The Padres can absolutely bring Ty France back and call it a win. The harder part comes right after that: figuring out what Gavin Sheets is supposed to be if France returns to first base.
That’s the real offseason question San Diego has to answer. France settling in at first would solve one spot, but it also tightens everything around him - designated hitter, the bench and the club’s larger effort to add more offense.
Those decisions all live in the same lane, and A.J. Preller can’t treat them like separate puzzles.
France has made a strong case for himself. By late August, he had taken over as the everyday first baseman and led Padres hitters with at least 300 plate appearances in OPS. There’s a clear baseball argument for keeping him, and it goes beyond nostalgia or the comfort of a reunion.
Still, a France return only works if San Diego has a real plan for Sheets.
The most straightforward setup would have France starting at first most days, while Sheets fills in at DH, gets some work at first and chips in off the bench. The club has already seen Sheets in left field, and that’s not something it should be eager to revisit.
The DH spot matters here, too. If Sheets is the regular there, fine.
If the Padres can find a more productive bat for that job, they should do it and trim Sheets’ role accordingly. That may sound blunt, but DH is supposed to be a pure hitting assignment, and San Diego should be willing to upgrade if a better option is available.
There’s also the roster question that comes with moving Sheets into a reserve role. How much bench space should the Padres devote to a player whose clearest path to at-bats overlaps with France’s?
Sheets put together a .212/.313/.397 line with 17 home runs in 419 plate appearances in 2026, good for a .710 OPS. The power is real, but the overall production still leaves room for improvement.
It’s easy to look at a reunion like this and assume the lineup can just be filled in from the top down: France at first, Sheets at DH, move on. But that raises the obvious follow-up - does that arrangement provide enough offense? And if Sheets ends up with fewer chances, does the rest of the roster have enough flexibility to support a different approach?
France’s contract also matters. The Padres should be paying for the kind of production they expect him to deliver on the next deal, and while his strong return gives them something tangible to build around, it doesn’t lock him in. If another team offers more, San Diego can’t ignore that reality.
Sheets’ roster spot should come down to how he helps the next Padres team score and win. His past contributions are worth acknowledging, but his next at-bats have to be earned.
The cleanest path is pretty simple: pursue France as the main first baseman, keep DH open for an upgrade and only keep Sheets if the Padres can define a meaningful role for him. If that means making a harder call on Sheets, then that’s the call they should make.
In Other News...
Padres Cant Afford To Move Jeremiah Estrada For Just Anything
The Padres have spent plenty of time looking for ways to juice an offense that can too often leave the pitching staff carrying the load, and Jeremiah Estrada has emerged as one of the more interesting chips in that conversation. The right-hander has given San Diego value out of the bullpen, but the idea of moving him has real appeal only if it helps land an everyday bat who can make a lineup upgrade feel lasting rather than cosmetic.
Estrada is not the kind of arm the Padres should move simply to check off a need. His recent performance, injury background and contract situation all make him a meaningful piece of the roster, which means any deal would have to bring back substantial offensive help. San Diego can talk itself into bullpen depth later, but if it turns Estrada into a trade, the return has to reflect how hard it is to replace a reliable reliever and how badly the lineup could use a difference-maker. [Read more 🡒]
Diamondbacks Just Made A Pitching Staff Move Padres Fans Will Notice
The Padres are losing a familiar voice in their pitching room, as Ben Fritz has agreed to become the Diamondbacks lead pitching coach after spending the past decade in San Diego. Fritz had been the clubs bullpen coach since 2015 and joined the major-league staff in 2020, making him one of the more established holdovers around a staff that has gone through plenty of turnover over the years.
Fritz also drew interest elsewhere, including an interview with the Rockies, before taking Arizonas offer, which makes the move stand out even more for a Padres team trying to keep continuity in place. Manager Craig Stammen praised Fritzs impact on the bullpen and said he hopes most of the coaching staff returns next season, but this is still a notable change for a group that has leaned on Fritzs presence for a long time. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Rotation Need Just Got More Complicated In Free Agency
The Padres offseason already had enough moving parts, and the rotation picture only got murkier once the free-agent market opened. San Diego lost 10 players to free agency, including Michael King after he opted out of his contract, leaving the club with a clear need to reshape the pitching staff before next season.
Robbie Ray adds another layer to the uncertainty. Acquired in midseason, the veteran left-hander is now a free agent himself, and one projection has him landing a two-year, $45 million deal. His stint in San Diego did not meet expectations, which only strengthens the sense that the Padres could look elsewhere for rotation help rather than banking on a reunion. [Read more 🡒]