With the Los Angeles Dodgers buying their way into a second straight championship, much will change for baseball when MLB and the MLBPA begin meeting for the new collective bargaining agreement in 2027. Until that fateful time arrives, baseball will continue to struggle under the burden of overspending billionaires buying players with apparently unlimited amounts of cash in order to win.
The San Diego Padres, due to their small market size, can never compete financially with those organizations. Even
with the ability to spend more than their market dictates, they can never compete with the big markets. The Padres have star players who have big contracts, but are probably maxed out at this point. Everything from here on out must make financial sense with former owner, and big spender, Peter Seidler gone.
The Padres seem to be in a transition phase. Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts are beginning the downward curve of their prime, while Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill still have growth ahead. These stars will most likely be the players who get the most attention for the Friars going forward, at least for a while.
The award season has arrived and the Padres stars, both position players and the pitchers who have excelled, will take the forefront for the organization in coming days.
Manny Machado
Machado had a down season defensively and is not a candidate for a Gold Glove this season. I don’t think he should be the team MVP either, but he is in contention for a Silver Slugger at third base. He hit .275 with a .795 OPS and finished with 27 home runs and 95 RBI. Alec Bohm of the Phillies is the only NL third baseman with a better average, but he only played 120 games with 11 HR and 59 RBI. This should be Machado’s award.
Jake Cronenworth
Cronenworth is a finalist for the Silver Slugger as a utility player. He is a defense-first infielder, who played second base, shortstop and first base for the Padres in 2025. He finished with a .245 average and .744 OPS in 135 games. He hit 11 home runs and had 59 RBI. His primary position was second base, and he had more walks than any other second baseman in baseball. His .376 OBP was second to only Ketel Marte at .376. His power numbers have diminished over the past few years, but he excels at patient and effective at bats and gets on base.
Fernando Tatis Jr.
Tatis Jr. is a finalist in right field for the Gold Glove. He should win it easily and could be in contention for another Platinum Glove. The Tatis Jr. highlight reel is a joy to watch and we should never take his incredible talent for granted. Baseball seems to be in love with the Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong currently, so the Platinum Glove is questionable.
The Silver Slugger Award is announced Nov. 6 and the Gold Glove is announced Nov. 2. The Platinum Glove is announced on Nov. 7.
There is a good chance Nick Pivetta could be a Cy Young Award finalist as well, but he will only be on the list. His 2.87 ERA is tied for fifth in the NL.
Padres Awards
After the end of the season, the organization announced its minor league awards. Reliever Garrett Hawkins was Pitcher of the Year, and outfielder Yonathon Perlaza was Player of the Year in the minors system. Perlaza and Luis Campusano were named to the Triple-A All-Star team.
The Padres had nine players named as finalists for the All-MLB team and the winners will be announced on Nov. 13. Cronenworth was named as a second baseman with Machado, Tatis Jr. and Ramón Laureano named as the other position players. Pivetta was nominated as a starter. Adrian Morejon, Mason Miller, Robert Suarez and Jason Adam were all named as relief nominees.
Team MVP
There is no clear favorite as the MVP for the Padres in 2025. Machado would appear to lead the list as the offensive winner in both HR and RBI, but his defense fell off in 2025. His leadership as the assumed captain of the team could win votes, but I believe the Padres still lack leadership on the team and could benefit from someone like Laureano sharing that role with Machado.
Tatis Jr. did not have a good enough offensive year to be a choice and Jackson Merrill’s pick of Gavin Sheets doesn’t really make sense although his contributions were vital. Pivetta could definitely be named as the MVP with his indisputable emergence as the team ace, but I believe the bullpen was team MVP. It is certainly unlikely that an entire bullpen can be named as the MVP of a team, but I think they deserve it.
The Padres eight-man bullpen finished with a 3.06 ERA in 609 innings pitched. The next best ERA was 3.41 for the Boston Red Sox. They had the most saves with 49 and had the second most strikeouts. Their .209 average against was also the best in baseball.
Adam finished with a 1.93 ERA in 65.1 innings pitched, a top three result in baseball for pitchers who threw 65 innings or more. Morejon finished with a 2.08 ERA in 73.2 innings pitched and had the best record for a reliever at 13-6.
With a 90-win season to look back on, the Padres have a lot of work to do to make themselves contenders for a championship. But their star players need to and should lead the way, both in their performance and in their team leadership.
