The San Diego Padres returned to the playoffs for a third straight season in 2026, but fell in the NLDS to the Milwaukee Brewers. With another season ending in disappointment, the Padres could be aggressive in free agency.
One of the potential targets for the Padres could be star pitcher Tarik Skubal, according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network.
“Conversations have begun, Lauren, and one of the teams that has already shown interest in Tarik Skubal: the San Diego Padres. Perhaps a little surprising. Many in the industry have seen this as principally a two-horse race between the Dodgers and Mets, but not necessarily. The Padres, as we know, under new ownership, wanting to make a splash, and they know well what Skubal can do,” Morosi said. “They saw this with their closest geographic rival in the division, with the Dodgers over the second half. Skubal, far and away the number one name on the market, and we talk about why? Well, this is the Padres' why in the pursuit of Skubal. Not a lot of certainty at all in their current five-man rotation.”
Michael King, Robbie Ray, and Casey Mize, three of the top pitchers for the Padres last season, are all free agents. This leaves Joe Musgrove and Randy Vasquez as the top options for the Padres staff. Neither of them made a start in the playoffs for the team.
Article Continues Below“I will be surprised if they do not add at least two starting pitchers to their depth chart at this point. You talk about the second half of this past season. They made the Ray trade, the Mize trade, both free agents. And I was really surprised, really surprised they did not exercise the option on Nick Pivetta,” Morosi added.
While the Padres may want Skubal, the Los Angeles Dodgers will be putting up a fight to bring back the ace they traded for in the offseason. With the MLB collective bargaining agreement set to expire on December 1, movement on Skubal's next contract could be coming quickly.