MLB Insider Says Padres Could Knock Out Dodgers in 2026 Postseason

The San Diego Padres have been one of the more interesting teams across baseball all season.

The Padres have navigated through questions around the starting rotation, all while dealing with an inconsistent offense. But the team has found ways to stay the course, keeping their playoff dreams alive.

And after the trade deadline, the Padres are now feeling very good about themselves heading into the final few months. San Diego was able to land two starting pitchers at the deadline, with Casey Mize and Robbie Ray coming over to help bolster the rotation.

Due to the additions and recent hot streak from the offense, some are now dreaming of the Padres being dangerous in the playoffs.

MLB insider Eduardo Perez spoke on the Padres following the trade deadline, saying that he believes San Diego is one of the few teams that could knock out the reigning back-to-back champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the postseason this year.

"They have a bullpen that is a shutdown bullpen, and they have guys that have underperformed offensively that are not what the numbers indicate that they are, and they've turned it around the last few weeks," Perez said on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM. "I think it's a team that if they are matched up against the Dodgers in the Division series or in the Championship series ... if there is a team that I think could match up psychologically well because of the past history of being beaten up by the Dodgers, I think it's San Diego."

"They are at their best right now offensively, if this keeps up, I don’t want to face them"

Is 2026 the year the Padres finally knock out Los Angeles?@Padres | #ForTheFaithful
🔗 https://t.co/fGPbvbj8w4 pic.twitter.com/IL1lGmMMkA
— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) August 5, 2026

The Padres have been one of the few teams over the years that hasn't been afraid to match up with the Dodgers. The two sides have seen each other in the playoffs three times since 2020, with the Dodgers winning two of the three series.

However, two years ago, the Padres had Los Angeles on the ropes heading into a massive Game 4 at Petco Park. The Padres just weren't able to finish the job, eventually losing the series in Game 5 back at Dodger Stadium.

This year, the two teams have met three times, with the Padres dropping each series. San Diego currently owns a record of 3-7 against Los Angeles, but the two sides have one more series coming up from Sept. 22- 24.

The Padres sit just a game back of the final wild-card spot in the National League race, and there are still a lot of games left to be played. But this team is set up very well to go on a run, especially if the offense continues to perform well.

After a very up-and-down first half of the season, the Padres are finally looking like the team that many expected them to be. And if this were to continue, San Diego could be a serious player that nobody, not even the Dodgers, would want to see in the postseason.

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