The Padres enter the 2025 winter meetings with an obvious need for their roster…starting pitching. With Michael King set to leave in search of long-term, and Dylan Cease signing with the Toronto Blue Jays for seven years, $210 million, A.J. Preller must make a move for the sake of the team’s chances to compete in 2026.
The departures of King and Cease are one thing, but people forget that Yu Darvish will miss the entirety of 2026 recovering from Tommy John Surgery. This news from about a month ago makes it all the more important for San Diego to be aggressive via free agency and trade.