This story was excerpted from AJ Cassavell’s Padres Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
SAN DIEGO -- It’s officially offseason season. The Padres held their end-of-season press conference with manager Craig Stammen and general manager A.J. Preller on Wednesday, looking ahead to a winter full of crucial decisions.
Here are four of the biggest questions the Padres face in their offseason roster construction:
1. How do the Padres get over the hump?
Unquestionably, this is the most successful era of Padres baseball. They’ve reached the postseason in each of the last three years, winning 90-plus games in all of those seasons.
They’ve also been eliminated before the end of the National League Division Series in all three seasons.
There were bad breaks, sure. And in the week since their elimination, the Brewers have mostly dismantled the Dodgers in the NLCS. Essentially, these Padres went toe to toe with the team that looks like the best in baseball.
And they lost. Like they did in the Wild Card Series last year. Like they did in the NLDS in 2024.
“Obviously a very competitive series against the Brewers,” Preller said. “It’s a game of inches, and that series was defined by that. Again, I think we all understand we have a few more steps we need to take, and the ultimate goal is to be playing at this time of year, to be playing on the big stage in a World Series.”
It would be unwise to chalk up the end of the season exclusively to a few bad breaks. The offense went cold, and the pitching staff was running on fumes by the end. There probably aren’t major changes ahead. But there should be changes.
“We all know we’ve got to get a little bit better,” Preller said. “That pursuit has started already here at Petco [Park]. Looking forward to having a good offseason.”
2. How do they sort out the rotation?
The Padres always seem to enter the winter with major rotation questions, but even by those standards, this year’s questions feel extremely pronounced. Preller is certainly taking a glass-half-full view of that uncertainty.
“The idea that we have a little bit of a blank canvas and have some flexibility, I think we see that as an opportunity,” Preller said. “There’s some good pitching available on the market. We have some good pitchers that we like here at Petco that are coming back for us.
“Every year we talk about it: You’ve got to be willing to revamp your pitching staff. This offseason will be no different. We’ll have some opportunity, I think, this offseason to build a staff that we think is a championship staff through free agency, trades and continuing to develop.”
That’s one way of viewing it. As things stand, the only guaranteed returnee in the rotation is Randy Vásquez. Michael King seems likely to opt out. The Padres hold a team option on Nick Pivetta. Walker Buehler, Robbie Ray, Casey Mize and Lucas Giolito are free agents. Yu Darvish is still mulling retirement. Joe Musgrove’s role is uncertain.
Preller has done some of his best work finding starting pitching during various offseasons. He’ll need to do it again this winter.
3. Possible reunions?
The biggest questions, by far, come in the starting rotation. Elsewhere? The Padres would be just about set if they could find a slugging first baseman and a lockdown left-hander.
You know, like maybe Ty France and Adrian Morejon.
In the aftermath of last week’s playoff exit, both France and Morejon affirmed their desire to return, though both are set to become free agents.
“Everybody knows that,” Morejon said. “My agent knows that. It’s not really in my hands right now.”
France expressed a similar sentiment.
“This is where I wanted to be,” France said. “My heart’s in San Diego. But I also understand it’s a business. We just haven’t had those conversations yet.”
Sure, there are other tweaks the Padres could make in both the bullpen and on offense -- whether France and Morejon return or not. But their fit on the roster is seamless and the Padres will undoubtedly pursue reunions with both.
4. What to expect from new ownership?
Kwanza Jones and José E. Feliciano have been clear from the start: They’re “all-in” as owners of the Padres. They reiterated that promise in a letter sent to season-ticket holders earlier this week.
“While we felt the sting of this season ending too soon, we gained an even deeper appreciation for the championship dream you’ve carried long before we arrived,” they wrote.
The letter added: “Your faith deserves more than words; it deserves action. We’re committed to earning your trust through the decisions we make and the work we do alongside Padres leadership.”
There’s plenty of work to do this winter, and new Padres ownership seems eager to get it done. Preller was asked his understanding of that “all-in” message in Wednesday’s press conference.
“We have a great fanbase, we have a tremendous organization, and the idea is that every year, we’re looking to bring a championship product that is super exciting to the city of San Diego,” Preller said. “... When you have people that are committed like that and are good at their jobs and they love it -- it starts at the top with ownership. It gives us an opportunity.”