The Padres have work to do this winter, and the World Series has provided a couple of names worth keeping close to the top of the board.
San Diego’s second-half push has raised the stakes a bit. The front office needs to find out whether that surge was real or just a mirage, and the offseason has to be handled cleanly.
Starting pitching sits at the top of the list, but that’s not the only hole that needs attention. First base could use an upgrade, too.
That’s where Freddy Peralta and Jake Bauers come in. Both are impending free agents playing in the Fall Classic, and both could make sense for the Padres in 2027.
Peralta checks the biggest box on the list: pitching. He split his season in dramatic fashion, opening with the New York Mets and struggling to a 4.99 ERA before landing in Tampa Bay and looking much more like the pitcher he’s been at his best. With the Rays, the right-hander posted a 3.25 ERA in the regular season, then took his game up another level in October and won the ALCS MVP award.
He’s not the ace San Diego may ultimately need, but he’s a real bounce-back candidate with top-of-the-rotation history. At minimum, Peralta profiles as a strong No. 2 or No. 3 starter, and signing him would not have to take the Padres out of the hunt for a true frontline arm.
Bauers, meanwhile, looks like the kind of first-base option that could fit several different needs at once. He’s putting together a career year in 2026, hitting .266 with a .874 OPS, and he carried that production into October, where he was named NLCS MVP.
There’s a lot to like about the fit. Bauers brings a left-handed bat to first base, giving the Padres a different look from the right-handed Ty France.
He can also handle either corner outfield spot, which adds another layer of flexibility. And there’s already a San Diego connection: the Padres originally drafted him in 2013 before trading him in the three-team Wil Myers/Trea Turner deal.
Statcast backs up the breakout, with Bauers’ barrel rate, exit velocity and bat speed all rated elite in 2026. The question is whether San Diego would want to bet on a 31-year-old coming off a career season.
That’s the gamble. But if the Padres are building out their winter shopping list, Peralta and Bauers both deserve a look.
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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 🡒]