for their big move of the offseason in hopes of not only a return to the postseason in 2026, but ideally a deeper run. Despite losing some of their most talented players this offseason, the Padres are still working to fill those holes and start 2026 with a better roster than they ended 2025 with.
Starting pitcher Dylan Cease was the first domino to fall in San Diego’s offseason, signing a $210 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. Reliever Robert Suarez also departed in favor of the Atlanta Braves after a sub-3.00 ERA season. Lastly, the Padres will be without first baseman Ryan O’Hearn after signing a deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Resigning starting pitcher Michael King and bringing in Korean infielder Sung-Mun Song are good moves for the Padres, but it doesn’t make up for the losses they’ve seen so far this offseason. With their financial limitations, they’ve been looking at the trade market to make roster improvements, but there’s been no deal yet.
Before landing with the Arizona Diamondbacks, third baseman Nolan Arenado was almost traded to the Padres. The plan was to move Arenado to first base, but ultimately, Arizona was willing to pay more of Arenado’s salary than San Diego, meaning the Friars still have a hole to fill at first.
According to a recent piece from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Padres would rather spend such money on bringing in starting pitching help. He noted how they could be looking to add a starter who lingers on the market deep into the offseason, as they did with starter Nick Pivetta last winter. With their questionable back-end of the rotation, a move to add at least one more starter is a must for San Diego, but it may be a few weeks until they make it happen.
Rosenthal listed out several starting pitcher names who could land in San Diego’s lap: Justin Verlander, Nick Martinez, and Lucas Giolito. If the front office can't find a way to land any of these veterans, Rosenthal doesn’t rule out the possibility of the Padres being involved in a Freddy Peralta trade. His $8 million salary in 2026 makes him possibly the biggest bang-for-your-buck starter in baseball next season, and the Padres could use such help given their financial limitations.
Other moves, like potentially adding a right-handed designated hitter or a left-handed left fielder, could materialize for the Padres in the coming weeks, according to Rosenthal, but the focus for the front office seems to be on first base and starting pitching. They haven’t done a ton so far, but there are still plenty of avenues for the Padres to turn their offseason around and enter 2026 as one of baseball’s most threatening teams.