Brock Beauchamp

Writing for the San Diego Union-Tribune, Kevin Acee reports that Padres' president of baseball operations, AJ Preller, isn't looking to trade some of the team's high-end relief pitching to fill other holes on the 2026 roster. The 2026 Padres bullpen currently projects to look similar to 2025, minus closer Robert Suarez. Adrian Morejon threw 73 2/3 innings in relief with a 24.5 percent K%, 5.9 percent BB%, and 2.28 FIP. Robert Suarez logged 69 2/3 innings, posting a 27.9 percent K%, 5.9 percent BB%, and 2.88 FIP. Mason Miller added 23 1/3 innings with a 54.2 percent K%, 12.0 percent BB%, and 1.12 FIP. Jeremiah Estrada and Wandy Peralta combined for 143 1/3 innings with K% marks of 35.5 and 19.7 percent, respectively. Overall, Padres relievers produced a 25.8 percent K%, 9.6 percent BB%, 3.53 FIP, and 7.6 WAR over 609 innings in 2025. The 2025 Padres offense finished with a team line of .252/.321/.390 and a 102 wRC+ over 6,087 plate appearances, close to league average, but designated hitters combined for a .207/.273/.300 slash and 66 wRC+, placing San Diego among the weakest DH groups. Left field was approximately replacement level as well. Depth in the infield bench also lagged, with Jose Iglesias (.229/.298/.294, 73 wRC+) and Tyler Wade (.206/.309/.252, 69 wRC+) both below league-average production. For 2026, lineup questions center on upgrading the DH and left field, and on finding more offense from the catcher and reserve infield roles. View full rumor

Thank you for the corrections. Somehow, those two names were inserted, and I don't think they were intended to be there. The rest of the sentence read correctly once they were removed.

Life is never boring with AJ Preller as your favorite team's president of baseball operations. MLB Network recently reported that Preller is once again going big-game hunting, though it's questionable how much ammunition he has to bring along this time around. Reports out of Nashville suggest the Padres are at least listening on veterans like Nick Pivetta while gauging interest in other pricey pieces, even if a major teardown remains unlikely. With payroll tight and the farm thinned out, any blockbuster would likely involve some creative thinking. A decade into his tenure, Preller’s résumé is defined by blockbuster trades. The most famous is the 2022 deadline blockbuster for Juan Soto and Josh Bell, a move that cost a haul of prospects but helped power San Diego’s run to the NLCS. He doubled down on pitching by landing Blake Snell from Tampa Bay, Yu Darvish from the Cubs, and Joe Musgrove from the Pirates in a rapid-fire series of deals that signaled an all-in push around Manny Machado. Preller has also aggressively overhauled the bullpen, sending prospects to Milwaukee for Josh Hader. This past deadline, he once again emptied the farm to bring in flamethrower reliever Mason Miller. View full rumor

That would be the hope. With the departures from the pitching staff, and very little money to replace them, Preller is going to need to win on the margins.

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This is an excellent article on seam-shifted wake from Brewer Fanatic. Really detailed, fascinating stuff about pitching. https://brewerfanatic.com/news-rumors/milwaukee-brewers/the-most-impactful-pitching-advancement-of-this-decade-understanding-seam-shifted-wake-r3992/

Dylan Cease and Michael King have both declined the Padres’ one-year, $22.025 million qualifying offer for 2026, keeping them on the free-agent market and leaving two significant vacancies in San Diego’s rotation. Cease is coming off a 2025 season in which he made 32 starts and threw 168 innings with a 4.55 ERA, 3.46 FIP, and 11.52 K/9, marking his fifth straight year with at least 32 starts and 214 strikeouts. King’s year was limited by injury; he started 15 games and logged 73 1/3 innings with a 3.44 ERA, 4.26 FIP, and 9.33 K/9 after a full 173 2/3-inning workload as a starter in 2024 that featured a 3.33 FIP and a 19.0 percent K-BB rate. MLB Trade Rumors projects Cease to land a seven-year, $189 million contract and King to secure a four-year, $80 million deal on the open market. From a rotation standpoint, the club now has to account for the loss of Cease’s 168 regular-season innings and the portion of King’s workload it reasonably expected in 2026. Cease paired his 4.55 ERA with a 3.46 FIP and a 33.8 percent whiff rate in 2025, leading all starters in whiff rate. King’s shortened 2025 followed his 2024 transition to a full-time starting role, where he provided 173 2/3 innings with a 3.33 FIP for San Diego. Replacing that combination of innings and strikeout production becomes a central offseason task. The compensation side is straightforward. Under current qualifying-offer rules, Competitive Balance Tax payors receive a single compensation pick after the fourth round when a qualified free agent signs elsewhere, and the value of that player’s contract does not change the placement of the pick. The Padres are classified as CBT payors this offseason, so if Cease signs with another club, San Diego will receive one compensation pick after the fourth round of the 2026 Draft; the same structure applies to King. If both pitchers depart, the Padres would add two such selections. View full rumor

We're looking for contributors to write Padres content over the offseason! First, feel free to reach out via email at brock.beauchamp@padresmission.com or reply to this article. Writing Articles If you’ve ever wanted an audience for your Padres takes, this is the perfect place. While we generally lean into analytics and analysis, we also take a “come as you are” approach to baseball and give writers a lot of leeway to write about the game in a way that interests them. That could manifest in historical pieces, previews, or regular series. It’s a matter of finding your niche in the fandom and carving out a space for it. Making Videos We're also looking for videographers! Most of our content is on the shorter side (3-7 minutes), though we have space for plenty of different formats and ideas. Like the writing side of the site, we usually lean into analytics, but it's not the only path we're open to exploring. It is also noteworthy that we pay our content creators. It’s certainly not enough to quit your day job. So don’t do that. However, it might be enough to show that we value your time, talent, and effort. If you know someone who might be interested in creating Padres content as a side job, please share this with them! View full rumor

We made some significant changes to logins this morning; most of you will not notice a difference, but some of you might see your passwords "change" or other oddities pop up. That's because we just rolled out a new parent site, DiamondCentric.net. Here is a quick rundown on what it is and why it exists. Introducing The All-New DiamondCentric! - DiamondCentric - DiamondCentric DIAMONDCENTRIC.NET You've used one of our team sites; now we have an MLB site!

This piece was published over at Twins Daily, and the Padres obviously have success without the pitch. But will they move more in that direction after what we saw this postseason? No Split, Sherlock: The Splitter Remains a Mystery For These MLB Teams - Twins - Twins Daily TWINSDAILY.COM Let’s not pretend the split-finger fastball is anything new. It’s been part of baseball’s lexicon for decades, and it’s been a talking point seemingly every postseason for years now. But...

Every offseason, we offer our You’re The GM! tool to build your ideal Padres roster. This year, we’ve updated and streamlined the tool a bit to improve the experience. The idea behind this feature is to give fans a chance to play the role of General Manager (or CBO or PoBO… you get the idea) for their favorite team, the San Diego Padres. It’s meant to give fans the opportunity to discuss (and, let’s be honest, argue) how they would approach the long, dark MLB offseason. This tool is intended to be informal and fun, so we’ve left it as open as possible. There is a payroll “budget” that loosely resembles the Padres' 2025 payroll, but there is no penalty for going over that number. It’s a guideline, nothing more. Second, you can submit as many blueprints as you like throughout the offseason. As the offseason landscape changes, users often return multiple times over the winter and create new blueprints. Before we get into the breakdown of the tool, you can save your blueprint and come back to it at any time. The only restriction is that you must register an account on the site to create a blueprint (so we can save a draft for you and also post the blueprint for others to discuss). Let’s get into the tool itself. It has four quadrants that work best if addressed in a counter-clockwise order (this tool works much better on a desktop due to its complexity, but it will work on mobile devices if need be). Top Left: The 26-Man Roster We have created a rough guideline for the Padres' 26-man roster today. The roster is flexible; you can add or remove players as you see fit. We’ve also included either guaranteed salaries or, in the case of arbitration and contract options, the recommendations of MLB Trade Rumors. This section is where you build your roster and make changes based on the following two sections. As you make changes to players and salaries, the total payroll number (right side of the screen) will change, allowing you to track your budget on the fly. The bottom field in both columns is for any dead money you assume during the course of your offseason. Acquiring dead money should be uncommon, but we want to give users the option to take on dead salary if it suits their purposes. Bottom Left: Arbitration & Trade Decisions Here, you will find a selection of arbitration options and internal options (usually from the 40-man roster or minor leagues) to assist in building your offseason roster. On the right-hand side of this column, you will see Trade Candidates, a list of the 40 players most likely to be traded this offseason, per MLB Trade Rumors. To help you get up to speed with these candidates, we offer a direct link to the MLBTR write-up on trade candidates. Bottom Right: Free Agents Here, you will find the top 50 free agents, again per MLB Trade Rumors. These are sorted by position to facilitate quickly finding your desired free agent and include the recommended salary for that player. Because this is a blueprint for a single year, we only include their projected salary for the coming season, not the number of years or anything else. To help you get up to speed with these free agents, we offer a direct link to the MLBTR write-up on the best 50 free agents available this winter. Top Right: Dead Money, Your Total Payroll, & Commentary The only unalterable field on the page is Dead Money; it is players to whom the team has committed money but has no reasonable way to get out of the contract. Below that, you will see the recommended budget, your current total, and the percentage you are over or under that budget. Again, keep in mind the budget is only a guideline, and you can go above it as much as you like… But defend your choices, coward! The following field is Title, which gives other users an idea of what to expect with your blueprint (e.g., Be Unreasonable, Sign Kyle Tucker!). When your blueprint posts for other users, it will read “Your Username’s 2025 Payroll Blueprint: Be Unreasonable, Sign Kyle Tucker!”. The following field is Your Comments & Explanation, a long-form field meant to type out the rationale behind your decisions. Here is the place to fully explain your trades (including which players are leaving the Padres to bring in new players), why you targeted specific free agents, and any promotions from the minors you advocate or any options you declined to extend to a specific player. This is often multiple paragraphs; you can write up as much detail as you desire. That’s it, you’re done! At this point, you can either publish your blueprint to the forums or save it for later if you feel it’s incomplete. Thank you for joining us at Padres Mission. I hope you enjoy playing the role of general manager, at least for a moment! Start Your Payroll Blueprint Now View full article

A good piece from Jake McKibbin: https://brewerfanatic.com/news-rumors/milwaukee-brewers/mlbs-revenue-sharing-model-has-two-big-problems-how-can-they-be-fixed-r3929/

San Diego’s decision to exercise Ramón Laureano’s 2026 club option keeps a 2025 midseason addition rostered after one of the most productive years of his career. The option covers the 2026 season at $6.5 million. The 31-year-old Laureano split 2025 between Baltimore and San Diego, appearing in 132 games and accumulating 488 plate appearances. He finished the year with a .281/.342/.512 triple slash, along with 24 home runs and seven stolen bases. His overall offensive line translated to a .364 wOBA and 138 wRC+. With the Padres, Laureano appeared in 50 games after his July 31 trade from the Orioles. In 198 plate appearances for San Diego, he hit .269/.323/.489 with nine home runs and three stolen bases. In San Diego, he posted a .347 wOBA and 127 wRC+, with a 6.6 percent walk rate and 23.7 percent strikeout rate. Defensively, Laureano continued to work primarily in the outfield corners. Statcast’s Outs Above Average metric graded him at -5 OAA for his time in San Diego. Over his combined time with Baltimore and San Diego, one defensive-value framework credited him with -8.7 defensive runs, while his overall WAR was 3.0. Laureano’s season also included multiple injured-list stints. Baltimore placed him on the 10-day injured list on May 24 with a left ankle sprain and later activated him on June 6. After the trade, San Diego placed him on the 10-day injured list on September 27 with a right index finger fracture, before activating him again on October 3. View full rumor

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This could be a very interesting fit with Arraez exiting, and the Padres badly needing a power infusion. Could This Star Slugger From Japan Be The Next Hideki Matsui? - Red Sox - Talk Sox TALKSOX.COM In an intriguing free agent class, Kazuma Okamoto could stand out as the Sox look to add a power bat to their young lineup. Should they make a move for the international star slugger?

The Padres' season has concluded, but do you need your next baseball fix over the long winter? Fans that follow the Padres know the thrill of building a team from the ground up — from scouting promising talent to developing all-stars. But what if you could experience that same excitement firsthand, managing every detail of your own franchise? That’s where Franchise Ball steps up to the plate. It’s a free online baseball simulation game that lets you become the general manager of your own team, competing in real-time leagues against other passionate baseball minds around the world. In Franchise Ball, you’re not just watching the game — you’re building it. You’ll draft players, negotiate trades, and fine-tune lineups to maximize performance. Each simulated game unfolds with advanced stats and analytics that reflect real baseball logic, making every managerial decision matter. Whether you prefer to model your team after the [blog team name] balanced strategy or carve out your own unique identity, Franchise Ball gives you the tools to do it. The experience runs 24/7, with games played daily across competitive divisions and playoff seasons. As you progress, you can develop player depth charts, scout prospects, and manage your team’s finances for long-term success. The system rewards strategy, patience, and smart decision-making — the same skills that front offices use in Major League Baseball. Unlike many sports games, Franchise Ball doesn’t rely on flashy graphics or pay-to-win mechanics. It's a pure test of baseball management and intellect. You can join leagues, form rivalries, and climb the global rankings while keeping tabs on your stats through the game’s detailed dashboard. Every box score and scouting report feels like a genuine piece of baseball management history in the making. Franchise Ball is completely free to play, with membership upgrade options, and we're constantly listening to our community to bring new features to the game as they come in. So if you’re inspired by the way the Padres rebuild, retool, and compete year after year — now’s your chance to run your own team and see if your baseball instincts can match up. Visit Franchise Ball today, start your own franchise, and take your first swing at baseball greatness.

It's hard to predict how this offseason will unfold, as there is an increasing chance of (yet another) MLB lockout following the 2026 season. Will teams spend big this offseason, hoping to create surety in the face of an unknown collective bargaining agreement? Or will they be hesitant in hopes of a favorable outcome for ownership groups? No matter how it shakes out, teams will need to compete in the 2026 season, and they'll need to sign free agents this winter. DiamondCentric has compiled a complete list of free agents, sortable and searchable by pretty much any metric you need. Looking for a first baseman? A catcher? We have you covered. We offer two pages for your reference: one for position players, the other for pitchers. Free Agent Hitters In the 2025-2026 MLB Offseason Complete List Of 2025-2026 MLB Free Agent Hitters DiamondCentric.net Here is a complete list of free agent hitters in the 2025-2026 MLB offseason. Free Agent Pitchers In the 2025-2026 MLB Offseason Complete List Of 2025-2026 MLB Free Agent Pitchers DiamondCentric.net Here is a complete list of free agent pitchers in the 2025-2026 MLB offseason. View full rumor

New this year, we're offering a searchable, sortable list of all free agents in the 2025-2026 MLB offseason. Take a look and let us know what you think! https://diamondcentric.net/complete-list-2026-mlb-free-agent-hitters/ https://diamondcentric.net/complete-list-2026-mlb-free-agent-pitchers/