Over the last five years, the San Diego Padres have consistently been one of the top teams in the National League, but they haven't been able to reach the World Series. 

Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts are aging, while Fernando Tatis Jr. remains the best hitter in the lineup. Catcher Ethan Salas represents the future. 

This offseason, the Padres will need at least one or two bats, but they'll mostly be looking for arms in the starting rotation. 

"Though the Padres declined their $14M club option with Nick Pivetta, the general expectation seems to be that he'll be back in 2027 on a newly structured contract.

"There's also a strong belief that Michael King could re-sign with San Diego, even though he opted out of the final two years of his contract," Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller wrote. 

San Diego shouldn't bank on King re-signing, and there are too many questions with the rotation outside of him and Pivetta. 

"Omitting them for now, San Diego's projected rotation includes Joe Musgrove (who has pitched one inning in the past 25 months), Randy Vásquez, Yu Darvish (if he can return at 40 after missing all of 2026), JP Sears, and Jhony Brito/Kyle Hart," Miller added. 

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Musgrove has been hurt for most of the last two seasons, and Darvish, who turned 40 in August, missed the entire 2026 season. 

The Padres should want to be aggressive in the starting pitching market, given they have the best closer in the sport. 

Re-signing King would be a great first step, but they'll need way more than that. 

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