Slam Diego is tired.
The San Diego Padres are right there — but right there isn’t there.
They have four Wild Card appearances in the last six years and have not finished higher than second place to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.
Since 2020, San Diego has 13 playoff wins, the most in that span without a World Series appearance.
The Padres don’t need to make any spectacular moves to get over the hump. They have enough star power on their roster to get to the top.
Merrill and Tatis Lead the Bats
Jackson Merrill needs to have a breakout season. In his rookie year, he was named an All-Star but had his second year derailed by injuries.
He’s elite at hitting pitches to all parts of the field. The 22-year-old is an aggressive batter, which leads to him opening up the zone and chasing pitches, taking unnecessary strikes.
However, Merrill is a prime candidate to finish with a 30-30 season.
He also has a ton of range in center field for the Padres.
The Padres have the back end of Manny Machado’s and Xander Bogaerts‘ primes. Machado has hit at least 25 home runs in all six seasons as a Padre (excluding the shortened 2020 season).
Bogaerts excels against lefty pitchers, with a batting average of .303 against left-handers, according to StatMuse, which is over his career batting average of .287 overall.
But with an aging core of All-Stars in Machado and Bogaerts, the Padres are ready to rely on Merrill to get the bats going.
In the Padres’ last three elimination games, they have averaged 1.6 runs. Come playoff time, their bats must get to work early if or when their backs are against the wall.
They also have Fernando Tatis Jr, another aggressive player.
Tatis has stolen at least 25 bases in three of his last four seasons. He’s the Padres’ guy who shifts the momentum and gets them closer to scoring position.
The three-time All-Star led all right-fielders with 15 defensive runs saved last year.
A Front Core of Veteran Pitchers
Former All-Star Joe Musgrove missed the entire 2025 season with Tommy John surgery. He’s currently on the 15-day injury list with elbow inflammation. The Padres will need the 33-year-old’s high-spin curve and fastball in the 95-98 mph range to help their pitching depth.
Their ace pitcher, Nick Pivetta, has a four-seam fastball and high-spin curveball of his own. Last season, he recorded his best ERA of 2.87 and notched a career-best 13 wins.
If Musgrove can return to form and Pivetta can replicate last season, the Padres have multiple terrific pitchers to depend on.
They also added Walker Buehler. The two-time All-Star has an element of a four-seam fastball and a high spin rate on breaking pitches. Buehler brings in championship experience to a team that’s been knocking on the door the last few years.
In the bullpen, they have one of the best closers in baseball, Mason Miller. He has an elite slider and a fastball that easily goes over 100 mph. His last earned run allowed was Aug. 5 against Arizona. In that same span, he’s pitched 24.3 innings, given up four hits, and struck out 52 batters.
He even debuted a closer entrance this season for when he makes his way to the mound.
The Padres have a star-studded team that’s aging, and they must value the remaining prime of their core.
San Diego isn’t breaking through in the regular season; they will need to do that in the playoffs.
They have the star power to do so, now it’s just about executing and putting it all together.
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