Quote from fenn68 on August 10, 2026, 12:19 pm

It is beginning to look as though IF Pivetta returns is will be after Aug 22 and his player option for $14MM becomes a club option. That sets up an interesting dilemma for the Padres.

First he does have to return and show he is healthy and effective ... if not the club option will be declined (maybe an attempt to resign him at a lower price tag with injury protections). He would have to worry about being the 2027 Giolito and get hung out to dry.

Even if King does not opt out ($28MM) ... the 2027 starting pitching is set up as King, Musgrove, Vasquez, Sears, and Brito. Finding quality SP is not only hard but very expensive.

Then with the built in increases to returning players ... that more than offsets the payroll decrease of a lot of critical players from 2026 ... so where does Preller put the bigger money? Remember besides the SP ... Morejon / Adam out of the pen and the offense looses France, Andujar, Laureano, Rengifo, Hays, and maybe Sheets if the CBA makes the control change from 6 6 to 5 years.

Risk, cost, alternatives, balanced line-up .... hard to see them bringing back Pivetta unless it is closer to a Giolito-Buehler-Marquez-Canning type contract.

Quote from fenn68 on August 10, 2026, 12:21 pm

Following the previous post ... if I could the two signees I would focus on would be Morejon and France ... then dumpster dive on the rest.

Quote from ultratvfan on August 10, 2026, 1:30 pm

San Diego Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove allowed one run in 3.1 innings in his first MLB Injury Rehab start in Triple-A this year. He struck out two, didn't walk anybody and threw 53 pitches. Musgrove previously pitched for the Chihuahuas on rehab for one start in 2023.

Quote from MrPadre19 on August 11, 2026, 8:34 am

Still a long way to go, and still a lot can happen, but if we win tonight I’ll feel a whole lot better about our playoff chances

Not even sure why but it will

 

Quote from fenn68 on August 12, 2026, 3:32 am

Quote from MrPadre19 on August 11, 2026, 8:34 am

Still a long way to go, and still a lot can happen, but if we win tonight I’ll feel a whole lot better about our playoff chances

Not even sure why but it will

 

Fangraphs now has the Padres above 50% chance to make the playoffs (ahead of AZ).

Quote from fenn68 on August 12, 2026, 3:50 am

Sure, the "stars" need to produce to make the playoffs but they also need support from the bench and secondary starters ... and in that light we should be giving Preller (the scouting folks) a lot of credit this season.

Once we get past the failure of Castellanos (who at least they dropped early) ... consider:

France ... MiL FA (Feb 15) ... $1.350MM ... 292/345/525

Renfigo ... MiL FA (Jun 19) ... minimum ... 321/415/457

Taylor ... MiL FA (Jan 25) ... minimum ... 330/410/398

Andujar ... FA (Feb 11)... $1.5MM ... 259/ 303/423

Hays ... FA (Aug 4) ... minimum ... 500/500/1000 w/ Padres (.265 in 2026)

Bowen and Duran were MiL FA ... league minimum .. although no offensive contribution did have value providing plus defense to cover injuries ... especially Duran at the critical catching position.

Hitting on one or maybe two would be considered great ... but all these at dirt cheap costs is over the top great. Not sure where the Padres would be without their contributions.

Credit to the front office.

Quote from ultratvfan on August 12, 2026, 10:31 am

Here is some Padres news:

Triple-A infielder Nate Mondou suddenly released. Nick Pivetta might be cut in the off-season and Ethan Salas might be called up this season.

https://www.si.com/mlb/padres/onsi/padres-suddenly-release-infielder-after-3-years-organization

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/padres-roundup-sd-officially-releases-125900431.html

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/padres-considering-calling-top-prospect-180004035.html

Quote from MrPadre19 on August 12, 2026, 1:34 pm

With that big game yesterday the Padres managed to get their run differential back to even

 

Quote from Randy Manese on August 12, 2026, 2:33 pm

Padres seemingly are getting stronger as the season winds down.  Rengifo and Hays have gotten off to red hot starts but hopefully when they fall back to their norm the drop still will be better than what we've gotten from Bowen and Duran.  The Andujar/Taylor return should force Bowen and/or Song back to the minors but it's possibility that they'd IL Sheets and give him a chance to heal his injuries and be healthy for the stretch run.

On the pitching side, still have Musgrove, Adam and possibly even Morgan and Giolito to consider, although the latter is less likely given the acquisition of Ray and Mize.  Morgan can be optioned, but we still need to find 2 roster spots on the 40 man to bring back Musgrove and Adam.  Canning is an obvious choice with the other likely to be putting Giolito on the 60 day and sending down Hart.  Could release Peralta, since Hart has out-performed him, but likely keep as many arms for the stretch run as possible considering all the injuries the Padres have had to endure over the season.

With the above being said, I think we may be the strongest we've been all season and if the core hitters perform and the bullpen keeps doing its thing, I think we've got a very good chance to not only make the playoffs but to surprise one or more teams.