Padres Offseason Primer: State of the Roster At Every Position

[Steve Drumwright]

Within five days of the end of the World Series, all decisions regarding contract options—player, club or mutual—must be decided. Players who are set to become free agents have up until the end of that five-day period to exclusively negotiate with the team that they were with at the end of the regular season.

After that, the free-for-all begins. If you are looking for a clue as to what might happen in the few weeks before the owners lock out the players beginning Dec. 1 at 11:59 p.m. ET, there was more activity in November 2022, before the last lockout, than in the typical first month of the MLB offseason. A handful of notable free agents signed.

But with owners taking a more hardline stance as they feebly pursue a salary cap that players are staunchly against, will that be the case this time around? San Diego Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller said that, with the general managers meeting set for about a week after the World Series ends, there will be more known about how quickly things will transpire. You might see a few more trades and mid-level free agents signing.

With that said, let’s take a spin around the roster to see what holes the Padres have to plug and where they might have some depth to deal from. (Salary arbitration projections via MLB Trade Rumors.)

Catcher

Who’s here: Ethan Salas, Luis Campusano, Freddy Fermin, Rodolfo Duran

Position status: Strong.

Salas, still technically the Padres’ top prospect until he hits 45 days of service time or 130 at-bats in the majors, is a lock to be the Opening Day starting catcher regardless of Preller’s statement in the season-ending press conference about nothing guaranteed to the 20-year-old. That leaves Campusano and Fermin vying for one roster spot. [No, the Padres aren’t going to carry three catchers into the 2027 regular season under the current roster rules heading into the lockout]. Duran is minor-league depth and is likely to be at Triple-A in 2027.

Both backups are up for salary arbitration at nominal salaries ($1.7 million for Campusano, $2.6 million for Fermin). Preller and manager Craig Stammen will have to come to a consensus on who to keep. Either one works, but with Campusano being a 2017 second-round draft pick and making huge strides defensively this year, he is likely to be the choice to stick with Fermin traded away. Depending on talks with other teams, Fermin could back up Salas if Campusano brings a more attractive return via trade. Those are talks Preller is likely already having with other front offices.

First Base

Who’s here: Gavin Sheets

Position status: So-so.

Sheets is set to return, but at a projected $6.5 million in salary arbitration. The big decision here is whether Ty France re-signs, which would make this a position of strength based off his tremendous 2026, when he slashed .295/.363/.502 and hit a career-high 21 homers to go along with 72 RBIs and Gold Glove-nominated defense. It seems like a foregone conclusion that France returns, but that will also likely put Sheets on the trade block after he put up a .212/.313/.397 slash line with still-solid totals of 17 homers and 48 RBIs. Coming back at a reduced price would be a strong possibility, although his time in left field should be limited if not negated.

Second Base

Who’s here: Jake Cronenworth, Sung-Mun Song

Position status: Solid.

Cronenworth is making just under $12.9 million annually through 2030 and is coming off a subpar season that was impacted by his early season concussion that took time to come to the forefront. Still, Cronenworth had a .225/.308/.321 line with seven homers and 41 RBIs, career-low numbers across the board for a full season. The Padres should be able to bank on a bounce back in 2027 from the two-time All-Star.

Song had a trying season, his first in the U.S. An oblique injury saw him start the season on the injured list, then sent to Triple-A, which at the time might have been the best move for him just to get his feet wet after coming over from South Korea and missing action in spring training. Even so, Song never found his footing offensively, as he had a slash line of .191/.291/.244 in 78 games (154 plate appearances) for a 52 OPS+ (100 is MLB average). He did steal 13 bases. An improvement is definitely expected next season, but he will be a backup at second, third and shortstop until he proves otherwise.

If the Padres want to make an improvement at this position, Cronenworth will be on the move. The question is: Who will take him?

Third Base

Who’s here: Manny Machado, Gage Workman

Position status: Excellent.

Machado’s power numbers were just fine (30 homers) but his slash line was not (.217/.303/.407). With his track record, you have to consider that a blip on the radar and expect that he will probably come back with a vengeance in 2027. Song can fill in when Machado sits out next year. Workman, acquired along with Casey Mize from the Detroit Tigers, is organizational depth. He hasn’t proven he can hit in the big leagues yet.

Shortstop

Who’s here: Xander Bogaerts, Mason McCoy

Position status: Solid.

Bogaerts had his worst offensive season since his first full season in MLB (2014) with a .231/.332/.344 slash line to go along with 13 homers, 57 RBIs and 22 stolen bases (90 OPS+) as the Padres’ highest-paid player in 2026 at $25.45 million (by about $400,000 over Machado). While his first season in San Diego was good (.285/.350/.440, 19 HRs, 58 RBIs), his last three have not been, which has Padres fans wanting to ditch his contract, which runs through 2033 all at that same $25.45 million per year. He did play in 153 games, which included a series off for paternity leave, so he is reliable. His fielding is rather average. McCoy only got a call-up from Triple-A El Paso when France went on paternity leave, but he didn’t play.

Left Field

Who’s here: Dustin Harris, Samad Taylor, Jase Bowen

Position status: Tenuous.

Can the Padres bank on the same type of production from Harris and Taylor that they received in 2026? Probably not. This is the biggest need on the position-player side. How that is filled will depend on Preller’s work on the trade and free-agent markets.

Center Field

Who’s here: Jackson Merrill, Jase Bowen

Position status: Excellent.

After a slow first half, Merrill was quietly one of the best players in MLB in the second half. His post-All-Star break slash line of .304/.339/.569 with 16 homers and 49 RBIs (fourth-most in MLB) was electric. Remember, Merrill was 23 all season, his third in MLB, but it felt like he was finally finding his potential and consistency as the season wore on. He finished with a .254/.303/.440 slash line with 26 homers, two above his previous career high, and 87 RBIs, three shy of his best. Bowen, while excellent defensively, was unable to hit and is likely headed back to Triple-A if he isn’t traded or designated for assignment.

Right Field

Who’s here: Fernando Tatis Jr.

Position status: Excellent.

Everyone will talk about the fact that Tatis didn’t hit a homer until the end of May, but he still matched his totals from two of the previous three seasons (25) while putting up an excellent slash line of .289/.358/.470. He is elite defensively and showed off his versatility by being good at second base, a position he played in 53 games. There could be a temptation to put him back on the infield, where Tatis hasn’t played regularly since 2021 due to a shoulder injury. That means trading Cronenworth, which should be on the table anyway. But in that scenario, the Padres will need to make sure to bring in someone who can play good defense and be a notable contributor offensively, whether at second or right.

Designated Hitter

Who’s here: Will Wagner

Position status: Panic button.

Well, maybe not panic, but more so a position where anyone can fit. If France and Sheets return, Sheets would be an option here. Wagner had a nice stretch in his brief call-up, but he isn’t someone to rely on and is at best a fringe roster player. This will be a position that doesn’t necessarily need to be filled, but could be a spot where a defensively challenged bat would fit if that option presents itself. Austin Hays could be a guy the Padres bring back for an outfield backup-DH role.

Starting Rotation

Who’s here: Joe Musgrove, Randy Vasquez, Jhony Brito

Position status: Panic button.

This is a legit panic button with the red lights flashing. With no top prospects ready to make the move up for at least a couple more years, Preller has to work his magic via trades and free agency. His biggest decision will be whether to bring back Nick Pivetta on a $14 million club option. At this moment, it has to be a no-brainer to do it unless there is cause for concern regarding Pivetta’s elbow.

Musgrove is a question mark entering the offseason with questions about his arm’s ability to bounce back from starts. It was good enough for a relief role in the postseason, but doing it every five days for 32 starts is in doubt. Musgrove hadn’t pitched in two years following Tommy John surgery, so his workload might be managed early on regardless.

That leaves at least two open spots. Will Michael King come back? If he does, the Padres will have to pay him like the ace he showed he was in the second half of the season. If not, you need to find a top-of-the-rotation pitcher. Brito is at best a No. 5 starter and probably best served as depth at Triple-A. Walker Buehler could come back to fill out the back of the rotation. Perhaps Griffin Canning, too, as a swingman able to make spot starts. He looked capable in his bullpen role, but may get the opportunity to start elsewhere.

Bullpen

Who’s here: Mason Miller, Bradgley Rodriguez, Yuki Matsui, David Morgan, Kyle Hart, Jeremiah Estrada, Garrett Hawkins, Bryan Hoeing, JP Sears, Hunter Stratton

Position status: Pretty good.

If the Padres took just this group into 2027, it would be acceptable because of Miller and Rodriguez. That would put Matsui into a leverage role, which seems fine based on how he finished the season, while counting on Morgan and Estrada for key innings, with Hoeing on the comeback from flexor tendon surgery. Stratton is a borderline candidate for Opening Day. But the Padres need to bolster this group with another back-end option. Adrian Morejon returning is the obvious move, but he will be expensive one way or the other, more so if the Padres don’t lock him up before hitting the open market. Jason Adam is the other key free agent from the 2026 group, but he will probably get a nice payday as well. It could be an either/or situation with Morejon and Adam. If Morejon doesn’t return, a left-hander needs to be added.

The Bottom Line

The bones are there for another contending team, but Preller has work to do to put some meat on those bones. The rotation is the biggest question mark. After that? Assuming France returns at first, the offense could use another bat, whether that comes in left field or somewhere else (second base?). The Padres’ offense, while hitting its stride late over the last two months, had holes that led to forgettable months in May and June. With how important the bullpen was these last two years, that level needs to be maintained in some fashion. There figure to be at least five holes on the 26-man roster as of now if you consider France and Pivetta as shoo-ins for 2027.

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