How Padres are finding success despite disastrous offensive performance

The 2026 San Diego Padres might be the most confusing team in Major League Baseball. Think about it for a minute. The Padres own the 6th-best record in the league at 31-23, just 5.5 games back of the first-place Atlanta Braves. Hidden in the success is the worst offense in the league. Let’s discuss why.

Right off the bat, Dennis Lin, who covers the Padres for The Athletic, shared that this 2026 Padres squad is the first team since the 1985 Mets to win 31 of their first 54 games and have a team OPS of .655 or lower. The irony of this being related to the Mets is funny, and we will get to that shortly.

The Padres’ offense is just flat out bad right now. The holy trinity of stars on the Friars is supposed to lead the way, but that has not been the case. Fernando Tatis Jr, Manny Machado, and Jackson Merrill are all struggling as the end of May is approaching. Yes, Machado has been swinging for the fences lately and has seen some balls carry over, but his .173 batting average is second-worst in the league among qualified hitters, just ahead of Cal Raleigh’s .161.

Machado’s .173, Merrill’s .194, and Tatis Jr.’s .255 averages are what are hurting this team right now. Even Xander Bogaerts’ hitting only .245 after a hot start to the season is crushing this team. They cannot expect to sustain this type of winning success if these players don’t turn it around. Machado even reiterated that after Tuesday night’s loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.

“I kind of doubt that,” Machado said. “One, we can’t sustain it. Two, I have confidence in everybody in this room that we’re going to be right where we need to be.”

The Padres don’t need just one player to step up and turn it around … they need at least three of those four hitters to flip the switch and play like the star players that they are. Those four are making a combined $94 million this season. Tatis Jr. still has yet to hit a home run after an impressive World Baseball Classic for the Dominican Republic.

It isn’t just these four players that are struggling. Jake Cronenworth has been on the IL, but is hitting .144 this season. Nick Castellanos is at .182, Ramon Laureano at .211, Freddy Fermin at .143, Bryce Johnson at .188, Sung-Mun Song at .190, and Rodolfo Duran at .100. I mean, what are we even doing here? At some point, you have to either look at the coaching staff or revamp the entire lineup because nobody is hitting above .288 on the season, and that is from a player who has struggled for his entire career (Luis Campusano).

As a result of all this poor hitting, the Padres rank close to last in all major hitting statistics. San Diego is dead last in MLB in team average at .218, tied for last with the Mets in OBP at .292, 29th in SLG at .363, 29th in OPS at .655, last in total bases with 636, 24th in RBIs at 207, and last in total hits at 382 (29 fewer than the Chicago White Sox). The only team worse in SLG and OPS is the Mets, but they have 34 more hits than San Diego. Point being, this Padres’ offense is historically bad, yet they are still finding ways to win games due to their pitching and a few other names stepping up.

Gavin Sheets and Miguel Andujar are having a phenomenal year, leading the team in extra-base hits with 19 each. Sheets and Machado both have nine home runs, and Sheets also leads the team by a wide margin with his .839 OPS. The Padres’ team leader in WAR is Ty France at 0.8, as he has been huge both offensively and defensively. The Gold Glove first baseman is hitting .277 with an .817 OPS, has five homers and 16 RBIs. Sheets, Andujar, and France were brought to SD for their slug, and so far, they are producing. The Friars would not be where they are now without that trio.

San Diego’s rotation has been led by Michael King and Randy Vasquez. The addition of Lucas Giolito is looking like it will pay off big time as well. With Mason Miller (0.76 ERA, 0.80 WHIP) leading the strong bullpen, that is going to continue to be the strength of the team. Bradgley Rodriguez (1.69 ERA), Adrian Morejon (33 K’s), Jason Adam (1.02 ERA, 0.96 WHIP), Wandy Peralta (.213 ERA), and Yuki Matsui (0.00 ERA) all deserve credit as well.

The hope is that starter Joe Musgrove will return to action soon, as well as Nick Pivetta. If that becomes the base, then the Padres have what it takes to compete for a World Series if the offense can turn it around. There is too much talent in that lineup for them not to get hot.

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