Going into the official start of the Hot Stove season, the Padres still have some outstanding work to be done regarding housekeeping. President of baseball operations/general manager A.J. Preller is still a lame duck general manager and there has still not been a third base coach hired/announced.
The lack of any decision regarding Preller is a little puzzling as the contract extension was expected soon after the announcement of new manager, Craig Stammen. Nothing has been said, or information released, regarding this issue since then.
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Mike Shildt announced his retirement from the Padres manager job after the 2025 season, saying he was mentally and physically unable to deal with the stress of the position any longer. Somewhat surprisingly, he has accepted a job with the Baltimore Orioles as part of their player development team on Nov. 29. This seems to indicate his desire to maintain involvement in baseball, but not at the level of team manager.
A pitcher that many in the media pointed out as being a good fit for the Padres, RHP Cody Ponce, signed a three-year, $30 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. This follows on the heels of Dylan Cease signing a seven-year, $210 million deal with the Blue Jays. These two early signings indicate that starting pitcher prices may be prohibitive for the Padres. A Nick Pivetta-type option may be their only choice considering the amount of money being offered to pitchers who have either not proven themselves at the major league level or have been inconsistent.
The rumors continue that Fernando Tatis Jr. and/or Jake Cronenworth could be on the trade block. The league insiders floating these opinions believe the Padres need to offload payroll in order to fill their needs for 2026. Trading either of these Padres would create other, glaring needs within the team and make no sense.
The Padres have begun their Holiday Giving Tour by distributing 1,000 turkey dinners before Thanksgiving. With the help of reliever Jason Adam, the team gave out food to underprivileged families in San Diego.
The tour continues for the month of December with team executives, players, the Swinging Friar, team broadcasters and the Pad Squad making appearances around the city. Shopping sprees, bike giveaways, food drives, baseball clinics and food distribution events will take place here and in Tijuana to highlight the organization’s annual effort to support the community during the holiday season.
Multiple players were signed at the end of November by the Padres. These were all career minor league players signing minor league contracts and being assigned to Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas.
- RHP Sean Boyle – Signed by the New York Yankees and a career minor league player who reached Triple-A. He is 29 years old with a 4.61 ERA last season.
- CF Jase Bowen – 25 years old and originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates. A right-handed hitter, he hit .272 with a .802 OPS. He had nine homers, 37 RBI and 20 steals in 2025 at the Triple-A level.
- RF Nick Schnell – 25-year-old left-handed hitter who started last season with the Washington Nationals, but was sent to Triple-A soon after the start of the season. He hit .244 with a .812 OPS with 21 homers and 68 RBI.
Most likely, these are minor league depth pieces. There were no Spring Training invites announced as part of any of the signings. The two outfielders could still have development possibilities and taking chances on young players will have to be part of the offseason for the Padres.
