Orange and blue return! The San Diego Padres unveil City Connect jerseys, and fans are a bit split on the new reveal for the 2026 season.
For the past couple of weeks, some leaks surfaced about the San Diego Padres new City Connect uniforms.
On Thursday, eight MLB teams revealed their new uniforms, with the Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Texas Rangers as the other teams to showcase their new Nike City Connect kits.
The Padres went away from the neon-colored scheme jerseys, and now they are going back to the past a bit by rocking the orange and blue from the Qualcomm Stadium days.
The Padres posted a video on social media with a Day of the Dead caption, and the uniforms with stars such as Joe Musgrove, Mason Miller, Jackson Merrill, Adrian Morejon, Nick Pivetta, Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. among those featured in the clip.
Nike also posted about the new jerseys, which are available on the website, while giving some of the reasoning behind the new uniforms.
"From the La Catrina patch to the marigold pattern sublimated onto the sleeves and bone-colored pants, the uniforms were inspired by Dia de los Muertos, as The Padres honor the traditions and the people that make the region special."
The MLB account also gave a close-up of Merrill wearing the jersey.
Padres New Uniforms Draw Mixed Reviews From Fans
A big complaint with the new jerseys was the font choice that they used.
"i think keeping the retro font would’ve been cleaner tbh but im a fan of the colors! it’s something new," one fan wrote.
Others weren't too fond of the jersey choice, either.
The white hat with a blue bill and blue and orange SD lettering is a nice touch to the past, and one that a lot of fans loved.
"Prefer these to the first version but still a bit on the fence with liking them. I do love the hat though," one fan commented.
"SD's new City Connect! Personally, I really love the cap; the orange accent color is adding such a nice touch," another wrote.
"The hat is so awesome, I want it," said another.
In a weird wrinkle, the jerseys are pullovers, so that's a different look than fans are used to.
The Padres will debut the new City Connect jerseys for Friday's game at Petco Park against the Colorado Rockies, and it seems fairly certain that plenty of fans will purchase the new jerseys this time around.