The Padres know exactly where the winter work starts: the rotation.
After a strong second half in 2026, San Diego is heading into 2027 with real momentum, but the front office has a clear area that has to be fixed before anything else can matter. The starters simply didn’t hold up last season, finishing with the fourth-fewest innings in the majors and a 4.42 ERA. That kind of production puts too much pressure on everything else.
According to The Athletic’s Jim Bowden, Padres front office members identified starting pitching as the club’s biggest offseason need. Bowden wrote, “New owners Kwanza Jones and José E.
Feliciano wrote to their season ticket holders that they are 'all in, and everyone is waiting to see what that really means," Bowden wrote. "Are they going to make a run at [Tarik] Skubal?
Will they try to bring back [Michael] King and [Adrian] Morejon? Will they go after [Sonny] Gray and [Freddy] Peralta, too?
"We know how aggressive president of baseball operations A.J. Preller is, but what we don’t know yet is what he’s armed with from a financial standpoint.”
That uncertainty is part of the story. San Diego has the kind of roster that can win, and the bullpen is good enough to cover a lot of mistakes, especially in October. But the rotation was too often the weak link, and the bullpen had to carry more than it should have because of injuries and inconsistency in the starting group.
Michael King sits at the center of the Padres’ pitching picture. He opted out of his contract, and while he’s entering his age-32 season, San Diego is still viewed as one of the favorites to keep him. If he does reach the market, he would draw plenty of attention as one of the bigger names available alongside Tarik Skubal, Trevor Rogers and Freddy Peralta.
Still, King may only be part of the answer. The Padres are expected to look outside the organization as well, and the options could get expensive fast. Skubal is the top free-agent arm on the board, and Rogers and Peralta are also names worth watching.
There’s also the trade route. San Diego has been linked to Drew Rasmussen of the Tampa Bay Rays, giving them another possible way to add the kind of arm they need.
However they go about it, the mission is the same: rebuild the rotation and do it in a major way. Without that kind of upgrade, a true World Series push will be a steep climb.
In Other News...
Padres Just Lost Another Wave Of Depth With One Familiar Name Gone
The Padres offseason depth chart took another hit this week, with a long list of minor league free agents peeling away from the organization. According to the teams transaction log on MiLB.com, San Diego has now lost 11 position players and eight pitchers from the system, a reminder of how quickly the margins can thin once the roster churn of the winter begins.
Among the names on the move is Johnson, who logged 134 MLB games for the Padres and had become one of the more familiar holdovers in the organization. The rest of the list includes players who spent the 2026 season at various minor league levels, which is the part that matters most for a club like San Diego, where every bit of upper-level depth can end up relevant before long. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Prospect Kannon Kemp Suddenly Faces A Tough Development Question
Kannon Kemps Arizona Fall League stint has become a useful snapshot of where the Padres prospect stands after injuries cost him significant development time. The right-hander still shows the kind of velocity and pitch mix that made him an intriguing arm in the system, but the command issues have been hard to ignore, and the overall quality of his pitches has not matched the expectations that followed him into the fall.
For San Diego, that leaves Kemp in a familiar but tricky spot for a young pitcher trying to get back on track. The raw stuff is still there, which is why he remains worth watching, but the organization now has to sort through what comes next and whether his next step should be more refinement or a different level of competition altogether. [Read more 🡒]
Tatis Just Gave Padres Fans A New Debate About His Value
Fernando Tatis Jr. has given Padres fans another reason to argue about just how valuable he really is, and this one comes with hardware attached. The star was nominated for the 2026 National League Silver Slugger Award at two positions, outfield and utility, a reflection of how much his game has stretched beyond the usual box score label. He spent 53 games at second base and handled the spot with a .979 fielding percentage, while still producing at the plate with a .289 average, 25 home runs and 83 RBIs.
The unusual split only adds to the intrigue, because Tatis is now up against a deep field of contenders at both spots and could put himself in Padres record territory if he comes away with one or both awards. For a player whose value has always sparked debate, the nomination underscores how much his versatility has mattered to San Diego this season. The only question left is whether the voters will reward him in one role, both, or leave the Padres waiting to see how the final tally shakes out. [Read more 🡒]