4 Former Padres Thriving With New Teams — Should San Diego Regret Decisions?

The San Diego Padres had some tough free agent decisions to make this winter, and it's unclear if they made all the right choices.

Four former Friars in particular have simply flourished with their new teams in the first month of the season, and that certainly stings for Padres fans.

MLB.com highlighted a newcomer on all 30 teams making the strongest impression with their new squads. Four of them were members of the 2025 Padres.

Dylan Cease

The biggest departure of the offseason was Cease, who signed a seven-year, $210 million deal with the World Series runners-up Toronto Blue Jays. The right-hander is sporting a 2.87 ERA with 49 strikeouts over 31.1 innings in his first six starts with Toronto.

No starter in the Padres rotation has an ERA lower than 2.41; Michael King owns that mark after his first six starts for the Friars.

The Padres rotation could've used Cease, but the team quite frankly couldn't afford him.

President of baseball operations A.J. Preller had to look at much cheaper options, adding Germán Márquez, Walker Buehler and now Lucas Giolito.

Robert Suarez

The Altanta Braves signed Suarez to a three-year, $45 million deal not to be their closer, but their set up man for Raisel Iglesias. However, with Iglesias on the injured list, Suarez has returned to a familiar role for the time being.

Suarez has allowed just one earned run through his first 12.2 innings with Atlanta. He is sporting a 0.71 ERA with 13 strikeouts. While his performance has been fantastic, the Padres have the best closer in baseball: Mason Miller.

Suarez certainly would have helped the Padres bullpen retain its reputation as lethal, but the team didn't necessarily need him. Plus, his $45 million deal was too expensive for San Diego.

The Padres' biggest deal of the offseason was the three-year, $75 million for King. Their next highest contract was Sung-Mun Song's four-year, $15 million deal.

Luis Arraez

The three-time batting champion is thriving as the starting second baseman for the San Francisco Giants.

Arraez is hitting .314 with an OPS of .717 across 105 at-bats. Much more surprisingly, he's playing above average defense.

Arraez currently ranks in the 99th percentile with 6 Outs Above Average at second base. He has statistically been one of the game's worst defenders his entire career.

Arraez was called a drain on the Padres offense last season as the unit struggled to generate slug in 2025. However, it feels wrong to put all the blame on Arraez and his unique approach at the plate.

Arraez is open to a reunion in San Diego down the line. He signed a one-year, $12 million deal with the Giants.

"I mean, I signed here for one year," Arraez said of joining the Giants. "I don’t know what [will happen] later.”

Ryan O'Hearn

The Padres acquired O'Hearn along with Ramón Laureano at last summer's deadline from the Baltimore Orioles. Laureano became an immediate star in San Diego as he took a starting spot in the outfield.

Former manager Mike Shildt was more reluctant to give O'Hearn regular at-bats, especially against left-handed pitching. That looks like it was a mistake given his success with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2026.

O'Hearn is hitting .316 with four home runs, 17 RBIs and an OPS of .891 across 95 at-bats this season. The first baseman/outfielder signed a two-year, $26 million deal with the Pirates, but Preller found cheaper options in Nick Castellanos, Miguel Andujar and Ty France.

France's recent emergence in San Diego makes it seem like O'Hearn's departure is really a wash.

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