Five Things For Padres Fans To Be Thankful For

Happy Thanksgiving from us at Padres Mission. It's a time to sit back and think of everything you can be thankful for. I'm grateful for my first year here, covering the San Diego Padres. It's been a fantastic, fun first season, and I look forward to the future, which hopefully includes a World Series run. For the Padres faithful, there are many things to be thankful for regarding the team, but here are five things that should be at the top of your list.

The Padres add experience behind the former reliever, now manager, Craig Stammen.
Stammen had a solid 13-year career as a reliever, posting a 3.66 ERA over 885 innings. He's only been retired for three years, but he served as a special assistant to the Padres, helping with player development in that span. Even though he's still been around the game, he needs experience on his coaching staff. The inexperience was addressed by hiring Randy Knorr.

Knorr has been a bench coach, first base coach, bullpen coach, catching coordinator, minor league coach, and has recently been an advisor in player development. When a team has a rookie manager, it's reassuring to fans that there is experience somewhere within the coaching staff. This team, on paper, looks solid next season, so Stammen is stepping into a comfortable situation.

A.J. Preller's dedication to building a competitive team.
Preller has been determined to put together a competitive team. That included this past season, acquiring notable players, including Mason Miller and JP Sears from the Athletics, and Ryan O'Hearn and Ramón Laureano from the Baltimore Orioles, to help bolster an already impressive roster.

Preller has been known to do whatever it takes to put together the best team, including trading for Fernando Tatis Jr. from the Chicago White Sox in 2016 and Juan Soto from the Washington Nationals in 2022. Preller's contract expires after the 2026 season, but discussions are ongoing, so Padres fans can feel confident the Padres will remain competitive for the foreseeable future.

The former ownership group, specifically Peter Seidler.
With the uncertainty of the ownership group, let's be thankful for the years we had with former owner Peter Seidler, who tragically passed away in November 2023. He was an owner who supported backing Preller's big moves, including the massive contracts to land superstars in free agency, Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts top this list, and the blockbuster trades stated earlier.

During Seidler's tenure, the Padres made the postseason during the 2020-shortened season, ending a 14-year drought. After that season, he became the controlling owner. He not only had a passion for baseball, but he also poured his love into the community. He formed the "Tuesday Group", which addressed homelessness in San Diego and helped raise money for the Padres' "Pedal the Cause" for local cancer research.

The Padres remain owned by the Seidler family, with Peter's brother, John, named chairman before this past season. The family is currently exploring options, including a potential sale. With the Padres coming off their first consecutive 90-plus-win seasons in franchise history, the team is performing at its best and appears appealing to potential buyers. Despite this news, the ownership group is committed to getting the resources to bring a World Series home.

You, the Padres fanbase.
The Padres fanbase has been electric, especially over the last decade. After breaking the 14-year postseason drought in 2020, the Padres have now made the postseason in four of the previous six seasons, including a 2022 NLCS trip. This past season, 3,437,201 fans attended 81 games at Petco Park, with 72 games selling out.

With the Seidlers showing the willingness to do what's needed to win, the fans are rewarding the loyalty. Gone are the days of finishing fifth in the NL West. However, as promising as the season looks, by the end, the fans are left heartbroken and looking to the next season. The Padres again look prepared to contend in 2026, and the fans will be there for all the ups and downs.

The 2026 Padres look promising (again).
Ryan O'Hearn, Luis Arraez, Dylan Cease, Michael King, and Robert Suarez are notable names to leave for free agency. The number one bullpen in ERA (3.06) last season is left intact, except for Suarez, whose 2.97 ERA was a key to the bullpen's success, although we replace him with a full season of Mason Miller closing games.

The starting rotation returns Nick Pivetta, coming off his best season over his nine-year career. He posted a 2.87 ERA, 9.41 strikeouts per nine innings, and 3.49 FIP over 181 2/3 innings. Joe Musgrove will return after missing all of the 2025 season with a UCL injury that required Tommy John surgery. With the loss of Cease, King, and Yu Darvish, who will miss the entire 2026 season due to a UCL injury, a back-end starting pitcher is a significant need this offseason.

JP Sears and Kyle Hart are projected to be the number four and five starters. Giving Sears a shot makes sense, as he's only pitched in four MLB seasons and has shown flashes of brilliance; however, regarding Hart, an upgrade is needed. He just turned 33, but hasn't had an ERA under 4.00 since 2019, except his 2024 season in the Korean Baseball Organization.  

The offense returns all the starters from last season, besides O'Hearn and Arraez. We got to see a blip of the number seven prospect, Tirso Ornelas, last season in 16 plate appearances. He struggled, slashing .071/.188/.071, but he showed great vision at the plate, walking and striking out both at 12 percent. The offense as a whole finished in the bottom half of all primary stats last season, so a bat or two are high on the needs list this offseason, but they can be bench bats that can platoon at positions or a first baseman.