There was some thought around baseball that with the impending Collective Bargaining Agreement set to expire Dec. 1 that there would be a flurry of moves prior to that ownership imposed deadline. The MLB owners and MLB Players Association have been exchanging proposals in more of a performative exercise than earnest intent to get a deal done. The owners have made no secret that they intend to lockout the players once the CBA expires if a new deal is not in place. The side could continue business
as normal and continue to work toward a resolution, but that is unlikely.
With the deadline nest approaching, the belief from baseball pundits and the hope from baseball fans was that the teams would look to sign free agents sooner rather than later with the uncertainty about the financial constraints of that could come with a new CBA. To this point, nothing has happened with regard to free agents. The Washington Nationals extended Jacob Young and teams have added minor league pieces, but there have been no “headline” moves yet.
That could change over the coming weeks as the General Managers Meetings are set to take place this week starting today and concluding on Thursday. Could some teams make some moves? Could teams make trades involving some major league talent? The collective baseball world hopes so, but that all hinges on what fans and people outside of front offices do not know.
The San Diego Padres have many needs, with the majority of those coming in the starting rotation. Only Randy Vasquez and an unknown Joe Musgrove are likely rotation pieces, which means the Padres are in need of at least three more starters, but likely more to account for injuries, struggles, etc. This is the first offseason under new San Diego owners Jose E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones. The duo have said they are all-in, but the Friar Faithful can only assume what that means. Does it mean rumors are true and the Padres are in on free agent pitcher Tarik Skubal? Does it mean re-signing Michael King, Adrian Morejon and Ty France? Quite literally no one outside of the Feliciano and Jones and their most trusted advisors know.
Fans are left to wait and see and for many that is the hardest part of this offseason. The Friars Faithful know where they have been, but there are grand ideas of where they could go. Time will tell what “all-in” means and what the San Diego roster will look like in 2027, maybe we get a glimpse this week.
Padres News:
- Casey Mize was not good with the Padres. That may have been due to injury or something else, but the result was he struggled in San Diego and Lincoln Zdunich of Gaslamp Ball gave him his grade for his time with the club.
- Brent Maguire of Padres.com looks back at the 2026 season for Fernando Tatis Jr.
- Padres prospects shine during Arizona Fall League Fall Stars events.
Baseball News:
- Here is a list of the seven top performers from the AFL all-star game according to MLB.com.
- Storylines to watch for during MLB awards week.
