BREAKING: The Padres clinched the playoffs and are just getting started
Via @Padres on X
The San Diego Padres are headed to the postseason in 2025! Let’s review how that happened.
While it’s not quite the champagne celebration every pro baseball player dreams of, it’s a champagne celebration, and those do not come around everyday. With that dramatic win over the Milwaukee Brewers in walk-off fashion in extra innings on Monday night, the Padres’ “magic number” went from one to zero and now the Padres will have an “x” next to their name as a team that has clinched a playoff spot.
This marks just the second time in franchise history that they reached the postseason in consecutive seasons, and the first time since 2005-2006.
Manager Mike Shildt certainly had his hand in this team getting to October baseball. 2025 was not a smooth ride by any stretch.
Well, at first, it was. The Padres jumped out to a 14-3 record early. That white-hot start carried a lot of weight as the team languished through a stretch of right around .500-ball until the trade deadline. After that hot start, they went 46-46 through the deadline.
The team faced a litany of injuries. Jackson Merrill injured his hamstring after just 10 games of the season and missed a month. He has missed roughly 40 games this season due to injury and hasn’t been the same hitter he was in his stellar rookie year (until recently).
Michael King and Yu Darvish were two gaping holes in the starting rotation as neither could stay healthy early in the season. Through 156 games for the team, the two starters the team was relying so heavily on had made a combined 28 starts this year. Not only that, but both have struggled in stretches when healthy. Darvish currently has a 5.51 ERA on the year.
Xander Bogaerts suffered a broken bone in his foot and hasn’t played since August 27.
Jason Adam unfortunately suffered a major leg injury that ended his season prematurely.
Jake Cronenworth suffered a broken rib earlier this year as well and missed roughly 25 games this season.
Even when the other players remained healthy, hardly any one of the stars the Padres are paying a large sum of money carried the team offensively like they pictured. Fernando Tatis Jr.‘s 122 OPS+ is 14 points below his career mark of 136.
Luis Arraez never competed for the batting title this year, the award he had won three times in a row. His .287 batting average is nearly 30 points below his career .316 mark.
Dylan Cease, frankly, has been a nightmare.
So, how did the Padres do it?
For starters, they found a true diamond-in-the-rough in Gavin Sheets. After being waived by one of the worst teams in MLB history in the 2024 White Sox, Sheets set career highs this season in homers (19), RBI (69), and hits (121). Even with a recent cold streak, Sheets continues to be a valuable asset to this lineup.
The defense has been solid. Fernando Tatis Jr. is well on his way to at least another Gold Glove. Perhaps it could turn into his second Platinum Glove with his electric home run robberies. Ramon Laureano is doing his best Tatis impression in left, with a few big-time catches of his own. The team ranks ninth in errors.
Even as the starting rotation has suffered injuries, the Padres got valiant efforts from the likes of Randy Vasquez (3.94 ERA in 125 innings) and the host of fringe-rotation arms like Stephen Kolek (traded), Ryan Bergert (traded), Kyle Hart, and Nestor Cortes.
Speaking of trades, you can argue the season truly turned into a march towards the postseason at the trade deadline. A.J. Preller sent a clear message to not just the league, but the club itself, that they intend on not only making the postseason, but making a deep run.
San Diego brought in Mason Miller to create a super-bullpen. Laureano made the outfield go from one major question mark to one of the best outfields in all of baseball. Ryan O’Hearn deepened the lineup. Freddy Fermin added intrigue to a catching situation that made a mortuary look lively. Fermin ended up driving in Bryce Johnson via the walk off to win the game on Monday night.
The bullpen has been the best in baseball. Their 3.08 ERA from their relievers in tops in the sport. Adrian Morejon needs to get more love. Sure, the Padres have the headliners like All-Star closers Miller and Robert Suarez. But where would they be without the Cuban lefty?
In 72 appearances, he has dominated to a 2.04 ERA with a 68-to-17 strikeouts-to-walks ratio. After being something of a failed prospect as a starter, Morejon has found his niche as an All-Star lefty reliever. He is what turned this bullpen from being pretty good to downright elite.
What will this get the Padres in October? Nobody knows. We have watched this new format of MLB playoffs to know that anything can happen.
You have to get invited to the party before you can get on the dance floor. The Padres now have their invitation. Let’s see how long this ride will last.
Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.