The Padres spent 2026 trying to patch a rotation problem with bullpen smoke and mirrors, and the bill eventually came due in October.
San Diego’s relief corps carried a brutal workload all year, logging 752.2 innings - the fourth-most in MLB. That kind of strain can only last so long, and the postseason showed the wear.
Now the front office is staring at a rotation reset, with seven of the 17 potential free agents on the roster coming from the starting staff. That makes this offseason less about tinkering and more about rebuilding the group the right way.
There’s a clear name at the top of the board: Freddy Peralta.
Peralta’s path to free agency has been a winding one. After eight seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers, the two-time All-Star was traded to the New York Mets before the 2026 season. He then struggled through 22 starts with a 4.99 ERA before getting moved again, this time to the American League powerhouse.
Once he landed with the Rays, the results sharpened fast. In 10 starts for Tampa Bay, Peralta posted a 3.25 ERA. Then he turned into a nightmare in October.
Across 16.2 innings in three postseason starts, Peralta has allowed just a 1.08 ERA. The Rays won every game he started, plus his relief outing in Game 4 of the ALCS, when he worked on three days’ rest and then came back two days later to throw 5.1 innings.
That stretch earned him ALCS MVP honors and only made his price tag climb.
The Padres already have more than $100 million per season tied up through 2031 in Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jake Cronenworth and Jackson Merrill, so a move for Peralta would be expensive. Spotrac projects him to land about $28.7 million per season, with his market value pointing toward a seven-year, $201.1 million deal.
Even so, the fit is obvious. Add Peralta to a rotation with a healthy Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove, maybe a reworked deal for King, and the Padres suddenly look a lot sturdier from top to bottom. Keep the bullpen nucleus intact, too, and next October could look very different from 2026.
In Other News...
Rays Let World Series Opener Slip After Ninth-Inning Rally
Milwaukee set the tone early and never quite let Tampa Bay fully settle into the opener, cashing in for two runs in the first inning before adding another in the seventh. Jacob Misiorowski was at the center of it all, working five innings and allowing just one run in a 78-pitch outing that gave the Brewers a sturdy start in their 3-2 win. The Rays answered with a run in the fourth and then mounted a push late, but the early hole left them having to chase the game all night.
Tampa Bay finally made things interesting in the ninth with a rally that brought the pressure right to the doorstep of the series opener. Trevor Megill was the one who closed the door for Milwaukee, and the Rays are left to sort through a missed chance after getting within striking distance in the final inning. Misiorowski, meanwhile, also delivered the kind of headline pitch that can linger in a World Series opener, even before the final frame settled the result. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Got One Last World Series Lifeline Before It Slipped Away
For a brief moment in Game 1 at American Family Field, the Rays found the door cracked open in a game that already felt like it was slipping away. Milwaukee had a potential game-ending double play in hand late, only for Tampa Bay to challenge the call and get a reprieve when replay showed Brewers shortstop Cooper Pratt had not quite stayed on the bag.
The extra breath did not turn into a turnaround. Tampa Bay still needed to make the most of one final lifeline, and Milwaukees closer made sure it never became a full-blown rally, finishing the night with a strikeout of Jonny DeLuca to close it out. For the Rays, it was the kind of instant replay swing that can briefly change the mood without changing the result. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Let A Brutal World Series Chance Slip Away Late
The Rays came up just short in a Game 1 opener that felt available for the taking, dropping a 3-2 decision to the Brewers after missing a handful of chances to seize control. Tampa Bay had traffic on the bases, leaned on defense and pitching to stay in striking distance, and kept pressing deep into the night, but the margin for error disappeared in a hurry as the game tightened in the later innings.
A ninth-inning rally gave the Rays one last opening to flip the script, helped along by a replay review that kept the inning alive and put real pressure on Milwaukees bullpen. With the tying run on third and the crowd sensing a break in the action, Tampa Bay still could not cash in, leaving the club to sort through a painful finish and a series opener that slipped away despite multiple chances to change the outcome. [Read more 🡒]