A.J. Preller didn’t just miss out on Kyle Schwarber once. He got all the way to the runway before the move disappeared.
Preller said he was ready to board a plane to make his pitch to Schwarber when the Padres were told to stop. The Phillies were finishing a deal, and San Diego never got its shot.
“I was getting on a plane to go talk to Kyle Schwarber and got told to get off the plane because he was going to finish up a deal with the Phillies,” Preller said while discussing that offseason.
That near-miss is worth remembering because it points straight at the Padres’ bigger problem this winter: they cannot afford to drag their feet again. Schwarber is gone, but the lesson remains. San Diego needs to get moving early instead of waiting around for the ideal moment to fix the roster.
The biggest issue is still the same one that was in front of them last season. The Padres need more left-handed balance in the lineup.
They ranked 23rd in wRC+ from the left side against right-handed pitching in 2026, and that left them too easy for opposing clubs to game plan against. With right-handed pitchers covering most innings in baseball, San Diego spent too much time asking too much of an offense that could be attacked without much complication.
Nobody is saying the Padres need to chase a player with Schwarber’s exact profile. A 50-homer bat is not sitting there waiting for the right phone call. What they do need is a reliable left-handed presence who lengthens the order and makes opposing managers think twice before leaning on right-handed relievers.
The problem, as Dennis Lin from The Athletic noted, is that the market is thin. And thin markets have a way of getting expensive fast.
If the Padres wait, the options may vanish altogether. Preller already has a fresh reminder of how quickly that can happen.
Timing matters even more because the league calendar is closing in. MLB’s current collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1, and management is expected to impose a lockout if no new deal is reached.
That would freeze major-league trades and free-agent signings. Preller can’t control the labor situation, but he can control how much time he uses before it hits.
San Diego doesn’t need to solve everything before then. The rotation still has questions.
The bench needs help. There are financial and contractual decisions to sort out.
Nobody is expecting a complete roster overhaul in November. But landing at least one meaningful piece should be the baseline.
Preller has never been shy about making moves. Now the challenge is different: act with urgency before the clock, and the market, decide for him.
In Other News...
Preller Just Gave Padres Fans An Early Offseason Reality Check
The Padres offseason already has a familiar front-office feel to it, with A.J. Preller and manager Craig Stammen using a video conference with reporters to lay out the first batch of issues waiting on the clubs docket. Nick Pivettas contract situation was part of the conversation, along with the possible return of Yu Darvish and the more uncertain outlook around Joe Musgrove, three reminders that San Diegos rotation picture could look very different depending on how the winter unfolds.
Preller also said the club intends to be more proactive in player acquisitions, a hint that the Padres are not planning to sit back and wait for the market to come to them. There were updates on reliever Jeremiah Estradas throwing program and Gavin Sheets injury management, plus word that most of the coaching staff is expected back next season, even if the final shape of the staff still has some sorting out to do. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Suddenly Have A Bigger Gavin Sheets Problem Than Expected
Gavin Sheets gave the Padres something they had been looking for when they brought him in as a left-handed bat, but his foot injury has quickly complicated that picture heading into the offseason. With no surgery expected, the bigger question now is less about recovery procedure and more about whether San Diego can count on him to be available when the season opens and to fill the role the club had in mind.
That uncertainty matters because the Padres were already weighing ways to add another left-handed option to the bench, and the market offers a few names with more proven availability and production. Nathaniel Lowe and Cedric Mullins are among the free agents who could fit that need, giving San Diego a possible alternative if Sheets status leaves too much doubt in a roster spot that was supposed to be straightforward. [Read more 🡒]
A's May Have A Familiar Answer To One Big Coaching Need
The Padres have had stability in one familiar place since the 2021 season, when they shifted Larry Rothschild out and handed the pitching coach job to Ben Fritz on an interim basis. Fritz eventually slid back into his bullpen coach role, where he has stayed ever since, and San Diegos relievers have continued to hold up well statistically during that stretch.
Now the Athletics may be looking at a familiar face as they try to fill a major opening of their own. Oakland still has not named a full-time pitching coach after moving on from Scott Emerson, and Fritz is reportedly in the mix, a notable fit given that he was originally drafted by the As and spent part of his playing career in their organization. [Read more 🡒]