So much of this upcoming free agency class could very well be determined by the impending Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations and potential lockout expected to take place once the CBA expires in December. That could lead to plenty of free agents signing deals that they wouldn’t otherwise in order to ensure that they get paid.
The San Diego Padres have a ton of opportunity to tip the scales in their favor this offseason. However, they’ve also got an abundance of talent exiting their organization.
Here is a quick look at their biggest 2026 contributors who are impending free agents, in order from least to most necessary to re-sign.
Contributing Starters
Walker Buehler
Buehler pitched an incredible season with the Padres. Despite his overall stat line (4.63 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 131 SO), he covered 153 2/3 innings for San Diego. He was easily the most valuable starter for the Friars, especially considering he was fighting for a job in Spring Training. Buehler could be an easy signing for the Padres to a one-year contract.
That being said, the veteran righty could test the waters of free agency a little more. With his stat line the way it is, that seems unlikely. Should Buehler be entrusted to lead the front line of this rotation? Absolutely not, but he makes a wonderful back-end addition alongside the likes of Randy Vásquez. The Friars could easily snag him for a few million on a one-year deal to shore up pitching depth.
Nick Pivetta
The 2025 Padres ace was all set to be a free agent at the end of this season. He was heavily expected to opt out of his contract after a resurgent campaign in ‘25. Then, Pivetta got injured. His elbow forced him to miss much of the season, meaning that if he had tested free agency, he probably wouldn’t have gotten much. However, Pivetta likely won’t even get the opportunity to enter free agency.
Because Pivetta spent 130 consecutive days on the injured list, a clause in his contract turned his 2027 player option into a club option. Now, San Diego has to decide if they want to retain Pivetta for the price of $14 million in ‘27. It seems likely they pull the trigger. He didn’t pitch much in 2026 but flashed the same level of dominance (2.86 ERA, 34.2 IP) even after not pitching for three months.
Bullpen Questions
Jason Adam
Adam was sent to San Diego by the Tampa Bay Rays at the 2024 Trade Deadline. The move was meant to shore up the Padres’ elite bullpen for a potential World Series run. That run ended early with 24 consecutive scoreless innings, but Adam stayed. Since then, he’s been one of the most consistently successful relievers in baseball. That’s a problem for San Diego because it makes it harder to retain his services.
Helping their case is Adam’s injury-plagued 2026. The righty missed nearly three months with a right shoulder strain, limiting him to 34 1/3 innings. He was still fantastic, posting a 2.62 ERA despite struggling to limit the long ball. It would be wonderful to keep Adam, but the Padres have bigger fish to reel in for their relief corps.
Yuki Matsui
There’s no other way to say it, but Yuki Matsui might have been the best left-handed reliever in the National League this season. You wouldn’t think that watching him. He doesn’t flash obvious dominance in the ways that his teammate, Mason Miller, does. But he finished this year with a 1.83 ERA and 68 strikeouts across 64 innings pitched.
However, he was unable to limit traffic on the bases with a career-high 36 walks allowed. He often worked out of jams but some stats indicate that it could be due to some luck. Matsui’s xERA (3.03) is a full run higher than his ERA, and his 4.18 FIP (Fielding Independent Percentage) doesn’t paint the prettiest picture. It’s plausible that he returns to the only team he’s ever pitched for.
Adrian Morejon
Enter: the bigger fish. San Diego needs to retain Adrian Morejon. Not only is he one of the most dominant left-handed relievers in all of baseball (2.83 ERA, 107 SO, 86.0 IP), Morejon is one of the longest tenured Padres in the organization since joining San Diego in 2016. He wasn’t always this dominant, but something clicked in 2024. Since then, Morejon has posted sub-3.00 ERAs every season.
He’s been a premier set-up man ahead of Miller, with the two nailing down the eighth and ninth innings with near perfection every time. It’s not quite clockwork, but it’s close. Without Morejon, the relief weapons in this bullpen lose a lot of depth. Not only is he dominant, he eats innings consistently. Morejon would be an expensive investment to retain, but one that is more than worth it to make him a Padre for the foreseeable future.
The Breakout Bat
Ty France
This is everything that teams hope for when they sign a veteran to a minor-league contract with a Spring Training invitation. Ty France had to fight for his job in Cactus League play, only to outright win the starting job halfway through the season. In the process, France posted career-high numbers in home runs (21), batting average (.295), slugging percentage (.502) and OPS (.865).
He also played Gold Glove caliber defense at the cold corner. Put it all together and you can practically smell the extension coming. France and the Padres have both expressed a desire to reach an agreement. Whether that happens (as well as if France even has the ability to replicate his 2026 production) remains to be seen. However, it’s certainly worthwhile if the price is right.
The Ace in the Hole
Michael King
This is the big kahuna for San Diego. King was an ace for the Padres in the regular season and showcased that same dominance in the playoffs against the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers. He pitched to a 3.21 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 185 innings of work. King could fetch a massive haul in free agency but could see that haul decrease with the impending lockout.
The righty has a $28 million player option for the 2027 season or a $5 million buy out if he decides to pursue free agency. It feels like King might be wanting to stay, but the terms of his contract might be restructured in order to earn more money. He’s certainly worth the investment. Since coming over from the New York Yankees ahead of 2024, King has emerged as a bona fide ace in San Diego. Despite an injury-plagued 2025 campaign, he posted incredible seasons in ‘24 and ‘26.
