The Padres’ season ended close enough to leave a few balls hanging in the air: a fly ball that missed a roof cable, a ninth-inning line drive that landed inches from a different outcome, and a Manny Machado shot that might have changed everything with a few more feet. Instead of opening Game 3 of the National League Championship Series at Petco Park on Wednesday night, San Diego’s front office gathered for its winter briefing, with the next push toward a title already underway.
A 90-win standard, with the larger prize still missing
General manager A.J. Preller and manager Craig Stammen pointed to another strong regular season, one that made it three straight years with 90 victories for San Diego. Preller made clear, however, that the club’s benchmark is not merely reaching October.
“Winning 90 games in this league is difficult, and we’ve done it three years straight,” Preller said. “But the goal is to bring a championship here. The goal is to raise that trophy at the end. We won’t be satisfied until that happens.”
The Padres fell short of that destination this fall, and the offseason begins with a handful of health decisions that could shape both the lineup and rotation.
- San Diego has produced 90-win seasons in each of the past three years.
- The club was eliminated before the NLCS, leaving Petco Park without a Game 3 on Wednesday.
- Preller said the organization remains focused on bringing a championship to San Diego.
Sheets expected to rest foot injury rather than undergo surgery
Gavin Sheets played through a plantar plate tear in his left foot for much of the season’s final months. The injury sidelined him for three weeks in September, and when he returned, his work was largely limited to designated hitter assignments and pinch-hit appearances.
Stammen said Sheets appears more likely to let the injury heal through rest than choose an operation. The expectation is that he will be cleared for a normal Spring Training and be ready for the start of the 2027 campaign.
“I don’t think surgery will be the route he chooses,” Stammen said. “He has both options — rest or surgery — and I think he’s leaning toward rest. I believe he can make a complete recovery either way and be ready for Spring Training.”
Reliever Jeremiah Estrada is also trending in the right direction after a right shoulder impingement. Stammen said Estrada had nearly regained full strength and could have been an NLCS roster consideration had the Padres advanced. He is expected to have a mostly routine winter and report ready for camp.
Rotation questions lead San Diego’s winter board
The most important decisions may sit on the mound. Nick Pivetta, Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove each enter the offseason with different paths ahead, leaving the Padres to sort out both health and role definitions.
Pivetta’s contract could be revisited
The Padres hold a club option for Pivetta in 2027, a provision triggered after he missed more than 130 days with a flexor strain in his right elbow. He has two years and $32 million left on his current deal.
There is a complication: if San Diego exercises the 2027 club option, Pivetta retains an $18 million player option for 2028 under the original contract terms. Although he returned late in the season and pitched well, the elbow remains part of the evaluation. The club must decide within five days of the World Series ending.
Preller did not rule out a reworked agreement that would preserve guarantees for Pivetta while reducing some of the risk for the Padres.
“This is the time of year when we consider every possibility,” Preller said. “Picking up the club option is the direct route. Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll meet with coaches, staff and evaluators to see what the roster puzzle looks like. We hope Nick wants to be part of it, and we hope we can find a way to keep him involved moving forward.”
Darvish and Musgrove remain open conversations
Darvish has advanced to bullpen sessions in his recovery from October 2025 elbow surgery. He spent all of the 2026 season on the restricted list, doing most of his rehabilitation away from the club and without collecting pay.
The right-hander is still owed $30 million over the next two years, but it is not yet known whether he will pursue a return at age 40 in 2027.
“We have a great deal of respect for him,” Preller said. “We’ll sit down and see where he is mentally, but he has put in the work to at least give himself that choice.”
Musgrove did make it back to the mound in October, appearing once in relief during each of San Diego’s two postseason series. Following Tommy John surgery in October 2024, he could not stretch back into starter-length outings, but he found a useful October fit in the bullpen. He threw three scoreless innings.
The Padres have not settled on whether Musgrove will be a starter or reliever next season. Preller said the important development is that Musgrove is now a genuine option rather than a rehabilitation question.
- Pivetta’s 2027 club-option decision is due within five days after the World Series.
- Darvish has begun throwing bullpen sessions after missing all of 2026.
- Musgrove logged three scoreless postseason innings in relief.
- San Diego intends to enter Spring Training with Musgrove’s role clearly defined.
“The biggest thing is that Joe is now part of that conversation,” Preller said. “All year, we were hoping. Now it is a discussion. By Spring Training, we’ll know the role and what we are asking him to do.”
