How Dare You Want More

 

I think it is a very big deal that the Padres, despite the droughts in production or pitching luck or anything, were able to persist in the postseason conversation this year. They were never going to be a first place team, because the Dodgers were always going to be better. They were never a lock for 2nd because of the D-Backs. It took Fernando Tatis a while to start hitting home runs and now he's got 21. It's a testament to the persistence of this team that they stayed in it, to the point where they're very much in the race for that last wild card spot, despite so much of it just not working.

Like...there's a lot of half-seasons that were good, but not a lot of full campaigns were. Other than Ty France, Michael King, Mason Miller and Adrian Morejon, everybody either crapped out after the first half or didn't start til the second. Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill, Walker Buehler and Luis Campusano are finishing with halfway decent seasons, and it's doing a lot to erase their struggles from earlier on. Machado is hitting .221 now, but was hitting .190 for most of the first half. If he didn't also have 27 homers and 82 RBIs, seasonably great numbers for the future Hall of Famer, he'd get a lot more criticism. Same with Merrill, whose 2nd half has erased any doubts people had about his trajectory. Merrill hit 25 homers and 82 RBIs, plus 26 stolen bases. If the Padres make the postseason, Merrill might be the most dangerous part of the team. 

I also think the bullpen has built on 2025, which is weird to say about a team that had 4 relievers make the all-star team. Miller's elite, but we knew that. Beyond that, Adrian Morejon's having another fantastic year as a setup man/relief specialist, with 9 wins, 100 strikeouts, a 2.70 ERA and a 1.8 WAR. Morejon is commanding, consistent, and reliable, and since joining the bullpen full time in 2024, he's been one of the most crucial pieces of these Padres teams. Without Jason Adam or Robert Suarez this year, he needed to step up, and he very much did. Yuki Matsui, Bradgley Rodriguez and Wandy Peralta have provided stability behind him.

There's gonna be some worry about how the rotation holds up, because Randy Vasquez is very streaky, Walker Buehler's not as good as he was in 2019, and Robbie Ray and Casey Mize have struggled since the deadline, but...Nick Pivetta just came back and he's been very strong, being part of two wins, and only allowing 2 runs. In a postseason scenario, it would be Michael King, Nick Pivetta and Robbie Ray, and that's honestly a pretty nice rotation. If Ray can firm up in the postseason, which seems likely, they could be a match for whoever they go against [probably Atlanta at this rate].

This only happens if they stay ahead of the Diamondbacks, which I honestly think is possible, given how much momentum they've built up in the past few weeks. They're 2.5 games up as the D-Backs are imploding, have the Rockies and Marlins all week, and hopefully by the time the Padres have to play their division rivals again to finish off the season, they'll have enough of a cushion to secure that postseason spot. I don't know how far they'll get, but...considering I didn't expect them to get this far, who knows.

Coming Tonight: He didn't have a very good season, as the centerpiece of a team needing a real homegrown hero. Luckily the team didn't need him to be great, they just needed him to be there. 

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.

Uncustomed Heroes of 2020: Padres (Part Two)

 

Everyone in this post showed up for the Padres after Opening Day. Adrian Morejon is the sole player here who wasn't traded to the Padres this year.

Morejon, after some good starts last year, was plugged into the rotation this year due to some injuries, and posted a 4.66 ERA in 9 games, including 25 Ks. I am guessing that 2021 will finally be the year that Morejon gets an extended run in the rotation, and then we'll all see what he's really made of.

2021 Prediction: Doesn't start the season in the rotation, but won't leave it for a few years after he joins.

So. Mike Clevinger was the biggest deal the Padres made at the deadline. I wonder aloud if Clevinger would have needed Tommy John surgery if he stayed in Cleveland and didn't break quarantine to go to a party in Chicago. And maybe in that universe he pitches fine for the rest of the year, doesn't have to miss the 2021 season and won't be met with pissed off fans when he returns in 2022. Imagine that universe.

Anyway, Clevinger had a 2.84 ERA in 4 starts, including 2 wins and 19 Ks, but of course that dreaded injury stopped him from making any further impact.

2021 Prediction: Well, at least he won't have to break quarantine, or even leave his house, to get hammered next year. 

At least Trevor Rosenthal didn't get injured after landing in SD. I'm still blown away that this guy made a comeback this year, after shitting away the closer gig in St Louis a few years back, does well for the Royals AND the Padres, and makes his presence as a prime closer known again. We love to see it. Rosenthal had 4 saves and 17 Ks in 9 appearances, none of which featured an earned run.

2021 Prediction: Some team spends too much money on him and he doesn't have half the season he had this year. Probably the Phillies, knowing my luck. 

Speaking of the Phillies, their ace's brother was hot in Seattle, and got traded to the Padres where he had a unilateral starting catching gig. He hit .222 with 9 RBIs, but it was better than any of the catching options they had before.

2021 Prediction: A more traditional Nola season, with more homers and more contact hitting. 

Mitch Moreland has sort of filled out as a hitter, and is mostly a source of power hitting and not much else. Moreland was traded by Boston to the Padres, and...yeah, kept doing that. 8 RBIs and 2 homers in 20 games, but a .203 average. Good news is he batted .500 in the postseason with 4 hits and an RBI. 

2021 Prediction: He'll get signed to a minor league deal, have some time in the majors and sort of fade off after next season.

As phase two of the Padres' quest for catching, Jason Castro quickly became a backup option as Nola arrived, and he was still a sturdy defensive catcher. He's just...not exactly the hitter he was, and only hit .179 in 9 games.

2021 Prediction: Will be signed as a backup somewhere, and get some playing time upon an injury to the starting catcher. Hell, maybe the Yanks take a chance.

Coming Tomorrow- This Phillies team couldn't get it done either..