How the San Diego Padres Became An Elite Defensive Team In 2026

There wasn't anything particularly impressive about the San Diego Padres as a defensive team in 2025. As a collective, they ranked just 19th in Fielding Run Value (-10) and Outs Above Average (-7), and 14th in Defensive Runs Saved (+28). So, depending on your metric of choice, they were either almost precisely in the middle of the pack or comfortable below average. Only one player from last year's iteration of the Friars was genuinely good on either side of the metric spectrum, with Fernando Tatis Jr. sitting at +8 OAA & +15 DRS. Xander Bogaerts, good by OAA (+7), was bad on the DRS side (-4) while everyone else lingered closer to either end of the average threshold. 

Yet, there was a significant shift for the Padres in 2026. 

This year's iteration of the team wasn't just improved defensively, but a legitimately elite squad in matters of their glove work. Their +37 FRV ranked fourth, their +19 OAA sat ninth, and they finished 12th in DRS (+29). That's a far cry from where they landed on the board the previous season. It's not an especially complicated formula in what allowed them to improve, either. 

The most obvious element of said formula comes in the form of Ty France. The longtime journeyman didn't just earn a bench job on a minor-league deal out of camp, but quickly secured the first base position for almost the entirety of 2026. Much of that was on the strength of his bat, but his glove might have just been more responsible considering what it brought to the position itself and how that permeated throughout the rest of the infield dirt. 

France posted +7 OAA for the season, a number which trailed only Atlanta's Matt Olson at the first base position. Statcast's newly-available first base receiving metric also graded him as above average in every facet of receiving with the obvious exception of high throws (such is the life of a short king). His work earned him acknowledgement as a Gold Glove finalist for 2026, one of two Padres to receive such recognition. 

Manny Machado also demonstrated marked improvement off a 2025 season that had some questioning his long-term viability at third base as he continues to age. After a below-average defensive year by each of OAA & FRV, Machado rebounded to well above the average threshold in each (+11 OAA, +8 FRV). Xander Bogaerts continued his trend of having his defense prop up his value as well, going for +2 OAA & +4 FRV. 

It wasn't just the infield plying their trade successfully, either. While Jackson Merrill & Tatis represented the quality defenders on the outfield grass, their counterpart in left field was left wanting in 2025 as the Padres were below average in each of the three primary defensive metrics last season. That was primarily due to the bulk of the work being handled by the poorly graded combination of Gavin Sheets & Ramón Laureano. The team didn't drastically improve, but they were better in each of the three main defensive categories, especially as Dustin Harris turned in positive marks in more than 100 innings down the stretch.

Having Freddy Fermin, the team's other Gold Glove finalist, behind the plate certainly played its role as well. While Fermin's offense led to his ouster as the team's starting backstop by year's end, he still turned in strong grades that weren't just above average in each facet of catcher defense—framing, blocking, and throwing—but landed him in the top seven or eight at the position no matter how you slice it.

Again, the team-wide defensive improvement wasn't simply a concentrated effort, but one that manifested as the team worked to construct its bench. Given Ty France's free-agent status, Freddy Fermin's trade status, and the lack of clarity around left field next season, it's unclear whether the Padres will be able to maintain this improvement heading into 2027. But the where and the how of the defensive gains that unfolded in 2026 aren't any sort of mystery that the team will need to work hard to solve.

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