LAS VEGAS — This week marked the unofficial start of baseball’s Hot Stove season, with the General Managers Meetings, followed by the MLB Awards. Here are four takeaways from the week in Las Vegas for the Padres:
Do they address their ‘top need’ by looking to their biggest strength?
The Padres need to find starting pitching, whether it’s via trade or free agency. Or, more likely, both. But judging from general manager A.J. Preller’s media availability, it seems like a distinct possibility that San Diego could add to its starting mix by looking to its own bullpen. Under pitching coach Ruben Niebla, the Padres have had plenty of success transitioning relievers.
At the very least, they’re going to have those conversations in the coming days. The most prominent from among that group is Mason Miller. But David Morgan and Adrian Morejon are also names to watch. Ultimately, Preller said, it might depend on the preferences of those pitchers themselves.
“At some point over the next two weeks, we want to make sure, with all of our pitchers, that we’ve touched base, and we’ve got a pretty good gameplan going forward,” Preller said. “And if there’s a role change for anybody, that’s something that’s going to be important for us over the next 10-15 days to make sure we have that dialed in, so they know what direction they need to go.”
Then again, there’s a balance to strike. The Padres might have the best bullpen in baseball. But they’re set to lose closer Robert Suarez to free agency. If they were to move another high-leverage arm to the rotation …
“What we want to make sure,” Preller said, “is that we don’t look up and have two mediocre units.”
Is a Luis Arraez reunion more likely than you’d think?
The Padres’ needs on offense are nowhere near as dire as their needs in the rotation. They addressed two of their biggest concerns for 2026 at the Trade Deadline. Ramón Laureano is set to start in left field and Freddy Fermin at catcher.
But there are still needs on offense, including one in the starting lineup at either first base or DH. Arraez, of course, is a free agent who spent most of his time playing those two spots. The Padres decided not to extend him a qualifying offer ahead of last week’s deadline. But …
“We definitely have interest in Luis,” Preller said. “We’ll be talking to [Arraez’s agent Dan] Lozano and seeing where his head is at. I know Luis likes San Diego. He’ll be somebody we have some more conversations about.”
On the surface, Arraez doesn’t seem to fit an offense that needs significant improvements upon its 28th-place finish in home runs (152) last season. But if the price is right, Preller clearly wouldn’t mind a reunion. He’s been clear that he’d like to preserve the team’s contact-happy approach.
“For us, it’s going to be more about finding out how we get to a little more power,” Preller said, “while maintaining that approach that we’ve had in terms of putting the ball in play.”
At long last, Ethan Salas is healthy
It’s time to turn the page on Salas’ disappointing 2025 season. The Padres’ top prospect is healthy now, Preller said. But that clean bill of health comes after Salas missed nearly the entire season with a stress reaction in his lower back.
“He’s doing well,” Preller said. “He’s swinging the bat and looking 100%.”
As for the possibility that Salas could recoup some at-bats and reps behind the plate in winter ball?
“We’re weighing out the winter ball versus just getting ready for next year and getting ready for Spring Training,” Preller said.
This week was Awards Week, with dozens of players taking home hardware from both the BBWAA and MLB Awards.
Last week, Fernando Tatis Jr. took home the Platinum Glove Award. He might’ve been snubbed for All-MLB Second Team. Meanwhile, I think Morejon was definitely snubbed among relievers (and I probably might’ve had him on the First Team.)
But really, those are the only gripes. There were no MVP finalists. No Cy Young finalists. No First or Second Team All-MLBers. The fact the Padres were shut out across the board this Awards Week speaks to one of their biggest issues in 2025:
Their superstars were good. But they didn’t quite play like superstars.
Manny Machado has earned All-MLB honors three times since its inception in 2019, and Tatis twice. Jackson Merrill was All-MLB Second Team last year. Let’s say those three are back to All-MLB caliber in 2026. That would go a long way toward fixing some of the offensive concerns.
