This is what a soft reset looks like when you’re trying to thread the needle between staying dangerous and staying solvent. And, for once, these are a flurry of official acts about the roster, not another round of managerial news or podium drama. The San Diego Padres’ latest moves weren’t splashy, but they were exactly the sort of cold, adult decisions this team has to make.
Declining options on Elias Díaz, Tyler Wade, and Kyle Hart doesn’t move the back pages; it clears brush. It says, out loud, that 2026 can’t be another season of sunk-cost minutes, replacement-level at-bats, or low-leverage innings just because somebody has a vesting clause.