3 Padres Who Won’t Be Back in San Diego in 2024

Changes may be coming to the Friars this winter.

This coming offseason will be very interesting for the San Diego Padres after they missed the postseason this year. They entered the season with high expectations but failed to live up to the hype of the offseason.

Now the Friars have a ton of questions to answer heading into the winter, and their decisions could impact 2024 and beyond. Their roster could look a little different next season, and that very well could be a good thing.

So, who are some of the players that won't return next season? Here are three players that will be leaving San Diego this offseason:

1. Seth Lugo, made $7.5 million in 2023

Lugo was fantastic for the Padres this season, and it will see him leave San Diego. He posted an ERA of 3.57 over the course of the year and was one of the more consistent pitchers for San Diego all year. Lugo holds a player option for next season, but he will be declining that for a bigger payday.

He performed incredibly for San Diego, but it seems that he outperformed his chance to return. The Padres will be trying to shed salary, and Lugo will be out of their price range for his services.

2. Rich Hill, made $8 million in 2023

Hill was brought in to help the Padres rotation down the stretch, but instead, he struggled to put anything together for this team. In 10 games played for the Padres, he posted an ERA of 8.23 ERA and a WHIP of 1.72. Before coming to San Diego, he was serviceable with the Pittsburgh Pirates, so it seems that he was just uncomfortable with the Friars.

He won't be back next season, and his career could be over potentially. Hill has talked about wanting to take part of the year off and return for the stretch run, but it remains to be seen if any team would go for that.

3. Josh Hader, made $14.1 million in 2023

It has been known for a while now that Hader will leave San Diego at the end of the season. He was almost unhittable at times during the year, posting an ERA of 1.28. Hader also put up a WHIP of 1.10 and had 33 saves on the season as well. 

The Padres don't want to pay Hader what it will take to retain him, so Hader will seek a massive payday elsewhere. He was great for the Padres, but his time in San Diego has come to an end.