The San Diego Padres as well as the rest of the teams in Major League Baseball are on the clock. With the current Collective Bargaining Agreement set to expire Dec. 1, there is a limited window in which MLB clubs can work to improve their teams before owners and players cease to communicate. There have been offers and responses volleyed back and forth from both sides, but the communication between MLB and the MLB Players Association seemed more performative than actually working to get something
done. These communications have led many fans and baseball writers to assume a lockout will occur as soon as the current CBA expires, which puts a halt to the normal offseason work that must be done.
Understanding this to be the case, new Padres owners Jose E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones can and should work to accomplish some moves address their roster before the deadline. San Diego is in desperate need of starting pitching as Randy Vasquez is the only starter from the 2026 season remaining in the rotation. Yes, Joe Musgrove is there too but what he can and will be is an unknown. Yu Darvish could return, but the expectation is the veteran right-hander will retire. The Padres did not pick up the club option on Nick Pivetta and declined mutual options on Griffin Canning and Lucas Giolito. Those three joined Casey Mize, Robbie Ray and Walker Buehler as free agents. And of course, Michael King, the ace of the staff, opted out of his contract, which means he too is a free agent.
With multiple rotation holes to address, Feliciano and Jones may not want to wait until after a new CBA is signed to make moves. Many fans would love to see King re-signed and since he has stated he wants to remain in San Diego, that may be the easiest deal to get done. Tarik Skubal is the top free agent pitcher on the market and he is one of the best arms in the game. The left-hander is reportedly looking to sign with a team prior to the CBA expiring and the Padres have been one of the teams mentioned as a potential suitor because of Feliciano and Jones wanting to make a big move. There are several other options on the market when it comes to starting pitching such as Freddy Peralta, Sonny Gray, Shota Imanaga and Nick Martinez to name a few.
However, Feliciano and Jones are the unknown. This is their first offseason since becoming owners and although they have stated they want to invest in the team what that looks like has never been seen. Do they want to spend big and make several additions, which is what the team needs, or do they want to make one big signing and then add on the margins to cobble together a pitching staff much like general manager A.J. Preller was forced to do in 2026? The addition of Skubal would certainly illustrate a commitment to spending, but so would an addition of King and another top free agent arm or two before then adding some lower-level options further down the pitching tier.
What is known at this time is Dec. 1 is rapidly approaching and the Friar Faithful will be watching closely to see if the new owners will put their words into action to address their many lineup needs before the 2027 season… whenever that might be.
Padres News:
- Austin Hays made a big splash when he was added to the Padres’ roster late in the 2026 season, but fizzled out as the season came to a close. Lincoln Zdunich of Gaslamp Ball gave Hays his grade for his limited efforts in San Diego.
- AJ Cassavell of Padres.com says the Padres’ offseason goals are clear after all of the club, player and mutual options have processed.
Baseball News:
- The MLB sent a new proposal to the MLBPA, which would push the implementation of a salary cap to 2028.
- The Seattle Mariners have hired Jason Kanzler to fill their managerial vacancy.
- The St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston Red Sox made a trade.
