MLB Insider Projects Padres Lock Up Key Free Agent This Offseason

Valentina Martinez | 9 Hours Ago

Jun 6, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (23), center, Luis Arraez (4), left, and Jurickson Profar (10) celebrate after Tatis scored during the fifth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images at Petco Park. / Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

The San Diego Padres shed $90 million off its payroll last season. Despite losing key players like Juan Soto, president of baseball operations A.J. Preller added players like Jurickson Profar to the roster.

After Profar signed a $1 million deal with the Padres for the 2024 season, the outfielder has proven he is a worthy commodity for any lineup. Profar had the best season of his career in San Diego.

Profar also embraced the culture of the Padres clubhouse, which helped the outfielder emerge as a fan favorite. The relationship between team and player was strong and The Athletic's Andy McCullough believes Profar will return to San Diego for the 2025 season.

The Padres will need Profar's .380 on-base percentage again next season to help the club stay afloat in the National League West. The Padres should be desperate to win in 2025. The World Series window could quickly close for San Diego as the team faces massive player raises (Profar included) and two top starters are entering the final year of the contracts.

Michael King and Dylan Cease are both free agents after the 2025 campaign, which further applies pressure for the team to win it all next season.

Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts are locked in for nine more years. Fernando Tatis Jr. has a decade left on his contract. Those contracts combined are certainly huge financial commitments for San Diego, which means adding other big name players seem unlikely.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers added another ace to their rotation in former Padre Blake Snell. Snell signed a five-year, $185 million deal with the Dodgers.

Preller was candid about the Padres' financial flexibility, or lack thereof, compared to their NL West rivals.

“The reality is, the Padres are never going to be able to compete financially and roster-wise completely with the Dodgers,” Preller said, weeks after the Dodgers swept the Padres out of the playoffs. “So what’s your next best option? Let’s do the best we can and if we get there, we can beat them in a seven-game series.”

Though the Padres may not be able to spend as much as Los Angeles, the team was just one win away from eliminating the Dodgers from the postseason.

Forget about divsion titles, all the Padres should focus on is returning to the postseason once again. In October, the dominant Dodgers are more vulnerable and it's then that San Diego can swoop in to take out their NL West rivals.