How did a promising season turn into what we currently see from the San Diego Padres? 

The start of the 2025 season was surreal for the San Diego Padres.

A 14-3 start to the year gave a lot of false hope to Padres fans. Most thought 2025 was going to be THE season.

At this point, the Padres have numerous holes throughout their roster. Stars are slumping. The roster consists of a few players who arguably would not be on another team’s 40-man roster. And, to top it off, the team is being hampered by injuries to its key players.

Depth was not a strength for this team at the start of the season. Preller and his staff dragged their feet when it came to upgrading the roster this winter, resulting in a patchwork group of players. Men who had passed their prime and were not able to contribute. This seems to be a common theme for the Padres, as they’ve employed Nelson Cruz, Ian Kinsler, and Robinson Cano, among others, when they were clearly no longer capable of producing at a high level.

Let’s take a look at three main reasons why the Padres are where they are in the standings.

Gambling on the roster late in the off-season

As mentioned, the Padres have a history of signing players past their prime.

Yulie Gurriel (4-for-36) and Connor Joe (0-for-9) totaled a .111 batting average for San Diego before they were cut. Preller and the Padres paid the duo $2.35 million for the 2025 season. Neither player was on the roster after the first week of May. It was a disaster for the Padres. Handing out guaranteed money to players who were done as players is an issue. The Padres are unable to spend like they did in seasons past. A roster full of All-Star caliber players who are extended long-term minimizes spending for the Padres.

They need to be thrifty, and they need to be smart about filling out the back end of the roster.

Jason Heyward is spent time on the IL before he was DFA’d on June 21. The Padres offered Heyward a $1 million contract for the 2025 season, which will likely be his last year in the MLB. It was perceived that his clubhouse presence would outweigh his declining skill level. Heyward on the roster was not a huge ordeal, but employing him and surrounding him with role players and men skirting on the Quad-A level of value resulted in an anemic offense, which brings us to the next problem.

Failing to upgrade roster when needed

Gurriel failed. Joe and Heyward were not the answer. The Padres need players to step up, but their prospect system does not have players of relevance at the Triple-A level. Tirso Ornelas looked like he may be the answer, but the Padres have kept him in Triple-A for most of the season. The native of Tijuana was recalled once and went 1-for-14 with the team. He probably deserves another shot to play. He is currently on the IL, so the Padres will need to wait.

The Padres’ lack of depth is an issue.

With limited available payroll, the team is constrained in its spending. They need to be creative to make moves. Unfortunately, Preller has been unable to upgrade the roster. The team is stuck with the current group of players, and most fear this unit will not produce enough wins to qualify for the playoffs.

Injuries 

Michael King “slept on his shoulder” wrong and is likely out until the All-Star break at the very earliest. Jackson Merrill is currently on the IL, and it is his second trip to the list. Luis Arraez missed a week earlier in the season with a concussion. And Yu Darvish is battling elbow issues that will not go away and has yet to pitch for San Diego this season.

The play and production from Fernando Tatis Jr. suffered over the last month or so as he battled through a deep arm bruise after being plunked in May. Tatis is only now recently showing the production with the bat that he showed at the beginning of the 2025 season. He was hit by the Dodgers multiple times this week, and hopefully, the bruises on his body do not hamper his production moving forward.

In time, King and Merrill will return. Darvish is starting to throw again, so hopefully, he will debut for the Padres at some point in 2025. The Padres need their roster to be full of healthy starting pitchers. The bullpen is starting to get taxed. They cannot continue to roll out a patchwork of players and expect serious results. The baseball season is a marathon, thankfully, so there is still time for this team to right the ship. Until then, Padres fans will be up in arms, talking about what could have been.

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.