Quote from fenn68 on August 14, 2026, 12:54 pm

Quote from ultratvfan on August 14, 2026, 12:32 pm

I believe that when the roster expands in September, we will see Salas on the roster.

Does anyone know how good his defense is  and how good he is throwing out runners?

Last I heard ... having some issues with blocking balls in the dirt but otherwise very strong defensively.

I guess I am in the camp of NOT adding Salas.

1. he just will not play much ... not going to displace either of Campusano or Fermin who over the recent past have created one to the top offensive catching duos in MLB and have a seasoned working relationship with the staff;
2. he would displace a more useful option (likely Samad Taylor who was a major plus prior to the IL).
3. if he was added to the 40 man ... and there is a lockout in 2027 ... he will not be able to play even in the minors for some unknown time losing development time. He does not need to be added to the 40 man this winter ... so as a minor leaguer he should be able to play for EP during the ML player lockout ... gets additional development and will be in form when the ML season starts and can be added at that point.

I could see him playing out the AAA season (ends mid SEP) then get added to the "taxi squad" but not roster and be around the team for playoff exposure and insurance if a major injury.

 

Quote from fenn68 on August 14, 2026, 4:08 pm

New owners are expected to be approved next week ... so we should have a couple of months to learn how they will handle the future of the team but don't expect anything significant until right after the World Series.

Keep in mind that the current CBA ends on DEC 1 ... no transactions with MLB 40 man roster players can happen ... no trades, released, signing of FA, contract extensions or even contact negations. Then consider that FA start right after the World Series with the first 5 day exclusive negation with the current club the open season. That may leave less than 4 weeks to sign FA (fill out roster holes) until the new CBA is signed ... likely with a short pre-season not a lot of time for filling out the roster.

So that along with the unknown of the new rules of the new CBA that could limit contract lengths for FA, shorter control from 6 to 5 years, expanded ARB eligibility, expanded penaties for violating the CBT limits (doubt we see a cap) ... hard for BOTH players and teams to strike a logical deal in November.

Will players think signing early in Nov is an advantage rather than being in a mad scramble among the mass of FA once the new CBA is approved? Will teams think just the opposite? Will GMs think striking a trade in Nov to fill the holes in the roster be advantageous vs trying to execute one after the CBA?

IF the new owners free up some money ... and free Preller to make moves ... we may see a flurry of moves ... first in the week after the WS then in the rest of NOV. Padres have a lot of holes after the losses to FA and fixing them AFTER the CBA will be a real challenge. No idea how they would view the potential of new CBA rules creating "a problem" if they make moves in a business as usual view.

 

Quote from fenn68 on August 14, 2026, 6:27 pm

Musgrove's rehab did not go well tonight ... 3 innings / 5 runs.

Only went 48 pitches (but 31 strikes is a good ratio). Might just have been getting pitches in and not really "pitching" but only 48 pitches makes me think he needs (will get) another rehab.

If the Padres keep winning ... no rush ... and take the precautions to ensure he is fully ready.

Quote from Randy Manese on August 14, 2026, 7:12 pm

While I don't think this is the time or the post for this discussion, just want to list the players that fit into the above situations that Fenn outlines above:

Unrestricted Free Agents w/current salary (9):  Robbie Ray (25 million/35 yrs); Jason Adam (6.675 million/35 years); Ramon Laureano (6.5 million/32 years); Casey Mize (6.15 million/30 years); Austin Hayes (5 milion/31 years); Adrian Morejon (3.9 million/28 years); Luis Rengifo (3.5 million/30 years); Walker Buehler (1.5 million/32 years); Ty France (1.35 million/32 years).

Mutual Options w/salary for 2027 (3) : Miguel Andujar (8.5 million/32 years); Lucas Giolito (8 million/32 years); Griffin Canning (5 million/31 years)

Team Options w/salary for 2027 (2): Nick Pivetta (14 million/34 years); Kyle Hart (2.5 million/34 years)

Player Option w/2027 salary (1): Michael King (28 million/32 years)

Note: Both Yuki Matsui and Wandy Peralta can opt out but they have had that opportunity previously and not done it

My only prediction at this point is that we are probably going to retain more of these 15 players than we lose and I'm hoping that they are those who are our top priority.

Quote from Randy Manese on August 14, 2026, 8:45 pm

Fenn, you must have seen a different box score than I did.  While giving up 5 runs is what I saw, it said he threw 70 pitches with 47 being strikes over 4.2 innings pitched taking the loss.  He walked only one and struck out 5 but hit a batter and committed a balk.  A HR  in the 2nd inning accounted for 3 of the 5 runs given up.

Quote from fenn68 on August 15, 2026, 2:00 am

Quote from Randy Manese on August 14, 2026, 8:45 pm

Fenn, you must have seen a different box score than I did.  While giving up 5 runs is what I saw, it said he threw 70 pitches with 47 being strikes over 4.2 innings pitched taking the loss.  He walked only one and struck out 5 but hit a batter and committed a balk.  A HR  in the 2nd inning accounted for 3 of the 5 runs given up.

Your right ... no idea what I quoted ... maybe it was the result after 3 innings.

70 pitches is a good workout ... so he may return sooner. Would be comforting for him to have another MiL start where he was. more dominant.

Quote from fenn68 on August 15, 2026, 3:26 am

Wonder how much "roster management" the Padres are doing with respect to the pitchers on the IL?

Pitching goes from 13 to 14 on Sep 1 ... still two weeks away ... but Musgrove appears to be on track to return prior to that (at the expense of a DFA of Canning) ... yet the Padres are winning, so what is the strategy on the timing of Musgrove's return?

More "interesting" is how they handle Adam, Pivetta, and Giolito ... all of whom as I understand are "throwing" but none on rehabs (which are 30 days for pitchers). All three have no minor league options, so when their rehab ends have to be added to the 26 man or released. (Side: if Pivetta remains off rehab for 7 days ... his 30 day clock restarts ... are the Padres working that angle?).

The AAA season ends in about 37 days ... if a player on rehab still has time left he just reverts to the IL and does not have to be activated thus avoiding the activate vs DFA debate. Preserves "insurance" for the ML team if injuries occur in the last two weeks of the season. Will the Padres "delay" any rehab assignments until the minor league season has less than 30 days?

Keep in mind that the Padres do have Morgan healthy in EP for call up on SEP 1 if they DFA Canning ... plus if Adam, Giolito, and Pivetta are in rehab starting in a little over a week at least one should be ready early in SEP if needed to be pulled off rehab.

Since can't see dropping anyone from the 26 (except for the Musgrove / Canning switch) to add any of Adam, Giolito, or Pivetta ... the slow play on rehabs seems the way to go.

 

Quote from MrPadre19 on August 15, 2026, 6:27 am

WC race seems to be gaining some separation finally.

It seems it may be a three team race for the last two Wild Card spots as the teams from the Central have fallen off

 

Quote from Randy Manese on August 15, 2026, 8:36 am

I may be wrong but it seems to me that whenever Adam returns from injury, his stuff is very sharp almost unhittable; however, the more you toss him out there, his stuff tends to wane and then fall back to just above average.  For this reason, since he will be eligible for the post-season should we get there, I'd hold him out until the last possible moment before adding him to the roster.  If you do need a RH RP to replace Canning, then Morgan is your man.

As far as the 3 rehabbing SPs, Musgrove is the furthest along and barring regression or injury setback, looks to me to be the one to be brought up, possibly setting up that 6 man rotation.  We're two weeks from roster expansion and Stammen/Niebla have been doing an outstanding job of managing RP workload, so I think Musgrove won't be brought up until the end of August, after we've squeezed everything we could out of Canning.  Morgan would then replace Canning as the 14th pitcher on the roster on 1 September.

Don't see much use for Giolito or Pivetta in the stretch run, except for emergency injury purposes or to give someone a quick rest prior to the playoffs.  In the latter case, I believe it's possible to activate one or the other and send someone down with options and quickly return him to the roster because all the minor league seasons end by 9/13 except for the AAA season, which ends on 9/20.   For example, they gave Bradgley Rodriguez a "re-set" on paper in mid-June by optioning him to the ACL and even assigning him to the San Antonio team, however, he never played for either team before returning to the major league roster 10 days after being optioned.