The Padres are heading into the winter with one clear mission: fix the rotation.
After a strong second half in 2026, San Diego wants to carry that momentum into 2027, and the starting staff sits at the center of everything. The need is obvious, and one proposed answer would be as bold as it gets - left-hander Tarik Skubal.
Skubal, who finished the 2026 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, is set to reach the open market and is viewed as the top free agent available this offseason. Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report named the Padres the winners of the Skubal sweepstakes.
"When Steve Cohen became the Mets' principal owner in 2020, their payroll pretty much immediately skyrocketed. Same goes for when Mark Walter and the Guggenheim group bought the Dodgers back in 2012.
And one kind of has to assume the group headed by Kwanza Jones and José E. Feliciano is going to be aggressively trying to win right away," Miller wrote.
"And they sure do have work to do on this pitching staff."
The fit is easy to see. San Diego’s rotation has to get better if the club wants to reach another level, and Skubal is the kind of arm that changes the entire conversation. He’s projected to land a deal worth more than $400 million, a contract that would make him the highest-paid pitcher in MLB history.
That number matches the production. The 29-year-old went 12-7 with a 2.72 ERA, 186 strikeouts and a 0.96 WHIP across 26 starts and 158.2 innings with the Detroit Tigers and the Dodgers this season. He also owns back-to-back American League Cy Young Awards over the last two years.
A pitcher with that kind of track record could alter a postseason series in a hurry. For the Padres, landing Skubal would be the kind of move that instantly raises their World Series chances and gives them a true ace to build around in 2027 and beyond.
The bigger issue, as always with a contract this size, is whether San Diego can actually pull it off while also reshaping a rotation that could lose several pitchers. Adding Skubal would be a massive first step. Whether the Padres are willing to pay that price is another matter.
In Other News...
Padres Just Got A Reminder Of How Dangerous Their Stars Are
Fernando Tatis Jr. and Mason Miller gave the Padres another reminder of how much star power sits at the center of the roster, landing on Bleacher Reports All-MLB Team for the 2026 season. Tatis kept doing what he does best, piling up a .289 batting average with 25 home runs and 83 RBIs, while Miller emerged as one of the sports most intimidating late-inning arms after leading the National League with 38 saves.
For San Diego, the recognition is more than a nice nod from an outside outlet. It reinforces the shape of the clubs identity, with Tatis driving the lineup and Miller shutting down games at the back end, and it comes at a time when the Padres are trying to stay in the conversation among baseballs most dangerous teams. When two players can make that kind of national list in the same season, the bigger question is how much more room there is for the rest of the roster to rise around them. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Face A Costly Bullpen Decision With Jason Adam
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For now, contract talks have not even gotten to the point where the Padres and Adam have hashed out a number, which leaves plenty unresolved. His market value is hard to pin down because the injury history complicates everything, and that creates a real possibility that San Diego will have to decide whether the price goes beyond what it believes makes sense. It is the kind of bullpen call teams dread in the winter, when a useful arm can still matter, but the medical file is impossible to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Bet On Casey Mize Just Became An Awkward Offseason Subplot
The Padres took a swing on Casey Mize before the 2026 trade deadline, hoping the former top prospect could give their rotation a late-season lift. Instead, the stretch run turned rough quickly, with Mize posting a 7.46 ERA over 10 starts and eventually finishing the year on the injured list because of a right ankle sprain. For a team that has spent plenty of time trying to patch together pitching depth, it left San Diego with more questions than answers.
Now Mize is headed into free agency, which makes his short Padres stint look even stranger in hindsight. Despite what happened in San Diego, some analysts still expect him to land a multi-year deal, with the Detroit Tigers viewed as a possible fit. For the Padres, it is a reminder that deadline bets can turn awkward fast, especially when the player in question never gets long enough to change the narrative. [Read more 🡒]