Top 25 San Diego Padres Player Assets of 2026: #25-21

[Andy Johnson]

When thinking about who the most valuable players are, there is a lot to be considered. 

Obviously, talent and production are the biggest factors, but those are not the only things worth considering. Experience is a plus, but age can weigh down someone's value. A big contract makes a great player less valuable, while a cheap contract can make a mediocre player more valuable. Club control is extremely valuable, especially for younger players and top prospects. 

We've put together our list of who we believe the 25 most valuable Padres are this offseason, taking everything into account. Without further ado, here is the first segment of that list. 

25. JP Sears, SP 

Sears came to San Diego as part of the Mason Miller trade, and at the time, many probably saw him as an afterthought. After all, he was not the centerpiece of the trade, and he only started five games for the Padres after being traded from the Athletics to San Diego. 

However, Sears is currently looking like he will factor into the team's rotation plans next April, and it makes sense. Between Opening Day of 2023 and August 4th, 2025 (his first start in San Diego), Sears never missed a start. He started 32 games for the Athletics in '23 and '24, and while his run-prevention numbers were not great (4.93 FIP, 4.46 ERA), he was worth 5.1 bWAR over those two seasons.

Sears did show some regression in 2025, with just 0.8 bWAR and a 5.21 FIP, but unless San Diego makes more moves to add to their rotation, he will very likely get a chance to redeem himself as a starter in 2026. He is under club control for three more years, so if he does bounce back, he could become a more valuable asset to the Padres. 

24. Yuki Matsui, RP

Matsui was an underrated addition to the Padres' bullpen in 2024, and he's been a sneaky good player for San Diego the past two seasons. He's appeared in 125 games, throwing 126 innings and striking out 130 batters in the past two seasons. In that span, he has a 4.40 FIP, 1.262 WHIP, 109 ERA+, and 1.4 bWAR, with a 7-3 record. He has not done much in high-leverage situations, with just one save in 2025, but that's not necessarily an indictment of him. 

San Diego has had such a stacked bullpen, with guys like Robert Suarez, Jason Adam, Adrian Morejon, and Miller, that they have not needed Matsui to do much high-leverage pitching. That doesn't mean Matsui can't be a leverage reliever if they need him to. 

Matsui also has four more years of club control, as he won't reach free agency until 2030. The Padres owe the 30-year-old a significant chunk of money over the next three years, which lowers his trade value. He's owed $5.7 million in 2026, $6.5 million in 2027, and $7 million in 2028, before reaching arbitration in 2029. 

If Matsui does emerge as a potential set-up man or closer, that contract starts to look really good, but at the moment, it's an overpay for a solid middle reliever, which is why Matsui falls at No. 24 on this list. 

23. Kash Mayfield, SP

Mayfield has not reached the major leagues yet, but as a former first-round draft pick, he will hopefully get there soon. Mayfield was drafted 25th overall by the Padres in 2024, but did not get started in the minor leagues until 2025. 

He spent last season in Single-A, starting 19 games and pitching to a 2.97 ERA in 60 2/3 innings. He struck out 88 batters while walking 28. 

Mayfield will be 21 next season and will likely begin the season in Double-A. He might not reach the big leagues in 2026, but hopefully, he'll be ready to pitch in the major leagues by 2027.

The 6-foot-4 starter is currently San Diego's top prospect according to Padres Mission, making him a realistic trade chip if San Diego wants to make another deadline move.

22. Xander Bogaerts, SS

Bogaerts is the hardest player to rank on this list because of his contract and his declining production. The 33-year-old is still owed $203.6 million over the next eight seasons by San Diego. There's probably no getting out of that contract, although crazier things have happened. 

If San Diego wants out of Bogaerts (and let's face it - paying $25.4 million per year to a player with a 96 OPS+ in the last two seasons is not ideal), they would need to eat a significant portion of his contract. Or, they'd need Bogaerts to have a massive bounce-back in 2026, a bounce-back strong enough for another team to be interested in trading for him. 

For whatever reason, the infielder has not been the same player since he signed a massive, 11-year deal with the Padres ahead of the 2023 season. He was solid in 2023, finishing with a 117 OPS+ and 4.2 bWAR, but it was still his worst full-season since 2017. 

Things took a turn for the worse in 2024, turning in what was arguably the worst year of his career, as his OPS+ fell to 92 and his bWAR fell to 1.2 in 111 games. 

In 2025, he was slightly better, with 2.0 bWAR and a 99 OPS+ that hovered around league average for most of the season. 

His power has mostly dissipated, as Bogaerts has hit just 11 home runs in each of the past two years. While he was never known for being a power hitter, Bogaerts did average 19.4 long balls per season between 2016 and 2023. It feels like going forward, the Padres can only expect around 10 bombs from Bogaerts. 

Bogaerts is still valuable as a defender, with a solid shortstop glove. However, as he ages, that will almost certainly decline as well, leaving the veteran with very little to offer. 

21. Ron Marinaccio, RP

Marinaccio is one of the most intriguing relievers in the Padres' system. He's barely pitched in the big leagues over the past two years, having appeared in just seven games for the Padres in 2025 and 16 games for the Yankees in 2024. However, he's been good in those 23 games, with a 144 ERA+ and a 4.01 FIP. 

Before that, he was one of the Yankees' top relievers in 2022 and 2023. As a rookie in 2022, he posted a 2.05 ERA, 3.20 FIP, and 1.2 bWAR in 40 appearances, striking out 56 batters in 44 innings pitched. He has never matched the production of that rookie season, but based on his small sample size in San Diego last year, it feels like the potential is still there. 

He won't become a free agent until 2030, so San Diego has four years to develop Marinaccio back into the solid reliever he was in New York. He's also extremely cheap, as he'll be on a league-minimum salary in 2026 before beginning arbitration in 2027. 

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[Stuart Shaffer]

SD's experience with Bogaerts and Pivetta illustrate how leaving Fenway and the other Al East homer havens often affect hitters and pitchers.  Position players, such as Bogaerts, often go downhill, while pitchers go up.  I think Mr. Preller should consider trying to replicate his Pivetta experiment with Walker Buehler.