After finishing their longest homestand of the season with a 3-6 record and a first-third of the season record of 31-24, the San Diego Padres know they have problems. No one on the team seems to be trying to deny it. The offense is the worst in baseball. The starters also have issues but have been overall competent for most of the season. Once again, they have the best bullpen in baseball, and reinforcements could be getting closer.
It’s a boring enterprise to keep harping on how badly this offense
is performing. The best way to express where they stand is to let the highest-paid player on the team, third baseman Manny Machado, step forward and represent the hitters.
“We’re scuffling as an offense, obviously. It doesn’t help that your star player leaves six on base. There goes the game. I don’t really think it’s anybody else. You get a hit there, even drive in one run on a ground ball, double play. Should have done that in the first inning. The game changes a little bit there.” — Machado, after the May 25 loss to the Phillies, as written by Kevin Acee in his Padres Daily newsletter of May 26.
It’s admirable that Machado tries to take the blame on himself but he is joined by many others who make this a team-wide problem. The hitters have struggled against good pitching and bad pitchers. Their .218 team batting average and .291 OBP are the worst in the league. They are 29th in slug and OPS, with the Mets only being worse than them by a small percentage.
Support for Steven Souza Jr
The players and their manager, Craig Stammen, have all spoken up in defense of hitting coach Steven Souza Jr. The latest was Machado, who has taken on the role of team captain despite the Padres never officially having a team captain. Machado has had a prickly relationship with the media at times but during these early-season struggles, his willingness to speak for himself and the team has been noticeable.
“Those coaches don’t grab a bat,” Machado said when asked about Souza. “It’s us grabbing the baseball bat and going up there and putting on our gear and facing Cristopher Sanchez today. It’s on us to go out there and perform. They’re giving us the information, and we’re going out there and we’re executing, we’re just not getting those results that we’d like. The game is like that sometimes.”- From Kevin Acee’s Padres Daily newsletter of May 28, after being shutout by Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sanchez.
It is natural in a situation like this that a rookie hitting coach, with no previous coaching experience, would be taking heat for a poorly performing offense. The Padres will have a real problem soon if the offense doesn’t turn this around. With a winning record and still seven games over .500, the organization still has a little wiggle room but that won’t be true soon.
Bullpen brilliance
The Padres finished the series against the Phillies with the best bullpen ERA in baseball at 3.07. Mason Miller continues to lead the National League closers with 16 saves and 47 strikeouts. He is not the only pitcher on the team who has had success this season.
Yuki Matsui, since coming back from injury, has pitched 12 innings without allowing a run. Jason Adam has 18.2 innings pitched with a 0.96 ERA and has 10 straight scoreless innings. Wandy Peralta has pitched 25.1 innings with a 2.13 ERA but has had 12 straight scoreless innings.
Bradgley Rodriguez, 22, has a 1.69 ERA in 23 games and 26.2 innings pitched with two saves. He has shown the ability to pitch more than one inning as well as pitch in close games. His fastball sits in the upper 90’s and has touched 100 mph regularly. He has a plus changeup and a good slider to complement the fastball.
With Jason Adam being a free agent at the end of this season, 2026 will be the best time for Rodriguez to step up into higher-leverage situations.
Petco Park wins Best Facility in sports
The Sports Business Journal, which holds annual awards, awarded Petco Park the Sports Facility of the Year for 2026.
Earlier this year, Petco Park was named Best Ballpark by USA Today. Petco also won that award in 2023 and 2024.
Injury Updates
Padres manager Craig Stammen provided updates this past week on several players currently on the injured list.
RHP Nick Pivetta has not yet begun a throwing program and is in the “active rest” stage of his rehab.
RHP Joe Musgrove is on the verge of beginning a throwing program that should begin with playing catch next week.
2B Jake Cronenworth is still experiencing symptoms from the concussion sustained when he was hit by a pitch in his right jaw. He was seen on the field this past week, playing catch. That is the first baseball activity for Cronenworth.
C Luis Campusano has caught bullpens for pitchers but is still not able to begin a rehab stint until he can move around freely without pain in his broken toe.
RHP Germán Márguez is no longer experiencing pain in his right forearm and has started playing catch.
Not in Stammen’s update but on a rehab assignment, RHP Jhony Brito has had 3 starts since beginning his rehab from UCL surgery. He had one appearance in Arizona and has had two starts with Double-A San Antonio. His last start, May 23, lasted 3.1 innings and 68 pitches; he allowed six hits and three earned runs and three walks.
Multiple players are playing with the ACL Padres to begin their rehab.
Minor leaguers: RHP Ryan Och, C Brendan Durfee, C Blake Hunt, RHP Adler Cecil and LHP Zach Qin all started rehabs with the ACL Padres.
RHP Ty Adcock , on the Padres roster to start spring camp, started his rehab in Arizona but is now pitching for the High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps on his rehab journey.
