The San Diego Padres know where their strength is. The bullpen is the backbone of this team. The rotation, though, is where the trouble starts, and it’s bigger than simply needing one more arm.
By the end of the season, Michael King was the only starter the Padres could really count on. Beyond him, the picture gets murkier fast. San Diego may wind up having to make a long-term commitment to a veteran starter older than 30, a move that would push the luxury tax bill even higher if that system stays in place.
That’s a rough way to build a staff, and the age issue doesn’t stop there. Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove are both older and each is coming off injury-heavy seasons, while the only other starter under 30 with a real case to make is Randy Vasquez, who entered the year viewed as a back-end option before turning in a better-than-expected season.
The deeper issue is that the Padres have no easy path to get younger. Casey Mize and Robbie Ray both came up short at crucial points, and Mize, despite being 29 and technically still in his prime, did not look like someone the Padres could lock in for the future during his short stay in San Diego. Walker Buehler is firmly on the back end of his career, and the organization’s young pitching talent is concentrated in the bullpen, not the rotation.
That matters because young, controllable starters are among baseball’s most valuable assets, and San Diego doesn’t appear to have one in hand. Even Tarik Skubal, who is set to be the belle of the ball in this year’s free agent market, is 29 and coming off a pair of elbow procedures.
The trade market doesn’t offer much relief, either. Acquiring young starting pitching costs a lot, and the Padres don’t have the kind of prospect capital that usually gets those deals done. Their roster is older and in need of a youth injection, but teams shopping that kind of pitcher want premium prospects with upside, plus immediate contributors.
San Diego has burned through that currency. Ethan Salas reached the upper levels of the system this year, but GM A.J. Preller also emptied more of the farm to bring in Mize and Ray.
And because clubs with young starters usually hang onto them rather than let them reach free agency, that route is just as difficult. The Padres have ended up in a familiar bind: an aging rotation, a thin pipeline behind it, and very few clean answers. Preller is going to need something creative to solve it, and even that may not be enough.
In Other News...
Padres Prospect Justin DeCriscio Is Forcing His Way Onto The Radar
Justin DeCriscio keeps adding to his case at a time when the Padres are always looking for young players who can push their way into the conversation. After going undrafted in 2024 before landing with San Diego as a 10th-round pick in the 2025 draft, he has used the Arizona Fall League to show why his name is starting to circulate a little more loudly. The blend is obvious enough: some offensive progress, enough speed to stand out, and the kind of defensive flexibility that lets a club imagine different ways to use him.
The latest jolt came with a three-run home run, the sort of swing that gets attention beyond a prospect report. DeCriscio has also been moving around the field, which only adds to the sense that he can help himself by staying adaptable, but the bigger question remains how his bat holds up against more advanced pitching. For a player who has already taken an unusual path just to get drafted, this fall is becoming an important test of how far that late momentum can carry him. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Suddenly Have A Shot At A Power Bat Worth Debating
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For the Padres, the question is not simply whether Sato can hit, but whether his power translates cleanly to MLB pitching and where he would fit defensively. Manny Machado is expected to stay at third base, which means San Diego would have to map out another role for Sato if it moves forward, making this as much a roster puzzle as a talent evaluation. [Read more 🡒]
Jackson Merrill Quietly Built A Padres Breakout Fans Should Notice
Jackson Merrills 2026 season ended with the kind of across-the-board production that usually turns heads around the league, even if it took a while to fully show up. During a year in which only six players reached the 25-homer, 25-steal mark, the Padres had two of them, with Merrill joining Fernando Tatis Jr. in that club after a strong finish helped reshape how his season looked on paper.
The first half was uneven enough that Merrills overall numbers still settled closer to league average than star level, but the second half told a different story. He hit .304/.339/.569 after the break, added 16 homers and eight steals, and closed the year with 26 home runs and 27 stolen bases, a reminder that his breakout came less with a bang than with a steady climb the Padres could not ignore. [Read more 🡒]