Uncustomed Heroes of 2025: Padres

 

The Padres had an opportunity to catch the Dodgers this year. In fact, they had several. And in every series with LA, they failed to capitalize on them. Even in periods where the Dodgers were ailing and could have been knocked down, the Padres still didn't have enough to take them down. Meaning once again, another year of prime Tatis, Machado and Merrill was wasted. Now with Dylan Cease already in Toronto, and a few other pieces on the way out, the Padres really need to figure out if the window has passed, or if they can still chase the top of the division. The Giants definitely are looking to compete next year, and the Dodgers will certainly expect 1st to be theirs. It's just a matter of whether or not the Padres can do this without Cease, Michael King or Robert Suarez.

Or even Luis Arraez, who, at the very least, has been a consistent, contact-friendly presence despite his defense being detrimental to the Padres' gameplan. Arraez hit .292 this year, with a league-leading 181 hits, plus a league-leading 12 sac bunts and 61 RBIs. The defense wasn't great, and he covered 1st for a lot of the season, which is not his best position. That defensive piece is honestly keeping Arraez from being taken seriously as a multi-faceted player, and why a lot of teams probably will not give him a long term deal this year.

2026 Prediction: A lot of people think only a bottom feeder team like the Rockies will take a swing at Arraez, but honestly he'd be perfect for a contact-machine team like the Guardians. Though honestly, with all the rookies he might not have a place to immediately play. 

Since coming over for Juan Soto, Randy Vasquez has been a sneaky favorite in San Diego, and in 2025 did very well in a swing role. Because of all the injuries, he was the third-most prominent starter, with 26 starts, but he did well as a workhorse, with a 3.84 ERA in 133 innings. Vasquez is a good groundout pitcher, with only 78 Ks and 6 wins but a lot of 'keep it in the infield' stuff. Ultimately, once a few more big game pitchers became active he switched to long relief work.

2026 Prediction: A bit better at big games, but less of a sample size.

A lot has been said about this incredible San Diego bullpen, so here's a bit more. Behind Robert Suarez, Adrian Morejón, a longtime member of the staff without the injury luck thus far, was a worthy and powerful setup man, with 13 wins and a 2.08 ERA in 74 innings, and a scoreless run in 4 postseason innings. To put Morejón's 13 wins into perspective, only one Padres starter had that many. And remember, this team made the playoffs. 

2026 Prediction: Knowing Morejon's track record, something will have to give, but he'll be back for the September push.

And then you had Jeremiah Estrada, the pen's go-to strikeout artist, who had 108 this year, the third-most on the whole pitching staff [remember, this team made the playoffs!]. Estrada's ERA was higher than last year, at 3.45, and his WHIP was at 1.164, but he was a very worthy pen option throughout the season.

2026 Prediction: Closer to 2.50 ERA, more consistency, and more appearances.

Yu Darvish has a few more years left on his Padres' contract, despite being 39 and slowing down a bit. He's still the flamethrower of lore, and still flashed the heat over an injury-shortened 15 games. His 5.38 ERA and 5-5 record were signs that he may not have been all the way back yet, and the Cubs had fun with him during the wild card series.

2026 Prediction: Hopefully he's healed up and ready to put in some more work, but he'll turn 40 midyear, and there's a possibility he'll eventually ask the Padres to eat the rest of that contract.

Ryan O'Hearn was supposed to be the kill switch addition at the deadline, giving them one more power bat and letting Luis Arraez take more reps at DH. Unfortunately, the power swell O'Hearn caught in Baltimore wore off a little in San Diego, as he hit .276 with 4 homers and 20 RBIs. They were decent numbers, but not ASG quality. He also went 2-9 in the playoffs.

2026 Prediction: Has a fuller, more confident year, more in the same vein as his 2024 in Baltimore. 

In a surprise move, the Padres traded Brandon Lockridge to the Brewers, as they needed an extra option in CF during Chourio's injury, in exchange for Nestor Cortes. Cortes had a rough go at the beginning of the year, and his first start resulted in 3 straight homers from his old team. In San Diego he fared a little better, though he ended the season with a 5.47 ERA and 21 Ks in 6 games. 

2026 Prediction: Gotta work his way back up again. At the deadline, everyone will understand it was just a rough rehabbing stretch.

Coming Tomorrow- A bunch of leftovers from a Phillies team that, once again, could not survive a first round bye.