The San Diego Padres are coming off a demolishing of the Atlanta Braves in the opening series of the 2025 season. 

Before the year, there were reasons to worry about the San Diego Padres’ 2025 season.

No major moves were made to the roster until weeks before the spring season started.

Jurickson Profar did not sign with San Diego. Ha-Seong Kim and Tanner Scott also left the Padres and signed elsewhere. The Padres failed to make any major moves and lost out on the Roki Sasaki sweepstakes to the Dodgers. It was a difficult time for the fanbase.

Toward the end of the winter, the Padres signed a flurry of men. Connor Joe, Gavin Sheets, Yuli Gurriel, Martin Maldonado, Elias Diaz, Jason Heyward, Nick Pivetta, Kyle Hart, and Jose Iglesias were all secured at a team-friendly rate, and each provides leadership to the team. The stars were in place on the roster. The Padres needed role players to produce.

Early on, they are getting just that—production from the whole unit.

To open the season, the Padres are coming off a four-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves. This is the first time since 1979 that the Padres have swept the Braves in a four-game series.

The season opening series was storybook for the Padres.

Let’s review.

Catching is not an issue.

Most thought Luis Campusano would handle the catching duties moving forward. Instead, the Padres signed Elias Diaz and Martin Maldonado in free agency. The two veteran catchers known for completely different skill levels have complimented each other early in the season. It has only been one series, but the duo is hitting .385 (5-for-13) to start the season. The Padres would be thrilled to get anywhere near this production from these two men for the entire season.

The bullpen continues to dominate.

This was not a major concern, but the unit is stepping up for the Padres after the loss of Tanner Scott. Bryan Hoeing and Sean Reynolds are both injured but will return eventually. This group will get reinforcements very soon. Adrian Morejon collected a save on Saturday for the Padres, showing that he can be trusted in high-leverage situations. The unit has only surrendered one earned run in their first 14 appearances, a 0.56 ERA. The Braves did not score for 22 straight innings to end the series against the Padres. The bullpen threw five scoreless in the last two games alone.

Vazquez and Pivetta stepped up.

There were question marks about the starting staff, as Yu Darvish is nursing a sore elbow. The Padres also lost Matt Waldron, who was expected to compete for a rotation spot. In the first series, Nick Pivetta and Randy Vasquez stepped up. The duo went 13 shutout innings and only allowed five combined hits. The Padres could not have received a better gift from these two men. Will it continue?

Gurriel is showing value.

Yuli Gurriel gave the Padres a 1-0 win on Saturday with an RBI-single coming off the bench. As a compliment to Gavin Sheets (who is on fire) or a player who can play first base from time to time, Gurriel is showing his value. The players and coaches refer to him as a professional hitter. Coming off the bench, there is value here.

Sheets continues hot hitting from the spring.

The Padres are getting results from Gavin Sheets, who seems determined to revitalize his career in San Diego. Hitting coach Victor Rodriguez is connecting with Sheets as the two have a family connection. Victor Rodriguez came up in the Orioles system, and Gavin’s father Larry was a long-time Oriole. Gavin Sheets trusts Rodriguez, and the early results from this big man are exciting.

James Clark

James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. James has written about the Padres and their prospects for over a decade. He also writes about San Diego State as well as other local sports. James is the Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.