Quote from lafnboy13 on November 1, 2026, 10:37 am

Quote from fenn68 on November 1, 2026, 8:37 am

Quote from fenn68 on November 1, 2026, 3:26 am

Padres still have to deal with three option decisions:

Hart ... CLUB option ... some speculation they will decline the $2.5MM and try to re-sign him at a lower cost

Matsui ... PLAYER option

Peralta ... PLAYER option

Odd situation with the last three in limbo are LHRP ... combine that with Morejon a FA .... that is the entire Padres ML LHRP roster!

At one level I would have said neither Matsui nor Peralta would opt out of good contracts for their production BUT having just read that Emilio Pagan (35 year old RP closer with just an OK ERA of 3.38) declined his $10MM option for 2027 .... not so sure. Not a closer but Matsui is younger ... finished 2026 statistically as one of the best LHRP in MLB ... and a deep need for LHRP around the game.

Matsui and Peralta's calls may be holding up the Padres' call on Hart.

Padres left-hander Wandy Peralta has exercised his $4.45MM player option, according to Jon Heyman of The New York Post. He will return as a member of San Diego’s bullpen for 2027.

 

Quote from fenn68 on November 1, 2026, 8:37 am

Quote from fenn68 on November 1, 2026, 3:26 am

Padres still have to deal with three option decisions:

Hart ... CLUB option ... some speculation they will decline the $2.5MM and try to re-sign him at a lower cost

Matsui ... PLAYER option

Peralta ... PLAYER option

Odd situation with the last three in limbo are LHRP ... combine that with Morejon a FA .... that is the entire Padres ML LHRP roster!

At one level I would have said neither Matsui nor Peralta would opt out of good contracts for their production BUT having just read that Emilio Pagan (35 year old RP closer with just an OK ERA of 3.38) declined his $10MM option for 2027 .... not so sure. Not a closer but Matsui is younger ... finished 2026 statistically as one of the best LHRP in MLB ... and a deep need for LHRP around the game.

Matsui and Peralta's calls may be holding up the Padres' call on Hart.

Padres left-hander Wandy Peralta has exercised his $4.45MM player option, according to Jon Heyman of The New York Post. He will return as a member of San Diego’s bullpen for 2027.

Just read that Hart stays and Yuki decided to not opt out. Both come back next year.

Quote from Randy Manese on November 1, 2026, 3:04 pm

A little surprised they brought back Hart but 2.5 million is not that much for a veteran pitcher who can fit many roles.  He was originally signed from Korea to be a SP and the bar is very low (Sears) for LH SP currently on the 40 man.  I think it was okay to re-sign him and he might end up a trading piece anyway with other more desirable prospects/players moving out to secure a more valuable player in the OF or a LH SP prospect that might be just turning the corner in the minors with some other team.

Quote from fenn68 on November 1, 2026, 3:20 pm

Quote from Randy Manese on November 1, 2026, 3:04 pm

A little surprised they brought back Hart but 2.5 million is not that much for a veteran pitcher who can fit many roles.  He was originally signed from Korea to be a SP and the bar is very low (Sears) for LH SP currently on the 40 man.  I think it was okay to re-sign him and he might end up a trading piece anyway with other more desirable prospects/players moving out to secure a more valuable player in the OF or a LH SP prospect that might be just turning the corner in the minors with some other team.

Yeh, a bit surprised too but even with Peralta and Matsui staying Padres are still a bit short on LHRP options (think injury). Plus Hart can be that swing man option for long relief or spot start (again think injuries).

As of now he probably is in the rotation (few choices) but likely the first to the pen if (when) they add a starter.

SP today: Musgrove (if healthy to start); Vasquez; Sears (L); Brito; Hart (L). Possible that Darvish returns ... and may be an upgrade to some of those five. Padres need to do a mass press on signing (or trading for) multiple SP ... upper-middle-lower rotation upgrades.

Quote from ultratvfan on November 1, 2026, 4:05 pm

Giolito and Canning are gone. I am surprised they declined Pivetta's club option. He was huge for this team.

Quote from lafnboy13 on November 1, 2026, 7:27 pm

Quote from ultratvfan on November 1, 2026, 4:05 pm

Giolito and Canning are gone. I am surprised they declined Pivetta's club option. He was huge for this team.

If they executed his option then the 28 player options is back in effect. That's a huge risk for a bad elbow. I would not doubt a reworked contract once King is settled.

Quote from fenn68 on November 2, 2026, 2:52 am

With all the option decisions settled ... Padres' roster sits at 31 (excludes Darvish) ... so a lot of flexibility to add FA and Rule 5 protects in November.

Per Roster Resource the Padres 2027 payroll will be around $210MM with this roster vs a $215MM payroll in 2026. The new owners will have to really pump up the payroll just to keep the core of last year's team by bringing back King, Morejon, and France or even decent alternatives.

Although believe the new owners will allow the payroll to rise ... how much?

Without the new CBA rules Padres may be cautious in November in making long term commitments ... they could create some unexpected roadblocks down the road with the Luxury Tax penalties.

For Luxury Tax purposes Roster Resources is projecting $221MM ... that is only $19MM below last year's first level for penalties (Padres were actually in the second level at $265MM).

What will the the CBA have as the new penalties? Will there be a form of salary cap impacting future signings (limits)? That sort of leads me to the Padres doing minimal FA signings in Nov to first evaluate the new CBA.

Alternatively, Padres may push harder on trades for upgrades that are low cost / long control both now and after the new CBA rules. Not likely that prospects will yield that kind of player in a trade ... may have to trade from the ML roster. RP is the main asset they could trade (maybe a catcher).

Given the need for multiple SP ... do think Miller may be in the trade picture (if the return is right), available payroll space will focus on SP (puts France at risk), and since the window to sign any of the Japanese SP is the next 30 days (?) the first push may be for signing them (should be lower cost than equivalent FA with the higher risk of being able to convert to ML baseball).

Clearly a more complex decision making process than "just spend more money".