GABRIEL ROMERO / CONTRIBUTOR

As pitchers and position players arrive for the start of the annual Major League Baseball spring training, the San Diego Padres have been preparing for the season with a busy, under  the radar offseason. With many big name players leaving during the offseason, the executive staff in the front office went with a unique offseason approach compared  to what fans are used to in recent years for the San Diego franchise.      To  counter  some  of  its  National League West rivals, the Padres have been involved in aggressive spending to attract players. In order to compete, the Friars have signed big free agent deals with players such as Manny Machado, Eric Hosmer and Xander Bogaerts — all excessively overlapping what the boys in brown and gold were used to seeing toward the beginning of the franchise. 

Padres practice batting in the off season. Photo courtesy of @padres/Instagram

General manager AJ Preller has also resorted to spending big with prospects to bolster the roster. In recent years, the Padres have traded away No. 3 overall prospect Leo De Vries in the 2025 season for now closer Mason Miller, and two All-stars in No. 9 overall prospect CJ Abrams and No. 88 overall prospect James Wood in the trade that brought Juan Soto to San Diego in 2022.

The Padres recently signed Preller to a contract extension, the executive leading the charge in those blockbuster trades, bringing up questions from fans.

USD sophomore Thomas Fuller shared his anticipation for how the new guys will be able to fill gaps and see what happens when the season gets going. 

“The Preller extension was definitely a big step for the team, after he arrived the organization has definitely gotten way more aggressive in spending money for players and I haven’t been complaining,” Fuller said. “It’s been so  much  fun seeing him work during  the trade deadline like okay what big  move does AJ have for us this year, but at the same time, he still hasn’t gotten the team to the World Series and in signing guys to very long-term deals and not seeing a ton of production, some questions have been  asked  about his  deal making.”

This offseason saw the front office change their methods from the last seven years since signing the highest paid contract in baseball history at the time with $300 million over 10 years to persuade Machado to man the hot corner in Petco Park. Many big name players who helped the Padres reach the playoffs regularly such as Dylan Cease, Robert Suarez and Luis Arraez all left America’s finest city for paydays elsewhere in the major leagues. 

However, the Padres weren’t completely quiet, as they re-signed team  ace  Michael  King  to headline the starting rotation. What made this offseason different was the moneyball methods that Preller used to sign players, using minor league deals and spring invites to sign former All-Star players like Walker Buehler and Ty France to fill holes for the players who departed through free agency.    

Instant roster slots were filled by signings of Miguel Andujar, Griffin Canning and German Marquez who signed smaller major league deals. One notable arrival was the signing of former Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Nick  Castellanos   who   was recently released despite being due $20 million for the 2026 season due to his behavior in the clubhouse.  He  signed for the league minimum contract of $780,000 to play first base, a position he has  never played before.

While many fans are skeptical about the departure of impactful players, according to USD senior Andrew Levikow who was born and raised in San Diego, it’s just business. 

“Their positions aside from Cease are getting filled up pretty good, and the first base position has a better bat with Sheets and Castellanos,” Levikow said. “They have a lot of veteran presence and getting guys like Buehler and Marquez  who  were once aces in the NL West and Canning as well with the Mets allows them to fight it out for the fifth spot in the rotation.”

The lineup for the Padres isn’t the only part of the organization that has been making moves, as with the departure of Mike Shildt, the Padres appointed Craig Stammen. Stammen, a former relief pitcher who pitched with the Padres from 2017 to the end of his career in 2022, signed a three-year deal to manage the team. After rumors spread about future hall of famer Albert Pujols at one point was considered for the role, many fans were skeptical of the appointment, but Fuller is intrigued to see how it will all play out. 

“I’m really interested to see how Stammen performs in the managerial role seeing as this is his first time managing any team whatsoever, and how players are going to respect him,”Fuller said. “He’s  been  in the front office since his retirement, but I think with the help of Ruben Niebla and the rest of  his coaching staff he has a lot of help surrounding him.” 

Going from a former manager of the year to a manager with no experience has raised eyebrows, but Levikow isn’t too worried about  the  former  special  assistant to  Preller  and the front  office  now getting  his  turn to lead the Friars. 

“I personally believe that coaching  isn’t the most important,” Levikow said. “Maybe their lineup is set up by metrics, and they’re not even the ones making the ones making those decisions.” 

Questions surrounding the Padres extend beyond the dugout. Following the recent passing of owner Peter Siedler, the Siedler family announced it is exploring a potential sale of the franchise. In a statement, the family said it has received interest from multiple serious buyers and emphasized that any transition in ownership would prioritize the long-term stability of the organization and its fans.

With a first-time manager in Stammen, a restructured roster built on short-term value and the possibility of new ownership on the horizon, the Padres enter the season facing change at nearly every level. Whether this offseason approach translates into sustained success in the talented National League West remains to be seen, San Diego’s next chapter is already underway.

Padres players have fun preparing for next season which starts on Thursday March 26, 2026. Photo courtesy of @padres/Instagram