Manager departs, stars leave, yet roster holes remain. Questions swirl around the Padres' puzzling lack of significant offseason moves.
The 2025 season was a disappointing one for the San Diego Padres despite earning 90 wins in the regular season. A defeat in the Wild Card round abruptly ended their season and began their offseason, which, in a way, has also been a disappointing one.
It started when manager Mike Shildt surprisingly stepped down from his role after just two seasons, citing mental, physical, and emotional health reasons. Luckily, the Padres were quick to find their next skipper, naming former pitcher Craig Stammen as the next manager in San Diego.
After that, however, the offseason has continued to be confusing for Padres fans. Rumors of the franchise being sold swirled, and financial restrictions have clearly impacted how the front office has operated this offseason. Though they’ve made some moves, there’s confusion as to why the offseason has been so quiet in San Diego thus far. For this, they’ve earned a place in the ‘doing what, exactly?’ tier in a recent list from The Athletic.
The biggest deal that general manager A.J. Preller and the Padres front office have made so far was bringing back starting pitcher Michael King on a three-year, $75 million contract. It was a great move to re-sign a top-end starter with their questionable 2026 rotation, but it’s not exactly the type of move that fans would hope would define their offseason.
San Diego did add some infield depth after signing Korean talent Sung-Mun Song to a four-year deal, but his ability to make an immediate impact for the Padres is unknown. There are still plenty of areas on the roster that need addressing, but the Padres haven't made any progress on them to date.
Instead, they allowed star starting pitcher Dylan Cease to walk in free agency, along with reliever Robert Suarez and first baseman Ryan O’Hearn. With more talent leaving San Diego than joining this offseason, the Padres have some scratching their heads.
There is still plenty of time, however, and perhaps it’s too early to call the offseason a disappointment. Reports indicate that the Padres are actively looking for help to strengthen their starting rotation and add a couple of extra bats. Through mid-January, however, there hasn't been much to credit Preller with doing this winter. Here’s to hoping the end of the offseason will bring much more optimism to San Diego than it has so far.