The Padres are not starting from zero for 2027. They’re starting from a mix of names, injuries and uncertainty that still leaves plenty of work to do.
Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish and Michael King are all tied to the organization in some way, Nick Pivetta is under club control, and Randy Vásquez is still around too. On paper, that’s a decent stack of options. In practice, it’s a rotation full of question marks, with reliable innings still hard to pin down.
Musgrove is the cleanest long-term answer because he’s signed through 2027. But even that comes with a catch.
He came back from elbow surgery in the postseason and showed his stuff was still there, yet the bigger issue is whether his body can take the grind of every fifth day again. He’ll be 34 next season and has made just 29 regular-season starts since the start of 2024.
There’s reason to believe in him, but right now he looks more like a strong possibility than a sure thing at the front of the rotation.
Darvish is even harder to project. He has two years left on his deal, but whether he actually pitches in either of them is unresolved.
He missed all of 2026 after right elbow surgery and still hasn’t decided if he’ll try to come back. He’ll turn 41 next summer.
Anything the Padres get from him should be viewed as a bonus, because they cannot plan around him. Don’t forget, he announced his retirement, then pulled it back.
He’s not a lock.
Pivetta is the easiest call from a roster-management standpoint, though not necessarily a simple one medically. His extended IL stint turned his player option into a decision the Padres control, and if the elbow checks out, San Diego has plenty of reason to keep him.
He returned Sept. 7 and delivered a 2.05 ERA, with the Padres winning all six of his starts, postseason included. That stretch served as a reminder of why he finished sixth in the 2025 National League Cy Young Award voting.
Declining the option would mean walking away from one of the few pitchers in the mix with recent proof he can handle a meaningful starting job.
King is the biggest swing factor of all. He’s under contract for 2027 and 2028, but he can opt out, take a $5 million buyout and hit free agency.
After 32 starts, a 3.21 ERA and a 0.64 ERA across 14 postseason innings, he has every reason to see what the market says. San Diego can’t build its rotation assuming he stays.
If he’s back, the Padres still have their best starter. If he leaves, Preller is shopping for an ace.
That decision could shape the entire offseason.
Vásquez gives the Padres something more modest, but still useful. He doesn’t carry the name value of the veterans ahead of him, and his ceiling still looks more like a fourth or fifth starter than a postseason fixture.
But he can take the ball, and that matters. Not every rotation spot needs a headline; some nights just need someone to get through the game without turning the bullpen into a crutch.
He looks trustworthy in that back-end role, but expecting more than that would expose how thin the group really is.
There are a couple of other arms in the mix, too. JP Sears will head into 2027 without minor-league options, and prospect Luis Gutierrez should get a spring training invite with a chance to compete. Neither can be counted on yet.
So yes, the Padres do have pieces for 2027. What they don’t have is a finished rotation. Preller has pieced together thin staffs before, and he may need that same kind of creativity again.
In Other News...
Preller Just Gave Padres Fans An Early Offseason Reality Check
A.J. Preller and Craig Stammen used a recent video conference with reporters to give Padres fans a first look at what this winter could feel like in San Diego. The conversation touched on a handful of key roster matters, including contract options for Nick Pivetta, the possibility of Yu Darvish returning, and the uncertain status of Joe Musgrove, while also offering a broader glimpse at how the front office wants to approach the offseason after a season that again left plenty to sort through.
Preller also said the club wants to be more proactive in player acquisitions, which is exactly the kind of line Padres supporters will file away as they wait to see how aggressively the team operates. There were updates on reliever Jeremiah Estradas throwing program and outfielder Gavin Sheets injury management, and most of the coaching staff is expected back next season, though the exact shape of any staff changes still remains unclear. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Fans Have Every Right To Be Angry Over Manny Machado Snub
Manny Machado put together the kind of season that usually makes Gold Glove recognition feel routine. At third base, he ranked at the top of qualified National League players in Outs Above Average and Fielding Run Value, the sort of defensive resume that tends to speak for itself when the hardware conversation starts. For Padres fans, it was the familiar mix of watching Machado anchor the left side of the infield and assuming the national awards would catch up to what was obvious on the field.
Instead, Machado was left off the Gold Glove finalist list, with Alex Bregman, Javier Sanoja and Max Muncy getting the nod at third. The omission is a reminder that the award is not decided by advanced metrics alone, since manager and coach voting plays a major role alongside the SABR Defensive Index. For a player whose defense was strong enough to headline the position all season, the snub leaves San Diego with a fair gripe and a lingering question about how the voting process weighed his case. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Suddenly Have A Bigger Gavin Sheets Problem Than Expected
The Padres entered the winter expecting Gavin Sheets to be part of the conversation as a left-handed bench option, but his foot injury has introduced a new layer of uncertainty. While surgery is not expected this offseason, the real issue for San Diego is whether Sheets will be ready enough to count on when the season opens, or whether the club has to keep planning around his availability instead of his role.
That leaves the front office with a familiar kind of February problem: finding depth before it becomes a necessity. If the Padres want a safer left-handed bat on the bench, free-agent possibilities such as Nathaniel Lowe or Cedric Mullins offer more reliable health and offense on paper, which is why Sheets' status now matters more than it first did. [Read more 🡒]